The Creature in the Corner

The place: Living room.
The time: Early morning during quiet time.
What I heard: An animal scratching in the corner of the room.

Here in Musoma we live very close to nature. If you leave a house vacant for more than a few weeks you are liable to return and find that it has already begun to be taken over by nature.
Lizards falling on my head as I open curtains in the morning...not an unheard of occurrence. Even a bat has taken the liberty of flying around my head, inside the house (although, he would come to regret that liberty the next day).

So, on Friday morning as I was having my quiet time I didn't leap out of my chair in terror when I heard the distinct sound of an animal clawing around in the corner of the room. I serenely eyed the corner to ascertain the source of the sound. I was bracing myself for a mouse, or even worse, a rat. What I discovered was not what I expected, but maybe I should have expected it. It was a hedgehog and hedgehogs are all the rage!

There is a trend amongst the missionary community here in Musoma to have a hedgehog as a pet.  The school where Crystal teaches the missionary kids recently found a hedgehog in the yard and have adopted it as the class pet. This past weekend the hedgehog made its home with us. I'd forgotten that he was coming to stay with us, but he has been a most hospitable guest (and very low maintenance...which is how I like it).

It is fun having an animal around, but I am glad that it is only for the weekend because I am not the most attentive care-giver. It spends most of its time sleeping in its cage but has also ventured out and nearly escaped under some chairs.