Hello to all you wonderful hedgehog heroes ... yesterday we got to the point there we need just 15,000 more signatures to get to the million ... which means if just 1.5% of you get a friend to sign, we are there .... PLEASE - use today to spread the love a little further.

There is good reason to do this - while the Amendment put forward to the Environment Bill by the MP Chris Grayling - calling for better protection for hedgehogs - did not make it through, he has told us that moves are afoot to ensure the thing I want happens ... And the more weight we can add to this, the better.

You see this petition is just the first step ... I am a glutton for punishment! There is no point a developer claiming eco-points for putting in a hedgehog highway if all of the hedgehogs, and other life, has been exterminated in the process of construction. So I aim to use the desire of the developer to appear hedgehog friendly to 'encourage' them to act more sensitively as the land is cleared. 

Because until the hedgehog gets extra protection, there is no legal obligation on the part of developers to seek to remove them from the site.

So PLEASE - help me keep the pressure on ... just 15,000 more signatures!

In other news - I want to share with you a couple of interviews I have done with people in the USA - which coincidentally came out in the same week. 

Philip McCluskey is a writer and absurdity-enthusiast - he found me by accident, looking up something to do with porcupines, being introduced to the mis-named 'porcupine's dilemma' which lead him to Schopenhauer and my first book, which in the USA is called The Hedgehog's Dilemma ... and so he asked if I would like a chat!

He likes meeting people, often in a bar, with a drink, and then just chatting - he is deeply curious. So in covid-times he has taken that online and taken it international - and we 'met' and we chatted - and he published this post - which I love because it gives me an insight into what other people see when they meet me! Have a read - he is a great writer.

And possibly at the other end of some interview spectrum came Yale University ... they have a long-running podcast called 'When we talk about animals'. To be honest, I was quite intimidated when I saw the calibre of people they have interviewed before. Viveca and Jennifer had also done their homework, the questions were deep and thoughtful. If you have some time to spare, have a listen to it here.

I do not know who made this wonderful image - if any of you do, please let me know so I can at least credit them. But it is a useful reminder as we notice how amazingly busy our gardens have been at growing ... No Mow May was a brilliant idea - let meadows begin to reappear - but the urge to tidy up swiftly follows for some of us ... so IF we have to trim things down - PLEASE (again) consider hedgehogs (and other wildlife) as you set about the edges, in particular. As this hedgehog shows, they can be well camouflaged ... run a stick along a hedge line before attacking with a strimmer. You might just save a life.

Happy gardening!!