Oh Autumn! How I Love You...

It's been a busy but lovely week here in Devon. We've had showers, sunshine, and a little visitor to our garden...

I've been keeping an eye on this little one for a few weeks. He's awfully small and I've been seeing him more and more frequently out and about in the daytime. It's not good if you see hedgehogs out in the daytime. It means that something is wrong, that they are not feeling quite right. In this little ones' case, I suspected that it was because he has a shed-load of fattening up to do before hibernation time in November. They have to be 500g if they are to survive the winter. When this little hoglet made his daytime appearance on Wednesday, I scooped him up and popped him on the scales...254g. Oh dear, he is never going to double his body weight in 6 weeks.

I gave the vet a ring and she confirmed that indeed he would not put on that much weight and said to bring him in. Here in the UK, small wild animals can be taken to any vet and treated free of charge during practice hours. So it's good to keep in mind if you live in the UK and find a poorly hedgehog! 

This wee one will go to a hedgehog sanctuary where he will spend the next few weeks being fed and then looked after through the winter. In the spring he will be released back into the wild, free to live a (hopefully) long hedgehog life.

Autumn seems to have arrived all at once as it is apt to do in the northern hemisphere. We've been having a bit of unsettled weather of late and my garden... well, a picture says a thousand words so I thought I would give you a peek...

We have two beech trees in our garden and they are shedding their leaves at a rate of knots. Yesterday we picked up all the leaves and this morning, after some stormy weather last night, my garden looked like someone had dressed it as an autumnal scene for a movie. Very pretty but very messy!

Oh, who am I kidding? I absolutely LOVE it. Picking up fallen leaves is what you are supposed to do in this season right? 😄

We have a nifty way of picking up the leaves off the lawn...

We simply set the lawn mower onto its highest setting and run it over the grass. Picks up and catches all the leaves, perfectly processed for the compost heap.

The pampas grass is looking spectacular - I love this autumn flowering grass. The flowers are so whimsical. I love how they are catching the leaf fall...

And surveying the autumnal garden...

Is my lovely little Cleo cat. She loves sitting on that table watching the birds at the feeder and leaves drifting down into the garden. I have to say that I have caught myself standing at my kitchen door on more than one occasion doing the same. There is something very peaceful and therapeutic standing quietly watching the leaves dropping and drifting. It's one of those 'simple things' that I get great pleasure from.

Autumn blessings to you all...