Alfie has a strop

We had quite a surprise at the behaviour of cute little Alfie. He was tucking in to some mealworms outside the ATM, when along comes another little hedgehog, minding his own business - and Alfie set about pushing the poor little chap. Not just a little push, either, he really had a go.





We've seen Alfie get picked on by other hedgehogs, and he usually stands his ground, but this time he definitely started it, and the other hedgie got pushed all over the place. At least Alfie seems to be healthy and strong.

It seemed much quieter than of late - we didn't seem to have the usual rush of visitors first thing, nor did we have the flurry of activity later on. We had the usual full house, but they didn't seem to be in such a hurry to go out. It is turning cooler and we had some rain, so it does seem to be changing their behaviour.

Little Indy seems "settled" in the front, if swapping nests every hour can be called settled. Here's a little compilation of his activity:



He seems to be getting lots of marks on his back. We put most of them down to the way he likes to squeeze under the narrowest part of the door opening.

As you may have noticed from the timing of blog postings, I have also had a change of routine. I'm working on a customer site this week, which means early to bed and early to rise - I leave home about 6:30, which puts me in direct conflict with little Indy. We carefully scrutinise the camera to see if the coast is clear, then I gingerly open the front door and creep out.

One morning he came out of the nest between me leaving the house and starting the car, so the headlights startled him and he ran for cover - so it seems to be true what they say about hedgehogs running instead of curling up.

So, we've swapped the cars round, and I park mine on the road instead of the drive, so the lights don't disturb him. The last night I got a call on my mobile (hands free, of course) just before I arrived home, with a hedgie warning. It was only about 6:30 but he was out already. I must be careful tonight.