I was on the front steps saying bye to my wife who leaves a little earlier for work than I do when I noticed she was staring intently into our back yard, at a bush from underneath which was coming a sound like a chihuahua quacking like a duck.

Is that a duck? she asked.

I wondered if it might be the neighbor dog. But then my wife said, a hedgehog.

She is really good at spotting animals.

I walked over to the bush and the bark/quacking stopped. Also that whole corner of the yard stank like hedgehogs.

They have a unique odor.

The cloud of hedgehog odor was about 12’x12’x12′, and cloud-shaped.

I saw a hedgehog, then I saw a second one. Fair-sized adults. I figured they were fucking, because when they’re fighting they make a different sound, and don’t stink so much.

Time to clean out the hedgehog houses.