29th October - An Autumn Walk, An Impromptu Trip to the Vets and An Evening Sitting Starstruck!

Yesterday started well, had a scary blip in the middle and ended on a superb note.

My Auntie had come to stay because it was half term for her, and we headed out for a walk, to enjoy the bright and sunny autumnal weather. We drove to Victory wood, which is one of our favourite dog walking places now. Not only is there plenty of space for Bracken to have a good run around - there are also fabulous views, stretching miles.

We made our way swiftly past the sheep, with Bracken safely on the lead (being a collie cross and not wanting him to try herding sheep for the first time) and made our way to the entrance of Ellenden wood. It had a doggy gate too, to save our pup trying to jump the style and inevitably hurting himself. There were a few trees down, illustrating the effects of, the ever so hyped up, St Jude's Storm. The wood has a lovely little stream running through it, which alongside the orange, ochre and yellow fallen leaves made for a wonderful woodland scene.

The blue sky peeping through the green leaves reminded us of the glorious weather!

We hopped over the stream and tried to make our way in the direction of where we thought the other entrance was... we weren't lost - just exploring!

There were a few fungi to be seen. Whilst admiring - Bracken thought it would make a tasty snack and ran off with a small chunk of one... we hoped and hoped he would spit it out - or it would be a harmless one!

Possibly an old dry specimen of Amethyst Deceiver (Laccaria amethystina)

Fly Agaric (Amanita muscaria)

We found a well trodden path through lovely beech tree woodland.

What seemed like an orange spiders web inside this hollow

We eventually found the bridleway which led us back to a point we recognised. We made our way up to the highest point of the walk and down the other side. Glancing back, it seemed like we hadn't walked that far, but after 2 hours of navigating through woodland with no paths we certainly felt like we'd walked miles.

We arrived back at the car - all bundled in and looked forward to a nice cup of coffee and some lunch.

Lunch was put on hold. Bracken appeared to be in some discomfort when we got home. He was pawing at his ears and face, and trying with all his might to scratch an invisible itch. After attempting to see what was causing the problem his muzzle and eyes started swelling. We immediately called the vets and they urged us to get him to them straight away. What had been a lovely day so far, quickly turned into a nightmare. Bracken dislikes the vets, but it was necessary. The vet thought he had probably been stung or bitten by something, rather than ingested a nasty, as that would have resulted in vomiting. We were relieved that his earlier possible fungi eating wasn't the cause. He was prescribed steroids for a couple of days and human piriton - obviously in the correct dose. You should never give pets human tablets unless a vet has prescribed them.

Anyway we got him home and the puffiness quickly went down and he had a snooze for the rest of the afternoon.

On a different and more exciting note... in the evening we took ourselves down to one of the schools in Canterbury, where the local rspb group were hosting a talk by the One and only Mike Dilger!

We were early (for once) and had a browse of the small photographic exhibition and other bits on show. Mum and I then found ourselves seats in the front row because mum had forgotten her glasses! Mike got a little held up due to traffic, but he greeted us with a cheery wave when he arrived.

In the first half he talked about how he got into nature, wildlife and consequently his path to TV fame. After the break he read some extracts from his new book 'My Garden and Other Animals' and answered any questions people had. He was enthusiastic, very funny and a joy to listen to! During the break we got a cup of tea and a piece of cake. Mum persuaded me to go and get a copy of his book  and have a chat. Now I'm not one to get excited about celebrities of the film and television world, but when it comes to wildlife TV presenters, it's another story all together! Not that I have ever spoken to a wildlife TV presenter before. Even Mike talked about being starstruck when sat next to David Attenborough - but then who wouldn't be! Anyway I chatted to him for a few minutes and I told him I save moths from the pub kitchen (relates to the title of one of the chapters of his book) and that I volunteer etc and he signed a lovely message in my book :)

I also gave Mike my blog address just in case he got time to look at it, so HI! if you are reading this Mike!!

I have started reading Mike's book and am already hooked. After 1 chapter I would already recommend it! Very down to earth and humorous!

Right I have gone on for long enough. Hope all my blogging friends are well and you enjoyed my post!!