April Blessings

1st] The sun shining highlighting deep red of a hellebore:

2nd] The perfume from a Pieris in full flower:

3rd BT] The sound of bees busily exploring the spring flowers.

Wildlife in Winter

Wildlife in our winter garden is missing one thing. A hedgehog. I love them. It's only recently that I read that hedgehogs are not found in the same area as badgers. I was told that badgers eat hedgehogs. I'm not sure if this is fact or not. I suspect more that they are in competition for food. As badgers always follow the same route every night then maybe some hedgehogs visit my neighbours' badger free gardens. I have slugs a plenty in my garden so could happily harbour a family of hedgehogs. The badger is continuing to look fat and well fed. It's a pity he doesn't fall into one of the holes he dug in the lawn over the summer.

Update: 6th December
Cleaning up fallen leaves, a bucketful of smelly stagnant water and pond weed today I found a huge common frog sitting on the edge of the bucket peering up at me. My sister gave me the pond weed when I last visited. I was hoping to dig a pond during the autumn but just not had the time or the muscle for such a task. I'm wondering whether the frog travelled all the way home from Croydon to Worthing to Devon. If it did I'm glad it didn't surface during my drive home.