Our Little Neighbours

Our neighbour, Miss Cat, has been mentioned in our blog several times. But recently, we had (I'll explain later why a past tense is used) a hedgehog our new neighbour!

Here, he was spotted from our bedroom window at night. He's probably taking his supper, at this time of the night.

In fact, we have seen him several times in one week. Until one unfortunate day, we found him in broad daylight (something is very wrong to find a hedgehog out in the open in the day). So we approached him to check if he's ok. He didn't move when we tried to catch his attention with a broomstick. So my husband went out to him, only to find him injured and bled to death. Poor guy.

We don't know what happened to him. Perhaps he got himself caught in some hazardous objects usually found in cities. We live near the countryside but not quite there yet. So it's not really a hedgehog-friendly place for him.

I later read up about how to make our environment safe for these little garden-friendly creatures. Some tips and advices are found on this site and I hope that those who can and who have a garden, contribute to the preservation of hedgehogs.

Forest gems

This summer, we have a better weather compared to last year's. Despite that, we stayed back in our region most of the season as we are only taking our long holiday at the beginning of autumn (as it's less crowded and less expensive to make holidays when everyone returns to work).

We are fortunate to live near one of the preserved forests in our region. On some lazy weekend afternoons, to avoid direct heat and stuffiness in the city, we like to take some fresh air in the forest. As it is protected, its natural habitants live freely and safely. We even managed to spot a rarity in the forest - wild stawberries.

Wild strawberries found in the forest near Port Royal. It's very small compared to our usual strawberries. However, it is very fragrant and sweet.

Colourful butterfly

Blackberries