This month we have already said goodbye to a couple of legends. The brilliant drummer Neil The Professor Peart and the wonderfully funny Terry Jones. In honour of Terry let’s all shout “He’s not the messiah, he’s just a very naughty boy”.

It’s so sad when we lose people we have grown to look up to and respect. But that’s the cycle of life. It’s inevitable that we have to say goodbye to people we admire, care for and love. Some burn bright and leave us far too soon. If anything the last few years have taught me it is that yes we shed tears but it’s so important to try and hold onto those precious memories.

Britain’s favourite mammal are in trouble. Big trouble. From 36 million in the 1950s to less than 1 million now. The last twenty years alone has seen a 50% drop in numbers.

Photo from the RSPCA

I remember hedgehogs being a common site. Every night we would see at least one hedgehog scurrying across the lawn. Things have changed. I can’t remember the last time I saw one in the wild. At least two or three years.

So it was time for local action. Today an hour was spent in the garden trying to make it more hedgehog friendly.

  • To try an link habitats some hedgehog highways have been built into the garden fences. 13cm wide fence holes needed to be made to allow the hedgehogs to move between gardens but this would have been equally attractive to Captain Chaos. Luckily work had some old piping which was about the right size. So hedgehog tunnels are now in place. Hopefully good for hedgehogs but not good for dogs.
  • The compost heap has been made open air. One is the sides has been removed.
  • A log pile has been built in one corner of the garden.
  • The log pile is now in a corner which will become the wild corner. I will let the grass grow and when it becomes warmer a wild flowers will be planted.
  • The random hedgehog dome house which has sat in the garage for years is now under a hedge near the compost heap and a hedgehog tunnel.
  • Each night a bowl of cat food and water will be put out. Important to remember to change and clean it every night. A bit of cat food will mean less for our big boy cat. This is good as he really needs to go on a diet.

It’s sad to say goodbye. Some goodbyes are inevitable and outside of our control. But some aren’t. Still time to save old friends like our hedgehogs.

88 thoughts on “Say goodbye”

  2. So glad you are helping hedgehogs to survive. They really are in big trouble.
    Yes, I was so sorry to hear of Terry Jones’ passing. He directed ‘Life of Brian,’ as well as acting as Brian’s Mum. He will be missed.

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  4. I love hedgehogs … although my mother used to tell me they were covered in fleas, but I’m not sure that they really are. I think it’s lovely that you’re looking after them and making nice little dens for them. Hats off sir!

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  6. Good for you! We can all do our little part to help the wild critters whose land we invaded.
    I’d love to put up bird feeders, but with 2 cats and the Big Dumb Dog, it’s not a good idea.

    I was sad to read about Terry. Especially since it was dementia. Horrible way to go! And Neil with brain cancer… two brilliant minds rotted. And Orange Idjit and Boris keep on…nothing to rot🙄🙄

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  8. Very inspirational and some very practical advice and thank you for highlighting the plight of the hedgehog.
    I hope that the plans you have put in place will be effective.

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  10. I was sad about Terry Jones and hedgehogs are one of my favourites. I hadn’t heard their numbers had got so low. I can’t say I a, supposed. I use to live on the edge of Dartmoor and the two most common things were to see hedgehogs bumbling about at night and to see them flat on the road in the morning. Sadly they have huge territories (believe it or not up to 30 miles) and so cross a lot of roads couple that with agricultural and garden chemicals, over tidy and tightly fence gardens and loss of wild habitat it is doesn’t take a genius. The romances consider them very good luck and call the, hotchy witchies.

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      1. That’s always a bonus. But I do find myself seriously thinking that we could do something like that in the space next to the compost. It usually ends up getting overgrown with nettles — trying to turn it into a wild corner is well worth considering.

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      1. I’m not sure how easy it would be for them to get into our present garden cos it is all old stone walled. Our last house was much more rural, like that you’d open the curtains to think…what are these white things in next door’s garden? And it was sheep staging a bold escape attempt from the fields along the road. Or..oh look there’s a deer just leaping over the fence. But equally while this is more urban, it is also smack bang in what was once said to be the richest square mile in Europe, so there’s all these old mansion houses, now flatted, or with houses or new blocks of flats built in the grounds, but the grounds are still all there, with the accompanying wild life. Quite pampered some of it. I mean these squirrels have got everyone convinced they are their personalized squirrels and they sail along on a royal progress every day, collecting what’s been left out for them, The dad one even shows the babies where everything is. If you head further back from where we are it was all fields originally. One day the Mr saw this fox at the spaghetti junction of Claypotts road and it– quite the thing– sailed over the crossing and knew to wait for the lights to change to do the next bit.

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      5. When Maggie was a pup, on one vet visit she was fascinated by the cornflake box another customer had brought in. The lady was from the CRASH charity, and inside were several baby hedgehogs, one of which was unlikely to survive as it was badly deformed. Apparently the vet offered their services free and it was the first time I’d seen babies. Maggie was wonderful and didn’t pester, just sniffed.

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  19. That’s so kind of you to help the hedgehogs! They are not native to my area and all I can think is that leaving cat food out around here attracts raccoons. Do you get raccoons? Or other, larger animals that might be attracted to the cat food?

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  23. I have to say and hopefully you don´t take it the wrong way or get mad, I have to say first of all it is a great insightfull post, but I can´t cry, who cares about those people who happen to play music? Not me for sure. My mother is dying, that is the thing I care for and crying is not going to help the situation.
    And as you said a grieving father, hope you don´t take this comment badly, and I´m glad you found this platform to express yourself(and obviously sorry for your loss) and…..that´s it I guess. Hope everything is good for you and also thanks for taking the time and pass throght my crazy blog.
    God bless you

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  24. I love this.
    When I had one of my wood fences repaired, I had my friend cut a hole in the bottom for my cats. My backyard is now a “shortcut” for opossums, skunks, raccoons, and neighborhood cats. So long as dogs and coyotes don’t get in, I’m good.

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  28. Are chefs still serving them as a delicacy? I’ve had two African pygmy hedgehogs and they were adorable. I would love to see one outside, but thy did not make the journey across the pond with the other settlers.

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