Postcard 1: Six decades of hedgehog love

As proof that memories and assumptions can be faulty, let me confess that I’d always believed my first encounter with a hedgehog was through Mom and her love of Beatrix Potter characters. We brought those tiny story books – just the right size for a toddler’s hands – home from the library every chance we got.

I was just four years old when I met a hedgehog by the name of Mrs. Tiggle-Winkle:

I received my own copy of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle, which I treasure to this day. Sixty-two years later, when I pulled the tiny volume from my bookshelf to read the inscription, I realized the book was a gift not from both parents, but just from Dad:

October 1962 was right around the time we moved from Connecticut to Massachusetts, from Milford to Pittsfield. (I wonder if my older brothers have any recollection of October ’62 gifts to help us all get excited about the relocation. My clearest recollection of that time is that we had finally added a backyard swingset, only to leave it behind.)

Postcard 2: Nary a chip

Several years later, my first piece of fine china waited for me under the Christmas tree: a tiny hedgehog holding an iron.

Somehow, with all the moves over the years, Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle has remained in one piece and chip-free, as has the Peter Rabbit Wedgwood bowl and cup sent to us following the arrival of our firstborn child.

Postcard 3: A Tiggy tile

Last summer as we planned the finishing touches for our new sunroom, Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle was again on my mind.

Remember the coffee corner, with Beatrix Potter character tiles?

She’s here, too, with Peter, Benjamin Bunny, Squirrel Nutkin, Mr. McGregor, and all the others.

There’s Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle, right by the “retro” microwave, which we added a few months later:

Postcard 4: Save the hedgehogs

Hopefully, you recognize one of the world’s top guitarists, Queen’s Brian May.

It turns out he has a soft spot in his heart for hedgehogs, which have become quite scarce in England.

Here’s a clip from a documentary about his efforts to care for sick and injured little hedgehogs:

Postcard 5: Full circle

After all these years of Mrs. Tiggle-Winkle in our house, we’ve added one more curly little critter.

Meet Harold the Hedgehog:

He’s a functioning watering can! Up by that boop-able snout are holes for the water to come out while gardening.

Since Dad’s name was Harold, this handmade fellow was irresistible. He’s a cute (and tiny-bit prickly) reminder of my gardener dad whom I miss so much.

---

To subscribe, please drop in your email address below and we’ll send a quick notice (and nothing more – promise!) with each new story.