I struggled from the car to my garden gate, with some shopping bags and various books in my arms, head lowered against the rain. As I tried to locate the front door key on my keyring, a figure brandishing a large stick rose menacingly from behind my garden wall. I jumped, startled, and almost dropped my bags before realising that the figure was, in fact, Dirk. He left his hedgehog in my garden for safekeeping last night, because it’s ‘escape-proof’. Clearly, the hedgehog was determined to disprove this theory.
“Where the heck is Joel?!” bellowed Dirk, looking slightly manic. It was raining, and he was prowling around the garden in shorts and a sleeveless top, with a big stick, rustling leaves and shouting for a hedgehog. I stood and laughed. He gazed at me, looking wounded. “I’m sorry, Dirk, but you look like a madman,” I explained kindly.
Joel is gone.
I suspect E2 is googling “Can hedgehogs climb walls?” as we speak.
Filed under: escapism, friends, hedgehogs, mysteries, sheer silliness
“Hedgehogs are brilliant climbers. Wire fences are no problem and they can climb wooden fences well over a metre in height. They have also been known to climb the walls of houses to nest in the roof! They do this by bracing themselves between the downpipe and the wall!” -google “hedgehogs climb walls”
they do, in fact, climb!! sneeky little joel…
Right… so now I’ve got hedgehogs nesting in my roof…!
Now I feel sorry for Dirk, and its all E2s’ fault. She should have googled “hedgehogs climb walls” before Dirk put Joel in Hayleys supposed “escape proof garden.”