Hedgehog and other wildlife sightings.

[wayfaringwordhack]

Last night we had a hedgehog in the little space of gravel-covered dirt that serves as our yard.  I heard a stray eating our cats' food and went down to chase it off.  At the bottom of the stairs, Mr (or Ms) Hedgehog was sitting calmly--so calmly I suspected it was dead--in front of the courtyard door.  Because it would have had to climb a whole flight of stairs and get back down them in a hurry, I doubt the hedgehog was the food thief.

Julien carried it back to the hole under our fence and it waddled off.  Maybe it'll be back one of these evenings as frigg  tells me they don't tend to wander much from their territory.

The other day, I was driving along the canal and saw an odd-looking duck.  Her back was too elongated, and I thought she was trapped in something like a net. But as I drew abreast of her, I saw that she in fact had eight little ducklings swimming merrily along beside her.  Widdle ducks...one of the cutest baby animals ever!

And in sadder news, I saw a dead ferret on the road.  The poor thing was gray, with a white throat, and it was sad to see one so still when I know ferrets are such lithe, lively critters.

So as not to end on a sad note, the banks of the canal are yellow with the blooming of wild irises. And that is both lively and lovely.