What the Davies' do: 'Sonic the hedgehog says farewell.'

Super duper quick one today.  Instalment 3 of the 'What the Davies' do' series...

At the start of winter last year we took in a baby hedgehog.  Found on the road in the day by a friend of a friend who was out running.  We asked if they would like us to overwinter the baby in our home and to try and reintroduce her to the wild once spring arrived and she was a good weight to survive.

That was 4-5 months ago and since then 'Sonic' (named by my husband, but then we found out she was a girl and so changed to Sonique) has put on a ton of weight.  She has stayed well and as a nocturnal animal, only came out at night to enjoy her rspca guideline amount of meaty catfood and mealworms.  We've just left her be, apart from cleaning out the large cage we housed her in and changing her water dish daily.  Weighing her was kept as a quick and efficient affair - usually over in a couple of minutes, but always filled with plenty of ouches and other choice language.  FYI - hedgehog prickles are sharp - even through thick gardeners gloves!

So now we've hit the start of spring.  Those months have flown by.  And last weekend my husband (a gardener by trade) took Sonique to a nearby friend's garden where he has seen hedgehogs before when helping them tend to their lawn and shrubbery.

I took the opportunity the day before she left, while I was changing her bedding and water, to quickly snap a few images of her.  Like I said, up to now, she's been left well alone to stay as wild as possible.  So one day I'll be able to say, "Hey kids, remember that year we rescued a hedgehog?"  And we'll have the images to look back on too.

Thanks for reading peeps.

x Fleur x 

(PS - the trick to seeing better quality versions of the images is to click on them... Cheers loves!)

Treetops and skies - The part of Winter that I love...

Why don't I do this more often?

I walked one dusky winter afternoon with my family around our local park.  The kids had their scooters and my hubs was in charge of our dogs.  I was coming to the end of my 365 photo project, so obviously had my camera with me - eager to capture as much of our walk as I could...  As we meandered (term used loosely when navigating scootering children and inquisitive dogs around a duck filled lake...) along the paths, I noticed how beautiful the sky was looking.

I had to begin with been occupied with documenting the movements of my children.  But as they scootered further and more swiftly and the dogs keenly 'walked my husband' briskly on, I stopped. 

The sun was coming down quickly and the trees sparse branches looked black against the burnt orange and dusky blue.  On one side of me and my camera the clouds were whipped up and to the other the sky was a pale grey.  I marvelled at how amazing and varied the atmosphere above looked depending on where I chose to place my camera's framing.

Throughout the summer months these trees would be filled with leaves and the view would be quite different.   Where the sun was glowing, creating silhouettes of the pitch-like branches, would not be visible - only now in the midmost of winter could the sky look like this.

So I stayed.  And I shot.  And I am in love with the result.  I really should do this more often.

Thanks for looking ~ Fleur x

www.fleurlouisephotography.co.uk

Pumpkin patch... Told you we'd go again!

Took my family along to the same pumpkin PYO field that I blogged about last week from last year.

We had a ball again.  And it was fun to see how much my littles have grown, now being able to pick up their own pumpkin and my eldest could even wheel the barrow for herself too.

Now we just need to look forward to carving them!

Thanks for looking ~ Fleur 

www.fleurlouisephotography.co.uk

The Kelly family... An afternoon at Birkenhead Park

I had the pleasure of meeting the Kelly family a couple of weeks ago.  They were spending some quality time together at a Birkenhead Park, as many families do.   I joined them to capture their natural moments as they walked together; visiting the lake, feeding some squirrels and crossing the park's bridges.


Thanks for looking ~ Fleur

Visit my website for all information about my photography work: www.fleurlouisephotography.co.uk