Magic moment

It's always when you least expect it that a "magic" moment appears before you and you let it take away the realities of life. That happened to me today.:D

The day has been drizzly, grey and a bit dampening to the spirits. Seeing that it had stopped drizzling I made a mug of steaming hot tea and ambled down to my new garden seat underneath the Acer Briiliantissimum, followed by the two cats, Sally and Jenny. So I sat there just eyeing this plant and that plant, and the dull grey sky, feeling a little depressed by the greyness of it all. Sally was sitting in the centre of the lawn while Jenny had disappeared down to the pond.

Just as I put the mug to my lips to take a swig or two I caught, from the side of my eye, a movement to my right in the centre border and a young Hedgehog snuffled it's way out and onto the lawn. It totally ignored me and Sally and searched the lawn for food and came right by my feet. Magic!! Sally just stared at it, with the only eye she's got, and just pretended it wasn't there. So for a few magical moments there was just me, a mug of tea, a cat and a Hedgehog, and the world went away!! Eventually the Hedgehog snuffled off to the West Border and disappeared and I finished my tea.

What I don't understand is where it came from. My garden fences sit on concrete slabs with no gaps between. The wooden fences are up to 8' high with no gaps between, my garden gates I made myself and are solid wood, 7' high, with the bottom edges only 1" off the concrete paths. How did he/she get in?? I'm also wondering how it will get out! I know they travel quite far in a night which worries me if if it can't get out. Should I leave food out for it? and if so what?

 

Thanks Clueless, I'll try the saucer bit and bring it in before I let the cats out. I've also got a very large compost heap which I'm mining at the moment for the black stuff in the centre so I guess I'll have to be careful in case there's any in there!::WINK1:



It's a bit of a shock because I haven't seen a Hedgehog in my garden since I sorted out the fences about 10 years ago.:D

 

Come on, Ziggy, what did you do to upset the Hedgehogs:D

 

He was probably smoking with the Hedgehogs, Andrew!! :D

 

Hi lolimac, yes my fences are around the 8' mark with a further extension of a 2' to 3' of slack chicken wire to keep the cats out, and my cats in, and that has worked perfectly. I just can't visualise a Hedgehog climbing it as anything trying to do so finds the slack chicken wire gives towards their weight and they find themselves nearly upside down trying to climb up.:D I've done a check of the fence bases and where there are panels I've checked for gaps and there are none. Most of my fences are made of 6' lengths of 4" x 2" timber dropped on top of each other between the concrete posts to a height of between 7' to 8' with the added extension of 2' of slack chicken wire. So I am puzzled as to how Mr Hedgehog got into the garden.:D I'll be putting out a bowl of cat food tonight but I doubt it will move around with all the Fireworks that will be going off tonight, although not in my garden.:D