A new tenant

I don't think it is a coincidence that the words "toil" and "soil" resonate. I am not a natural gardener, but today I had my reward.

I was busy digging this morning, trying to get the final patch near the strawberries weeded. About an hour into this, I heard my husband call me to come quick! Not sure what to expect I found him on the veranda, pointing to our large gravel driveway. There, crossing with a degree of bewilderment, was a young hedgehog.

My friend who treats sick hedgehogs will be delighted about this new resident of Coneysthorpe. We had discussed releasing some of her recovered treasures into our garden, but as they aren't native to NZ, I wasn't sure how the Department of Conservation would view this (we are close to DOC land and have to be mindful of native species). It seems the research I was going to do on this is now a bit redundant, as Mr Moses Prickles has already moved in.

He looks a youngster, and probably about to hibernate for the first time. I had just removed snails from a plant I was digging out, so I went and retrieved them, put Moses in the bushes (ha ha) and covered him with lots of leaves and a bit of hay. Then I took him breakfast in bed (sorry Mrs snail).

A delightful start to the weekend.