Cheerio and Thanks For The Lift

Its been really cold these last few days and more like winter than early autumn. With overcast skies and a brisk north easterly wind this morning it felt quite raw.

We weren't expecting any visitors, so I was quite surprised when I opened the basement door to go to the shop and a young Hedgehog walked in and sat on the door mat. It seemed to be enjoying the heat and was quite happy to sit there and let me take a few blips. I can only think it walked or fell down the slatted stairs that lead to the outside basement area and couldn't get back out. As I went to get a pair of leather gloves from the garden shed it scuttled off to a corner of the basement area. As soon as I lifted it rolled up into a tight little spiky ball.

I put it down on the top stair and took a few more blips as it started to unroll and have a look about. This was one of the last shots and it almost looked as if it was waving cheerio as a few seconds later it got to its feet and ran off into the cover of nearby bushes. I suspect with the cold weather it has been checking out places to hibernate.

With the way the weather has been I decided to get the boat out of the water and washed down ready for its hibernation. After 2 winters of sitting out in the garden I was determined to clear enough space in the large shed that was originally built for it and get it inside. Easier said than done but eventually it was squeezed in, which means I will be able to do all the winter maintenance that has been sadly neglected over the last couple of years.