Thursday, April 30, 2015

Strawberry (Petite) Blonde

Cottage Garden


You might have noticed every time my garden appears in a picture that it's not in the best shape. There are all kind of reasons for that. a) I'm lazy. b) I plan on riping the back garden open someday to get the pipes for running water going all the way to my "atelier". c) I'm kind of very busy with a Cottage renovation.

Peut-être avez-vous remarqué que chaque fois que mon jardin apparaît dans les photos, il semble assez peu soigné. Il y a tout un tas de raisons pour expliquer cela. 1) Je suis fainéante. 2) Je prévois de créer un jour une tranchée dans le jardin de derrière pour amener l'eau courante dans mon "atelier", ce qui ne motive pas à faire des plantations.  3) Je suis très occupée pour l'instant par l'intérieur du Cottage.


Still, there's one little thing I already transformed. If you remember (and if you don't I totally forgive you), ages ago, I told you how the side garden used to be a dumpster for previous owners and I cleaned it and had a gardener come to put grass after it was cleaned. I also had a new wire fence installed between my garden and the  field.

Il y a cependant déjà eu une petite transformation dans mon jardin. Je vous avais dit un jour (et je vous pardonne tout à fait si vous ne vous en souvenez pas) que le fond de mon jardin avait été utilisé par le passé comme déchetterie par d'anciens propriétaires qui y jetaient tout et n'importe quoi. Après avoir passé plusieurs week-ends à nettoyer ce coin du jardin, j'ai demandé à un jardinier de ré-engazonner et de mettre un nouveau grillage de clôture.


I intended to do nothing else here as long as I had work to do inside Cottage. But can you see the tiny white wood fence at the far back of the garden? Well, it comes with a story or two even!

Je pensais ne rien faire d'autre dans le jardin tant que j'avais besoin de travailler à l'intérieur de Cottage. Mais voyez vous cette toute petite barrière blanche tout au fond du jardin ? Laissez-moi vous raconter l'histoire (ou les histoires) qui y sont liées.


When I decided to move to Brittany, I of course lost my permanent position in the school I was working in in the Paris suburbs. I couldn't find a permanent job in Brittany. I'm not going to bore you to death with complicated details, but finding a job as a teacher in France has nothing to do with how good you are at your job. Anyway, I'm a substitute now, which is better than not having a job.

Quand j'ai décidé de m'installer en Bretagne, j'ai dû quitter le poste fixe que j'avais en région parisienne. Je ne vais pas vous expliquer le système très compliqué pour avoir un poste de professeur en France, mais toujours est-il que je suis devenue remplaçante en arrivant au bord de la mer!


Two years ago, I was asked to substitute in a subject for which I'm not qualified. But it turned out it was something I had studied when I was young and I was more or less promised a permanent job the year after if I agreed to do it. So I spent long nights studying and getting lessons ready... only to learn in April that the permanent job was not going to happen!

Il y a deux ans, on m'a demandé d'effectuer un remplacement dans une matière qui n'est pas la mienne, mais que j'avais étudiée tout de même. Pour m'inciter à accepter, on m'a fait miroiter l'obtention d'un poste fixe l'année suivante. Alors, j'ai retroussé mes manches et j'ai passé de longues soirées à préparer ces nouveaux cours... pour apprendre en avril que le poste fixe ne serait pas pour moi !


I was so pissed that I needed to tear something apart! It would have been a shame to destroy my brand new shelf between the kitchen and the dining-room, wouldn't it? So I went in the garden to pull some weeds. There's nothing like anger to put me in a frenzy of work and before I knew it, I had pulled so many, I decided to keep going to create a little strawberry patch.

J'étais dans une rage folle et il fallait absolument que je détruise quelque chose pour me passer les nerfs. Quand même, balancer ma belle vaisselle par terre ou casser ma toute nouvelle étagère entre la cuisine et la salle-à-manger, cela me faisait mal au cœur... Du coup, j'ai arraché des mauvaises herbes dans le fond du jardin. J'étais tellement énervée que j'en ai enlevé suffisamment pour créer un coin pour des fraisiers.


It took several evenings after school. One of those evening, as I was getting back on my feet to come back inside, I noticed something weird in my brand new fence. It was a hedgehog that obviously thought it was slimmer than it really was and got stuck in the fence.

 Cela m'a pris tout de même plusieurs soirées après l'école. Un soir, alors que je me relevais pour rentrer à la maison, j'ai remarqué un truc bizarre dans ma clôture toute neuve. C'était un hérisson qui s'était cru plus mince qu'il n'était et était coincé dans le grillage.


I tried to push it, to pull it. Nothing worked. So I did what was needed... I cut my brand new fence to free the hedgehog. It was terrified at first and stayed in a ball for a while. It seemed exhausted, because as they are night animals, it must have been trapped there since the night before. So when it saw there was no danger, it just fell asleep. I stayed there to make sure no cat would awake it. Then it woke up and walked away.


J'ai essayé de le pousser, de le tirer. Rien à faire. Alors, j'ai opté pour la seule solution... J'ai sectionné mon grillage tout neuf et j'ai libéré le hérisson. Il était terrifié et est resté en boule un moment. Puis, comme il devait être épuisé car il avait dû passer la journée suspendu, il s'est endormi. Je suis restée pour le veiller et m'assurer qu'aucun chat ne venait le déranger. Enfin, il s'est réveillé et est parti.


Anyway, I finished clearing the future strawberry patch of weeds, painted a little wood fence in white and bought some strawberry plants. It was very rewarding because I had strawberries even the very first year.

First year/première année

Cette petite aventure terminée, j'ai fini les jours suivants de faire de la place pour mes fraisiers et j'ai peint une petite bordure en blanc. Franchement, c'est extrêmement agréable car dès la première année, j'avais des fraises.

Second year/deuxième année

I don't use any chemical so I have to share my strawberries with the slugs and the snails. I take it as a compliment that my strawberries taste delicious!


Je n'utilise aucun produit chimique, donc je partage mes fraises avec les limaces et les escargots. Je le prends comme une preuve que mes fraises sont délicieuses !


So if you don't see me as often as usual on blogland lately, it's because it's this time of the year when I need to weed the strawberry patch and then cover it with straw in order to have fruits come June and July.


Si je suis un peu absente des blogs ces derniers temps, c'est parce que c'est l'époque de l'année où je désherbe et paille mes fraisiers pour avoir des fruits en juin et juillet.

I look something like that, always with a cat - not pink, though - in my arms!

I promised myself this would be the only project I would do in the garden until Cottage was all elegant inside... But sometimes life has other plans for you!

Je me suis bien promis que c'était le seul projet que je ferais dans le jardin tant que Cottage ne serait pas tout beau à l'intérieur... Mais parfois la vie ne tient pas compte de mes décisions.

See you soon with news of the dining-room!

A bientôt, pour des nouvelles de la salle-à-manger!



PS: I'm sharing my stories with:

Ivy and Elephants         http://www.frenchcountrycottage.net/2015/04/feathered-nest-friday_30.html       <br><br><br><b>Join us every Friday...</b>                  
Photobucket                   Shabbilicious-Friday-logo-4002             Elizabeth and Co.                   

 Met Monday                                               


73 comments:

  1. Ah poor hedgehog! How kind of you to cut your new fence to save him. The strawberry patch is a lovely idea.

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  2. Poor old hedgehog. I hope he was truly grateful!
    I'm using non toxic slug repellent which is just a box of chippings put round each plant. The slugs won't crawl over them. It seems to be working.

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  3. So glad that you saved the sweet hedgehog! Hope you get lots of strawberries this year for all of your efforts. Home-grown strawberries taste so good. Most of the store-bought strawberries are nearly tasteless! xo Karen

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    1. I'm lucky enough to live in an area where we get lots of local grown strawberries, but mine taste better, of course ;)

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  4. Magali!

    This is one darling creature that we don't have here in our gardens, but I've noticed they are in abundance in Europe. What a lovely garden you have, full of promise, and STRAWBERRIES!

    Enjoy the beginning of what I hope is a marvelous summer! Anita

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  5. What a kind heart you have! Great photos of Mr. Hedgehog, so glad you could help him. Your garden looks very lush and green. There is nothing like the smell and taste of homegrown strawberries. Yours look beautiful!

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    1. I was amazed that the hedgehog was so tired that he allowed me to take close-up pictures, they are usually so shy!

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  6. P.S. That was a great use for your anger, too. :-))

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  7. J'adore l'histoire de ce pauvre petit hérisson que tu as réussi à sauver... et j'attends les premières fraises de 2015 avec impatience ! Bises

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  8. I understand wanting to complete the cottage first, as we are still working on ours. But fresh strawberries to enjoy for dessert is such a rewarding treat! I love your little hedgehog story. You were so kind to help it on it's way. And may I say how very much I enjoy your blog. It is good knowing someone else is working hard to realize their cottage dreams.
    xo,
    Lin

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  9. Awwww the poor little guy! What a blessing it was that you found him and were able to free him! My garden has always been a refuge for me, it kept me sane through a really bad marriage...

    Have a great day!

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  10. Wow! How many plants of straberries do you have to have so many strawberry fruit?AriadnefromGreece!

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  11. sorry about the job..nice job saving that little guy..sometimes ya gotta do what ya gotta do..now over the yrs that will remind you you saved a dear little guy..wonder if you'll be sharing berries with him now too..which i may say those strawberries look delish..i have a couple big veggie gardens..and a relaxing flower garden at my pond..this time of yr it's wonderful sitting out there with a cup/glass of anything and a magazine..that's a nice bench you have there..an what is that tree you've planted..i love seeing flowering trees around the neighborhood..

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  12. I think it's a perfect way to burn off some anger and you got some good berries out of the deal....so who wins now!! You and the slugs do. What a cute little critter you have rescued. We have them in pet shops but no wild ones here in western Canada.

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  13. Wow, great strawberry patch! I only grow a planter box of strawberry. But some plants have rotten and died during this rainy season, too wet!

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    1. Some of mine also died during winter, but others made baby plants that I cut from the mother plant and put somewhere else in the patch.

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  14. Strawberry Shortcake saves hedgehog! Mmmm teacher by day, animal saver by night ( after school )! Have a beautiful day in your strawberry fields, Kathleen in Az

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    1. It would have been bad luck to begin the strawberry field with the murder of a hedgehog, I think;)

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  15. Magali gardening is so very therapeutic, sometimes I really miss a big garden.You were so sweet to stay by the little hedgehog. Just shows what a lovely hearted lady you are. To that little creature you are it's Joan of Arc! Have a beautiful day. :) Jo

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  16. So sweet that you were able to free the little hedgehog! They are good for the garden, eating slugs and snails, and maybe the odd strawberry. I hope you get lots more strawberries this year, last year's look beautiful. xo Patty. ps. your garden looks lovely, we have been so busy with the house our yard is still an over grown mess!

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  17. C'est bien agréable un hérisson dans le jardin & en plus ça débarrasse de beaucoup de nuisibles.
    J'en ai eu un qui un jour est rentré chez moi & s'est planqué sous l'armoire de l'entrée & j'entendais les chiens pleurer devant l'armoire. Je me suis donc accroupie & ai vu la grosse boule. J'ai pris un balai pour l'extraire de dessous mais à chaque fois que j'arrivais à passer derrière lui, il déployait ses piquants & se bloquait encore plus sous le meuble. finalement comme on était porte ouverte jusqu'au coucher, il a dû partir quand il l'a souhaité.
    Par contre j'ai chaque année un "Barnabé" dans mon jardin, c'est le nom que je donne aux crapauds qui y squattent.
    je trouve que ton petit bout de pelouse est charmant.
    Pour moi, ni pelouse ni haie, ça donne beaucoup trop de travail.
    Bises & bon 1er Mai. Bises. Babette
    Caresses aux griffus.

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  18. I had to look up 'atelier' because I always thought it meant 'made to measure' or something like that.
    We found a hedgehog when we were children, adorable aren't they, lucky that you could save it and I'm afraid to say that my tenants had a strawberry patch that I pulled up when I moved back, but then I have only one flower bed and want to fill it with flowers. I bet they wouldn't have tasted as good as yours anyway.

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  19. Your garden is beautiful and from your frustration came the reward of strawberries!! I'm sorry about your job---you don't always get what you want; but you get what you need.

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  20. What a lovely place to sit and enjoy watching the strawberries grow. You need to keep the hedgehogs coming in to eat the slugs! xx

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  21. Strawberries are so scrumptious !

    All the best Jan

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  22. Last year, we bought a strawberry plant. It has pink flowers. This year, it sent off a shoot to make a new plant, and we are almost ready to harvest a, yes one, strawberry. There are several others that we will pick for an occasional treat. The plants are pretty, too.

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  23. Strawberries are worth getting outside for,have a great day Magali.

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    1. I've been working in the garden so long lately that a colleague asked me if I had foundation on my face last week! No, no, only a little tanned from all the work outside ;)

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  24. I want a hedgehog!!! So cute. I love your garden, I could definitely enjoy an afternoon there, enjoying the beautiful day and some good company. I have an ongoing war with snails. grrr. You can see me out most mornings plucking them from under leaves and destroying them.

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  25. He is so lucky you spotted him or he might not have survived!

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  26. What a little cutie that hedgehog is! I am so glad you found him and rescued him. So adorable! Those strawberries look delicious, and I think your garden looks really good! Have a great Friday and weekend.

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  27. Mmm, c'est tellement bon les fraises...
    Vraiment pas sympa pour le poste fixe, c'est le moins que l'on puisse dire. Je comprends que tu te sois énervée sur les mauvaises herbes !
    J'espère que le hérisson que tu as sauvé revient de temps en temps manger les limaces qui tournent autour de tes fraisiers ;-).
    Bonne journée. Nathalie

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  28. I enjoyed reading this post very much. I love animal rescues with happy endings. You strawberries are beautiful. I am an organic gardener too and the slugs and snails drive me crazy. This year I am trying epsom salt to keep them at bay.

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  29. I'm sorry to hear about the job thing Magali, at least your frustration made your productive in the garden right?! Sometimes things are not meant to be, and though it's cliche', 'when God closes a door, somewhere He opens a window'! Cheer up and enjoy those yummy strawberries!

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  30. les méthodes de gestion du personnel sont les mêmes partout à ce que je lis !!
    il a l'air déjà tout à fait présentable, ton jardin !!
    à bientôt

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  31. I do believe it's very good luck to save a hedgehog...so your strawberries should taste even sweeter!!! And for those pesky slugs...the last couple of years I have been using crushed eggshells (first save them up in fridge then lightly toast them to kill any bacteria) around my Variegated Iris's. I now have beautiful blooming plants, using them around the Monkshood this year!!! Happy May Day! Mickie

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  32. You did a good thing, saving that hedgehog! There's nothing like fresh strawberries...I'm afraid to grown them here because I think the squirrels and deer will eat them all. Sorry to hear about your job :( but I believe everything is for a reason, and something better will come along!

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  33. Pauvre ti' père, il a du avoir très peur et puis il devait être coincé là depuis un petit moment
    Mes parents disaient toujours que lorsqu'on avait un hérisson qui venait au jardin c'est qu'il y trouvait tranquillité et nourriture à foison, j'en ai vu un passer au jardin il y a un moment, je n'ai jamais su d'où il venait ni où il allait, je n'en ai pas revu depuis
    là j'espère les grenouilles pour mon bassin, l'année dernière j'avais des libellules, alors si cette année elles reviennent j'aurais de quoi les photographier ;-)
    Passe un joli week end
    bises

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    1. Pas de grenouilles par ici, mais beaucoup de crapauds ! Entre le bassin du voisin et l'étang pas loin, ils sont aux anges !

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  34. The poor creature, and so sweet of you to save him from certain death. The new fence went much like the new floor :( When you had to take it out. I love your strawberries! They are so big and grow so well there! Too bad we can't swap peaches and strawberries. xoxo Su

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  35. I think that this post may have been written especially for me. When I was young my favorite story was the one about a hedgehog who falls into a strawberry dish and they all stick to him. He is so humiliated. But it ends well when a friend comes and takes the strawberries off.
    A couple of years ago we had a hedgehog in the garden. I called a park ranger to come and get him (the city wants wild animals returned to the nature reserve) and the ranger asked if I knew how hedgehogs made love? Very carefully.
    Amalia
    xo

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  36. I loved this story! I was glued to every word of it, Magali, and finally, so many happy endings - the hefty hedgehog's freedom, the sweet strawberry harvest, and best of all, your cathartic creativity!

    Poppy

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  37. There is nothing more delicious than a freshly picked homegrown strawberry. I have heard that putting rosemary branches around your plants will keep the slugs away. It might be something you could try.

    That hedgehog is adorable. I'm glad he survived his ordeal. We have a raccoon living behind our house. He likes to snack out of our compost, and we don't mind sharing.

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  38. I think your garden is gorgeous!
    It's so good you were around for the hedgehog!
    I know slugs can be a hassle, but it's amazing you don't use chemicals. Fingers crossed for your strawberries!

    I hope you'll find the time to link up with us this week:
    http://milaslittlethings.com/2015/04/idea-box-thursday-link-party-8.html

    xx
    Mila

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  39. Your hedgehog story made me smile. Bless you for your kind heart. I like to think being kind to our fur and feathered neighbors makes us better humans.

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  40. Your strawberries are beautiful, Magali, and so is your lawn. So green. Love your bench. Mr. Hedgehog must be so grateful for your timely intervention. I'm glad you were able to see something productive come out of your anger vent (which by the way I totally understand.) xo ~ Nancy

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  41. Every cottage garden needs a wee strawberry bed - and yours comes with its own story - even better!

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  42. What could be better than a juicy red strawberry growing outside a white cottage? Can't believe how many you got your first year! So glad that you were able to rescue that cute hedgehog. I'm sure he loves you and your cottage!
    hugs,
    Jann

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  43. The sweetest little story about the trapped hedgehog! Your strawberries look delicious, I bet they would taste good in a Fraisier cake!

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    1. Hedgehogs are so cute, I had to help him... It was just difficult because of its spines!

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  44. il faut espérer que le petit hérisson reviendra... pour manger les limaces !! car les fraises sont superbes ! monique59

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  45. Oh I can so relate Magali !
    Anger is what has propelled almost all of the changes in this fixer upper we bought LOL !
    And instead of a hedgehog we have a groundhog..............( yours is way cuter )
    LOVED this post !
    xoxo

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  46. After a long, hard, winter here I can understand wanting to be out in my garden! Your strawberries look delicious! If the slugs like them they must be good! Anger is a great motivator...I wish I could half as much done as when I a angry. Never seen a hedgehog before...kind of cute. I'm so glad the hedgehog made it out OK with your help!

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  47. The hedgehog looks happy in that last photo. Thank you for saving him. We don't see slugs or snails here in central North US. The seem cute but I often hear how they are a pest. The strawberries looks so wonderful.

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  48. Ces fraises me donnent tant envie! Je sais qu’elles sont délicieuses et pas comme celles que l’on achète ici au super marché. Malgré tout j’ai fait des confitures de fraises l’été dernier et elles étaient bonnes.

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  49. So sorry about the job. That's just not right. So glad you helped the hedgehog and what beautiful strawberries. The rabbits get ours before they can get that big and we just have one tiny plant.

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  50. That was such a sweet story Magali. I enjoyed every word.

    If that's your idea of an unkempt garden, you need to cross the pond and come to my place!

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  51. Good idea to take your anger out by doing some hard, physical work! Your strawberries are beautiful. Oh, that poor hedgehog...I am so glad you found him and were able to help him get free, even if it meant cutting your fence. Thank you for saving that sweet creature!

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  52. Magali I really loved this post today. Glad to see your anger worked out and went to your advantage your strawberries look wonderful. So glad you could free the hedge hog poor little thing. Have a great week sorry about the job hope something better will come along for you soon.
    Kris

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  53. Oh my word that hedgehog is too funny! Your garden looks lovely!

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  54. What a stunning garden!!

    Thanks so much for stopping by!

    Hugs,
    Debbie

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  55. oh! j'adore les hérissons, ils me font penser aux histoires de Beatrix Potter, Madame Piquedru et les autres .L'année dernières nous avons eu une nichée dans la cabane sous le garage, c'était trop mignon !
    Travaille-bien dans ton joli jardin ,
    belle fin de semaine,
    bise,
    Marry Poppins

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    1. Oh, je n'ai jamais vu de bébé hérisson! Ce doit être adorable!

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  56. Trop bien ces fraises dans ton jardin ! Tu me donnes trop envie !! J'ai eu peur pour le hérisson, j'ai cru qu'il était mort au début de ton histoire !! Heureusement la fin est heureuse !! Travaille bien dans ton jardin !! bisous Magali. Mathilde

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    1. Il va falloir attendre encore un bon mois et demi pour que les fraises soient mûres... On est tout de même en Bretagne nord ;) Chez toi, elles doivent être prêtes avant!

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  57. Your strawberries look delicious. I have been picking strawberries from our garden that are beginning to ripen. How kind of you to free the hedgehog. I have never seen one before but I think I would be too afraid to do what you did.

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  58. J'adore les hérissons et je suis contente d'apprendre que celui-ci s'en est bien sorti!

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  59. I will be working in my little Strawberry patch this weekend. Spring is only arriving here in Eastern Canada.
    You have a nice place and garden. Greetings from Canada. Thelma

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    1. Have a nice day in your garden! I plan on weeding the raspberry bushes today ;)

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  60. What sweet little hedgehog and you freed for another day.
    I'm not so good at the gardening but my husband is.
    Yours is looking nice

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  61. I never would have know that was a hedgehog had I seen it in my garden! So glad you saved him. Your strawberries look wonderful. My strawberries were shared with the slugs as well. I had to go out at night and pick them out of the strawberry patch.

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