Other residents of the garden :)

Hedgehogs used to be nocturnal creatures but we see them alot now during the day, it is though now there are few wild predators to stay away from that they are now adapting to daylight hours. This little man survived a terrible incident a few weeks back – hubby went down to the garden one morning and found him swimming in the bath of seaweed water we have there….he had climbed up onto the compost heap next to it (now removed!) and Roger found him worn out and very cold. He rinsed him off and bought him inside where he sat in front of a fan heater sneezing for a couple of hours 🙂 Once he had eaten and had recovered he was put down under the trees by the chook run.

Twice a day when we feed the chooks he comes out to eat with them. He lets Roger pick him up, doesn’t roll himself into a ball or show any fear, and appears to be very content living with the chooks…there are places he could get in and out but he stays.

We had relations from Australia staying last week who had two wee kids, one a four year old girl. They don’t get them there so she very much enjoyed seeing a different one sitting in the front garden one night eating his way through a large dog biscuit.

We have a resident blackbird family. We think it is the same parents who every year nest in the macrocarpa hedge opposite our lounge windows. For four years we have been watching them go in and out of the hedge, we hear the male bird singing at the top of his voice for weeks when they are hatched and then watch as the babies eventually come down into the garden. They are now coming into the chook run when we feed the chickens as well, their parents get the food then feed it to the babies who are almost as big as them.

I had a lovely experience last weekend when a homing pigeon came and sat in the garden with me for a couple of hours. It was a really hot day and he flew down beside me to drink from a puddle left by the hose.  I tried to tempt him to stay by feeding him chicken pellets and wild bird seed and he was content to follow me around the garden but Syd, our big black dog, frightened him away barking at him. I soooo wanted to be able to keep him – I dearly would like some doves but hubby does not, a stray homing pigeon would have done nicely!