Hi Nic
More exciting news, 24 hours after setting up the new house in the front border a hog moved in! They also took all the extra hay I put in the lying down bucket, there was a little trail of dropped stuff behind the plant pot I placed to give extra privacy to the house & into the hallway of the new house. The following night I put more hay (though the house was stuffed full when I set it up as instructed) & also dried off a pile of medium sized leaves which I added to the hay, in the morning virtually all was gone & a trail of bits leading to the hallway as before. The food all but disappears every night, I’m leaving around half of the summer amount as less is being taken & there are usually a dozen or so kitten biscuits left by morning so obviously sufficient.
I can imagine the hog sending postcards to his (or her) relatives telling them of the superb accommodation he’s found with a fresh supply of food & water less then a metre from the front door! To me it’s not ideal round here for hogs with such busy roads surrounding us even though we’re in a quiet close with no direct access to the road, but guess it’s better than having nowhere at all.
Now for the back garden, the kennels are in use one way or another, the hay was disturbed in both within days so as it didn’t seem to be being taken anywhere I put more in for whoever it is to snuggle up in between feeding every night & there’s been some coming & going in them last night. Wouldn’t have thought they’d hibernate in them though they’re dry & off the ground with fleece blankets folded in the back half away from rain with the hay on top, maybe a good cosy shelter all the same. I’m not a hedgehog so hard to say what they’ll do, be interesting to find out.
There was a small hog on camera in the back garden last night, & virtually all the food was gone this morning. It spent a long time drinking the water in front of the camera. Tonight I’m pointing the camera at the kennel nearest the food which looks the most disturbed to see what’s what.
Oh your rats are a nuisance, not going to tempt fate & say anything about those. The 2 usual cats use the water bowl frequently each night, there can’t be many water sources round here.
Haven’t seen a humming bird hawk moth for years, they used to be on our honeysuckle when it grew thickly down the fence of a previous house. Honeysuckle doesn’t grow well here for some reason, hoping it’ll buck up a bit in the spring as it has a better spot now by the arch. I love frogs, glad you’re probably not going to have herons in a bigger pond! There was a heron on the roof of a large house near here Saturday being mobbed by gulls, it was standing with it’s beak open & head up towards them as they screeched & bombed it. Probably a pond there as it’s a very big house.
I might start a new thread in Champions Chat next time I post about the hog house as it’ll be seen by more people & could encourage them to get one too. Can keep up this one as well if you like though.
Stay safe.
