It’s been a funny old month, here at Agents of Field HQ. On the final day of August, Ade came home from work early, in a lot of pain, and time suddenly seemed to slow. We didn’t notice September arrive.

Days, then weeks, ran into each other, and Ade didn’t improve. Every day it was the same: pain, sleepless nights, doctors’ appointments, pain killers. Nothing ever changed and nothing made him feel better. I felt helpless, of course, there was little I could do except get him to the doctor, make sure he was eating and drinking and taking all his pain relief (and it was practically a different drug on the hour, every hour), but nothing seemed to work. Three different doctors and a physiotherapist told us it was a trapped nerve, but could a trapped nerve really be that debilitating? Apparently so.

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Last Monday, Ade finally turned a corner. He’s still in a lot of pain, and he’s on so much medication, he’s completely spaced out most of the time, but he’s a little more mobile, thank goodness! Of course, he hasn’t been able to work for a month. He’s not the kind of person who can sit still, so this has been as intolerable for him as the trapped nerve! Right now, he’s limping around the kitchen garden, frustrated at the untidiness of it all. I tried my best to keep on top of it (the injury happened to coincide with a hot spell, so there was lots of watering and harvesting to be done), but what with work and looking after Ade and trying to take care of everything else at home, the garden side of things did slide.

And now, September is coming to an end and we didn’t even notice its arrival! But I’m happy to share that there has been one joyful counterpoint to this month’s woes: the discovery that we have hedgehogs!

I spotted one in the garden at the very end of August, so I rigged up my wildlife camera and started putting out food each night. When I finally got around to checking the film, I was thrilled; every night they’ve been coming around to feed.

Hedgehogs are in severe decline here in the UK and they need all the help we can give them. It only takes a few little adjustments to make your garden hedgehog-friendly, and they, in return, will happily rid you of garden pests, so everyone wins!

Check out the video to see our prickly pals in action, and for some handy tips to make your own garden a welcome refuge for hedgehogs.

It’s pleasing to know that while things at home have felt leaden and listless, at least the garden has been seeing some lively wildlife action!