Sounds like the title of a fairytale, right? *LOL*
Welcome to Paint Party Friday!
This post is about another tiny resident in my tiny garden. I was curious about who eats the dry cat food in the hedgehog house. I know it couldn't be a cat, as the entrance is way too small for our "regular" cats. So I put in another lid with cat food and put up the trail cam inside the house. And there it was. A shrew!
This summer a cat killed one and placed it on my terrace, but I'm glad there are survivors. Did you know, that shrews aren't rodents, but related to hedgehogs and moles? They are tiny predators eating insects, slugs and even young voles and keep them under control. So they are helpers in the garden. To see how tiny the shrew is, compare its size to the lid it sits on and to the size of the cat food pellets. The lid is about 15 cm x 10 cm. I'm pretty sure, the shrew lives in the deadwood and leaves pile, I built about a metre away in the hedgerow and it enjoys having a snack bar so close to home. *LOL*
For #wildoctoberart this week one of the prompts was "tiny". Perfect to do a little shrew sketch with pencils. It is clearly sniffing the wind for more snacks.
Have a great weekend and happy PPF! I hope I have more sketches for you next week.
Nice drawing and story, made me think of Shakespeare's 'Taming of the shrew'. Valerie
AntwortenLöschenHi Kokopelli :) Your shrew sketch is very sweet, nice to hear he has a little food and he's helping in the garden!!
AntwortenLöschenWow, wieder so eine tolle Zeichnung!
AntwortenLöschenLg aus Wien
Very nice drawing and I never knew that about shrews. Fascinating! Have a lovely Friday and happy PPF!
AntwortenLöschenVery nice drawing. You have a talent for position and shape. Very well done. We don't have shrews here but we did in AK. Strange little creatures. LOL
AntwortenLöschenOh, a tiny shrew in the hedgehog-house! Well, this dan happen any time ;O)
AntwortenLöschenYour drawing is fantstic!
Happy weekend to you,
hugs, Claudia xo
Very cute!
AntwortenLöschenYour sketch is really interesting — captures the little animal. I don’t think we have them here in Michigan, though we do have some of the relatives, especially those pesky. moles!
AntwortenLöschenbe well... mae at maefood.blogspot.com
wonderful drawing of the shrew. Happy PPF!
AntwortenLöschenLovely sketch and thanks for the info
AntwortenLöschenHappy PPF
much❤love
Lovely drawing and no I didn't know that about the shrews.
AntwortenLöschenNice sketch! Are a shrew and rat the same? or similar?
AntwortenLöschenThank you! No, rats and shrews aren't the same, not even in the same family. Rats are rodents, are about 20 cm long and are considered a pest, in cities and in agriculture. If you have rats, you should call pest control, as they can spread diseases. Shrews are much smaller, like 4-6 cm. Some of them are endangered. They are not considered a pest, as they eat only insects, young voles, snails and so on. They don't go for people's food like mice or rats do. They are related to moles and hedgehogs.
LöschenLovely mouse drawing.
AntwortenLöschenHappy weekend xx
Ach wie süss die Spitzmaus und auch noch so ein nützliches Gartentier. Eine tolle Geschichte von ihr und war spannend!
AntwortenLöschenDie Zeichnung ist grossartig!
Schönes Wochenende wünsche ich dir!
Lieben Gruss Elke
Such a cute sketch!
AntwortenLöschenYou did a wonderful job with this!
AntwortenLöschen