The Real Mrs. Tiggie-Winkle, a Hedgehog Tale

Before I came to England to live the only hedgehog I had ever seen was in a book by Beatrix Potter called,  The Tale of Mrs. Tiggie-winkle. 

Late at night,when we have gone to bed, we have some very special visitors in our garden.  They come to hunt for snails and slugs in the flower beds.  They eat the sunflower seeds that have fallen out of the bird feeders.  But what they love most of all are the Dust Bunny's crunchie kitty biscuits!

We have  hedgehogs, real live Mrs. Tiggie-winkles! 

Actually,  I think there is a Mr. Tiggie-winkle, too. 

You can hear them snuffling around the garden in the darkness.  If you are quiet and don't move too quickly, you can observe them as they methodically search the plants for tasty bugs and slugs.  Hedgehogs are great gardeners.  Their diet consists of some of the most destructive garden pests.

  Unfortunately, the number of hedgehogs have dropped dramatically in recent years so we feel very privileged that they come to our garden.  We try to provide a habitate that encourages them to make return visits.... so far it seems to be working!

Click on this link if you would like to read The Tale of Mrs. Tiggie-winkle and you will be taken to the Project Guttenberg website.  They have lots of free eBooks for you to enjoy.