Metamorphosism

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June 07, 2004

Hedgehog Hotel

    "Mig is in another wood phase."
    -Alpha, to her mother, yesterday
Gamma and I built a feeding box/and/or living quarters for the hedgehog that's been lurking about, and we built a birdhouse.
    "It's okay to cuss in dad's workshop."
    -Gamma, to her sister

It took a while, but not too long, for Gamma to realize that the shop in the cellar is one place where I'm the boss, and she shouldn't put sawdust into the bucket of sand, and can't complain in a diva-like tone about the mess I'm making with my jigsaw, etc. She adapted quickly and turned into a good little helper, not complaining when her lip was accidentally bloodied on a board; sticking around to hold wood as I sawed it instead of running away covering her ears against the noise.

    "It wasn't arts and crafts we were doing; we were BUILDING."

    Gamma, to her mother

The hedgehog thing has a hedgehog-sized opening, and a long narrow hallway to discourage other, larger predators such as cats and this thing called a Marder in German which I guess is like a cross between a weasel and a chupacabra. It also has a tarpaper roof and says, on the front, "Welcome to Hedgehog Hotel" and in smaller letters, "TV - Mini-Bar - Pool" and has a couple other cute features.
    "The opening is too large."

    My mother-in-law, when I showed her the birdhouse I'd made for her.

    The MIL is a bird expert. When I was a kid, we used to drive past this guy's yard, that was full of birdhouses. A hobby of his I guess. All sizes and styles, in all colors. It was neat, I thought. So here I am with a shop and a MIL who likes birds, so why not make a couple. I made one, the hole was too large. Luckily I had saved the piece I cut out. I drilled a smaller hole into that and glued it back in. Luckily the new hole turned out to be just the right size. She checked her bird books later and called and told me that the inside was supposed to be rough, to make it easier for the young birds to get back out. The wood I was using was smooth, so I added some interior steps covered with sawdust glued on to make them rough, so now the birds can get out.

    I'm not sure, though, whether the house is the right size. I think I have a book of plans somewhere.

    Anyway. I get a kick out of building stuff for animals, it seems. They're not so picky if you can't saw a straight line with your jigsaw and don't have a circular saw...

    Posted at June 7, 2004 07:30 AM
Comments

there are a lot of hedgehogs here. when i first came, i was a little disturbed by what i took to be extremely large rats running around at night, but they're actually city hedgehogs.
there are people who take care of them in the winter, when they hibernate. that would be fun for gamma, i bet. i can find more info on that if you want- aside from the fleas, it's supposed to be very heartwarming, in a 4-H way.

also: there's a beer here called JEZEK, too, which is not cute and flea-ridden, but instead a bit on the bitter side.

Posted by: anne at June 7, 2004 09:32 AM

We installed a couple late-fall stragglers in our cellar years ago. I enjoyed building them an educational habitat in the corner of the furnace room, with limbs and leaves and stuff, and two little leaf-filled A-frames for them to move into when they decided to hibernate. It had been a hot summer, you see, and the hedgehogs had had two batches of young, and the second batch was still too small to hibernate, at least these two were. They were fun to watch and made a huge stinking mess and finally went to sleep and we let them loose in the hills the day Gamma was born. It was fun, but I'd like to avoid it. Allegedly these houses I'm building for them are winter-proof and suitable for hibernation. We'll see if any move in.

City hedgehogs, I like that. "What you looking at? You talking to me?"

Posted by: mig at June 7, 2004 09:42 AM

I dose my coeterie of squirrels (what is the collective noun for squirrels, I wonder? a chitter? a fluff?) with organic citrus-y fresh flea repellent. The local pet stores stock special shampoos and flea/tick powder for ferrets, even though they are anima non grata here in California. I bet the hedgehogs wouldn't mind being doused with a little delouser.

Posted by: Jessica at June 7, 2004 05:43 PM

jessica- drey (or dray) which means nest, or scurry, apparently. i like scurry, although i might find myself unable to discuss your scurry of squirrels after a few fine single malt beverages.

hedgehogs come in an array. i love collective nouns, they prove that somebody out there has even more free time than i do.

Posted by: anne at June 8, 2004 06:30 AM

Do you replace the towels and toilettries every day or only on request?

Posted by: D at June 18, 2004 09:49 AM

IF the towels are on the floor, that means he wants them washed.

Posted by: mig at June 18, 2004 09:52 AM

HEdgehogs don't use toiletries, man. Not real hedgehogs.

Posted by: mig at June 18, 2004 09:53 AM
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