Half past three in the morning . A gale blowing . The rain sputtering and clattering in the downpipes. Bob and Sophie are on alert mode. Not just barking but howling. Angus opens the front door , torch in hand, to find out what the problem is. Could it be the cows across the lane have wandered into the garden again ?
Sophie is out of the door and into the cherry orchard at the speed of light. Bob following along behind. Heads down, rumps in the air, tails waving. Noses leading them through the darkness. They stop. A conspiratorial silence. I catch up with them and find the cause of the commotion. A family of hedgehogs stretched out line astern like a flotilla of dreadnoughts. Mother, father and babies. Each tightly curled up.
Bob is picked up and carried squirming back indoors. Sophie following along behind. As far as Angus is concerned three thirty is not the right time to get acquainted with the local wildlife. The hedgehogs must have been a good fifty yards from where the pups sleep. How did they know ? Smell, sound or canine sixth sense ?
Bob and Sophie go back to sleep with a ' didn't we do well ? ' look on their faces.The little angels are awake again two hours later when the wrens begin to sing.
24 comments:
I have never seen a family of hedgehogs! How adorable! Maybe the early hour made them slightly less adorable for you, but how interesting that hedgehogs would cause Bobb & Sophie to actually howl! Sounds like Sophie in particular was especially inquisitive. Why am I not surprised.
So nice to know there are a few hedgehogs around. I haven't seen a live one in years. They are such lovely little creatures.
X
How interesting - at least to those of us who enjoyed an undisturbed night of sleep... Hard to imagine they could have either smelled or heard the hedgehogs, given the gale.
Hedgehogs are important! SHE never hears the stuff we do. We're always surprising HER....but at a more reasonable hour.
XXXOOO Daisy, Bella & Roxy
Love those little faces, but perhaps not at 3:30 a.m.! Yogurt is a favorite of Remy's, and I see Bob agrees.:-)
Peach yoghurt their absolute favourite.
I like your header photo Angus!
Interesting about Bob and Sophie sensing the hedgehogs--Our crew can do the same thing when deer are around. I continue to believe that they are more in tune with "cosmic forces" than we realize! :-)
Hedgehog fans - they must have been delighted to meet their blog heroes :-)
I guess the rain brought up the worms for a hedgehog family feast.
At least Bob and Sophie will have to catch up with their sleep this afternoon....maybe?
Have fun X
omg.
i can't get enough of these puppies. i even see glimpses of dark little eyes in these pictures.
so glad you gathered them up before they really 'explored' the tiny hedgehogs! they must have been a handful.
and i like the new header too. i always like your headers. puppies on the 'big screen' of life! xo
First let me say that I love the new header....very cute subjects and the detailing of the old wooden door makes a great backdrop.
Bob is acquiring a taste for the finer things.....Brownie loves yogurt as well.
Dogs' noses are one of nature's wonders, they are highly tuned to detect just a teeny hint of scent.
Brownie is sniffing the wind lonnnnng before the monkey crew shows up.
I know the squirming game well, and how difficult it can be to drag them away from something that has captured their attention.
Great new header (capturing those furry ones!) I so enjoy your daily journal of events with the pups......thank you!
Chris
I wish I knew! Morgan has the same keen sixth sense about rabbits in the yard!
Hopefully Morgan waits until it's light !
Oh, have I been there.
Here though, it's opossums and raccoons.
How do they know, indeed.
The noses on your PON puppies must be super-charged olfactory sensors! p.s. the thought of tiny hedgehog babies is adorable.
Bless their little hearts! Such fierce protectors of their realm. Too bad about the hour that the protection took place tho. I am sure all canines have that 6th sense. Ours know when the pack is due home after work/school - each and every day.
Yep! Dogs up and out sometime in the middle of the night last night. Soon the scent of skunk wafting in through the open door. Thankfully not from one of the dogs...But how did they know?
Oh they are such protectors/hunters! Squirrel season here so the pup is beside herself in the morning when she first get let outside. Squirrels like to taunt her and run along the fence line.
Mine too!
Maybe they were singing...or snoring
Our Scottie goes equally berserk at a hedgehog...they must really smell!!
hehe - hound song, yep - whether by hounds or PONs. Enjoying the image of the hedgehog family curled up against the ever vigilant Sophie and Bob.
A nice 'believe it or not story' to share with all of you: Several years ago, while traveling in France with our Scottie, we stopped to fill our car, and to have an ice cream. I took the opportunity to walk our Scottie along a grassy strip beside the rest area. He spotted a hole, and went straight for it. Massive Scottish Terrier head went into the hole, and came out with - voila! - a live mole. He was carrying it in a soft mouth, and it was squirming and squeeling. I looked our canine, straight in the eye, and
said to him: "That mole has every right to live his life - as you do. Don't you agree?" With that thought, our ultra-smart and ultra-understanding canine gently placed the mole down onto the grass - where it scampered away. Hard-wiring lost that day - to compassion. We've seen things like this in all four of our Scottish Terriers. Hope you all enjoyed the wonder of it all, as we did. EDENA, on the Westcoast of Canada
Did you get sucked I?
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