We're feeding a few hedgehogs in our garden. One of them is Qwilly. He's got a bad left shoulder and is missing his right ear. We don't know what happened to him before but we check him on an irregular basis and he seems OK. His quills are shiny and he's quite heavy for his size. He's been out for food in the middle of the day a couple of times this summer, but we mostly see him in the evening. Our evenings are still very long. This action photo was taken around 22.00: Hosta "Empress Wu" is 120 cm tall, 250 cm wide, and the largest leaves are 40+ cm long. We feed her an entire bag of cow manure compost in spring, and add a bit of slow-release fertilizer in early summer. If we have long, dry spells we water her every day. I think this might be as big as she gets in our climate: Hosta "Gabriella" sported from H. "Stitch-in-Time" in our garden a few years ago. She starts out lime green, turn golden, and then light yellowish-white. She's a small Hosta and a slow grower. This year is the first year she's managed to put out blooms, and I think it's a beautiful bloom: One of the plants that seem to do OK in the cold summer weather is the Oenothera taraxacifolia, a monocarpic evening primrose. The name tells us that she's got dandelion-like leaves (dandelion = Taraxacum officinalis) so I'm very careful when I weed around where I spread the seeds from last year: I've minded a couple of horses while their owners were away on holiday. Unfortunately I didn't get to ride much. The conversation went like this: Farriers are busy people, and not always available when we need them. I was last week old when I realized there's a web page called "The Wichipedia" (see enclosed screenshot). It is now my favourite web page, and I will never forgive those who knew it existed and never told me about it. Some people call me a wich for some reason. Maybe because I like to use an old-fashioned broom for sweeping. Wish I knew how to fly it! Anyways, I need to get some new plants for the garden, just in case we have vampires around: Very good tips, don't you think? Well, that's it. I'm going to think positive and do some chores indoors today. It's dry outside right now but so cold my fingers go numb when I try to weed despite my wearing gloves. I probably owe housewife points since I dislike housework, so I'd best try and earn a lot today!
Thanks! She most certainly is. (Assuming you're talking about Hostas and not hedgehogs.) I lost my mind two years ago and bought Hosta "Wu-la-la", an "Empress Wu" offspring that's going to grow as big as her mother. My only defence is, she's part of our food security plan, since we can eat them. The bigger they are, the more food, right?
Yes I was talking about the Hostas. I did not know they were edible. I have 3 different kinds of Hostas. 2 of them are huge, they are on the north side of the house. I need to divide them, they are smooshed upp against the house, and 6 years old. I did get some "babies" from 2 of them (probably the wrong terminology) and I planted them in a pot to grow. They have flowered.
Your Hostas look very nice! We considered "Blue Mammoth". A friend grows it, and it's a lovely Hosta. But then somebody on here posted a photo of the Empress, and that was that.
Thanks. She's green, but she's massive and impressive. We need that, and the tiny, dainty ones, and everything in between, lol. If you check online you'll find recipes for Hostas. We had some sprouts this spring. They taste good, so we'll definitely eat more next year.
Qwilly came running (waddling) when I put out their cat food yesterday evening and told them breakfast was served. I'm very pleased that he's recognizing the food signal, haha. He doesn't run to me but heads for what we call his feeding station in between a few big Hostas. Guess he's extra hungry since the night temps are so low.
Is Quilly a pet or wild?? Are you able to touch him? Is he soft? I love the "waddling"!! I had to look up the difference between hedgehog and porcupine. He is quite pretty as well. That is really amazing!
He's a wild hedgehog. They are opportunistic and learn quickly where they can get some free food. They also get used to being around (but not too close to) humans if we talk to them while putting out food for them. Yes, I'm able to pick him up without him going all hissy. We do that to check for ticks, wounds, and to check weight. They hibernate so need a good layer of fat before winter.
