The Rise of Ratty, The Decline of Mrs Tiggywinkle

Two of the most bizarre beasties spotted were a porpoise in the River Ouse near Selby in North Yorkshire but being ever sceptical I do wonder whether this was spotted by a Theakston’s Old Peculier imbiber (a very well known English Ale to those of you not from the UK!) and, even more “Peculier” was the sighting of a large alligator snapping turtle (US native) which was found in the Earlswood Reservoir in Solihull   Quite why he’d want to go to Solihull I have no idea, but it’s thought that he may have been a “family pet” but became a little too large to handle!!!

And now on to Mrs Tiggywinkle.  She’s been snuffling around our gardens for centuries helping us veggie growers to ward off the evil slugs and snails which creep around unseen and unheard in the twilight zone but, due to our modern gardening fads she’s finding it difficult to find her way!

Due to the latest British fad for decking, patios, secure fencing and Mediterranean style gardens with stone or slate surfaces, Mrs T and her family are unable to get into many of our gardens and, if they do manage it, they can’t find food.  So, the next time you’re doing a garden make-over please consider the Tiggywinkle family!  Thankfully my driveway isn’t gated, and access from the drive into the back garden isn’t either.  I then have grass, and flower/vegetable beds so they can happily come in for a spot of slug and chips of an evening and they have no need to take the same route home – I’ve got a natural native British hedge at the bottom of the garden which was planted two or three years ago to replace a fence, and this leads into a meadow so my conscience is totally clear!  The only drawback in having one of just a handful of gardens in the locality which is a hedgehog haven is that I do have to dodge the hedgehog poo when I walk down the garden, but it’s a small price to pay!