Hedgehogs - MISSING. Can you help...?

I've been meaning to post this for awhile, last month, my sister spotted a hedgehog in our garden. He or she was curled up in a corner behind some wood either trying to remain warm or to just hide from us and hope we never saw him.

Naughty of us really, we brought him into the kitchen and gave the little fellow a rather large 50g portion of wet cat food, beef of course.

Hedgehogs are wild animals so bringing him into the house was the wrong thing to do but he seemed grateful for the large amount of free food!

A small booklet from the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust came through the door the other day with tips and advice on how to help our prickly friends. Since the 1950's, over 95% of Britain's hedgehogs have disappeared.

Hedgehogs need a variety of habitats:

 Woodlands and meadows to forage in.

Gardens with hedgehog sized doorways to wander through on the search for food.

Hedgerows to provide cover from predators whilst on the move.

And a plentiful supple of yummy insects and juicy slugs!

Pictures: http://campaign.justgiving.com/charity/yorkshirewildlife/hedgehog

However, these 4 simple points are now hard to come by. Slug pellets are being used more and more. Stone built garden walls and fencing have replaced the natural hedgerows dividing each garden. Woodland and meadows are being built on. Front gardens are being replaced with parking spaces and the main culprit, roads are dividing what natural habitats remain.

But how can we help? Well there is one very easy step which involves donating money to the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and letting them do the rest. Of course, if there is a Wildlife Trust near to you, then chances are they'll be doing the same appeal!

Or, if you want to be more hands on like me, visit the the website for a 'Hog Hole' template to create Hedgehog Highways through your garden and your neighbour's. A small dug out hole going underneath boundaries will also do.

As a natural pest control, slug pellets and insecticides shouldn't be needed. Encouraging the spiky hogs will keep you vegetables safe!

Remember, remember at the start of November to check your bonfires. What you might see as a pile of leaves and twigs to discard and burn, is the ideal spot for a hedgehog to snooze throughout the winter.

Build a home. An old wooden crate with a 13 x 13cm doorway will do perfectly. Use dried grass and leaves as bedding and cover the outside with hedge trimmings to create a natural layer on insulation, to prevent cold drats from entering through the door and to make your visitor feel more protected.

More information on how to help can be found here:
http://www.ywt.org.uk/hedgehog

There are so many ways to make your garden hedgehog friendly. If you have a hedgehog in your garden then help it along with NONE fish cat food. They also DON'T drink milk so please avoid giving them fish and milk at all costs.
If you're from Yorkshire, then your hedgehog sightings can be entered into the iSpy a Hedgehog website.

http://hedgehogs.ywt.org.uk/

I've entered mine, have you?

Hallowe'en and the spooky goings on...

This Hallowe'en, something spooky came over the shop...

Cobwebs and spiders dangled from the ceiling and signs...

The changing room became infested...

The pumpkins dominated the window!

Even the glass display heads dressed up!

Chris Packham's Thank You

Chris Packham has noticed our efforts to keep him with the bbc. I am more than thrilled because he is such and inspiration and incredible all round. A true genuine wildlife lover.

Find his Thank you message here:

http://www.chrispackham.co.uk/news/thank-you

Keep it up Chris! Without you, we would be clueless to the world around us!

Mothering Sunday earrings 2014

You know, I had completely forgot about this post! Well here it is!

For Mothering Sunday last year, I made my mum a set of Celtic knot earrings. A very simple knot but they were quite small!

I used the excess corner pieces from a circular blank I needed for one of the many pieces I made for my final degree show. I have ALOT of those corner pieces still...

Anyway, here are the earrings, all lovely and in silver.

I need better pictures of them really but these will do, I'm not trying to be impressive with my lack of photography skills but at least you can see the Celtic knot I've created! That's why I leave it to the professionals!

Chris Packham and the conflict with Countryside Alliance

Here in the United Kingdom, we have a fantastic naturalist and wildlife presenter called Chris Packham, who some of you will have seen (or read) me raving all about his amazing work and advise. He is well known for presenting Autumnwatch/Springwatch/Winterwatch.

However, Countryside Alliance have rocked the boat. They are not all cushiony and fluffy like Jake's Bones (that little dude!) puts it. In short, this club is for rich smug people who like shooting anything natural which moves. They are for the badger cull and fox hunting which is inhumane and revolting.

Ironically, Countryside Alliance wrote an article saying Chris was biased and his views 'bizarre'. From watching him on Autumn/Spring/Winterwatch, he is not biased and yes he is bizarre but who isn't?! That is what makes us unique and is why Packham has been such an inspiration to me. He speaks his mind and says things how they are. He is a brilliant teacher and is so very down to earth. He not only supports the British wildlife but the wildlife of Europe and sometimes America!

So my wonderful Moment-eers, what would I like you to do? Show your support, sign the petition and keep Chris with the BBC.

https://www.change.org/p/bbc-don-t-sack-chris-packham?recruiter=397191192&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink

You fantastic bunch!

A knitted surprise... DONE!

Did you guess what I was knitting?
I gave you some pretty big clues after all!
Well here he his, all finished and possibly the cutest thing I have ever made!

I just need to attach the tag.

He his to be a birthday present for girl who loves owls. Lets hope she loves him just as much as he will love her!

*** The pattern of this owl is not of my own design. I have followed this particular pattern from the book 'Knitted Woodland Creatures' by Susie Johns. The only part of the pattern which is my own is the wool type and colour. ***

Autumn and the perks that go with it

So today felt very autumnal. Fog to start the day off which gradually burnt off during the day ending in wall to wall sunshine. Admittedly that sounds like most days we have here in Britain but the big give away was the colour of nature. The trees are starting to turn into all the glorious reds, oranges and yellows. Only the odd leaf here and there but autumn is definitely among us.

One of the things I love about autumn is feeding the garden birds. At the moment, there are plenty of berries and fruits out there for them to peck on but it is always a wise idea to set up your feeders now so they become a familiar sight during the harsher months when the birds will need them most.

So why am I writing this? Well I fed the birds, simple.

A few years ago when Chris Packham first joined the Autumnwatch team, he created a video about feeding birds. All the useful hints and tips which I think you should definitely read about.

POINT 1

Wash your bird feeders regularly. The RSPB recommends soaking them in hot water once a week. This will prevent and diseases from forming and also spreading. I used boiling water and washing up liquid and rinsed well afterwards.

POINT 2

Don't feed them cereal based seed. I've noticed this in my own garden, they seem to fling the wheat out of the feeder and as a result, it starts to grow in odd places... And as Packham said 'you wouldn't feed you kids junk food, so don't feed it to the birds'.

POINT 3

Keep your feeders and water topped up. During the Winter months, your feeders will become a familiar sight and the birds will depend on these familiar feeding stations.

POINT 4

Refresh the food each time you clean the feeder. Not all feeders are waterproof. When the seed is wet or damp and there is no air circulation, they will begin to rot and no one wants sick birds in their garden!

POINT 5

Position your feeders away from walls, fences and trees. Yes they are handy places but it makes it all too easy for cats...

5 simple points you need to remember. It is so simple to maintain a well stocked feeding station and by following those 5 points, bird carried diseases can be reduced significantly ensuring the survival of our most loved species.

So Moment-eers, love your garden birds and they will certainly love you back!