Thistle by the Thames

Finally got some sleep but woke up still feeling like a team of well motivated large individuals had spent a few hours trying to beat me to a pulp. The temptation was to hide on the sofa and not move very much but I'm desperate to make the most of this weather - I'm all too aware of how quickly this sunshine and heat is going to vanish and how interminable the dreaded cold and wet will be. I made an effort, loaded Jake into the car and went out for a walk between Long Wittenham and Dorchester.

I wasn't sure which picture to use today but eventually opted for this prickly Caledonian in a Thames meadow. Along the way Jake posed on the bridge where for decades the World Pooh Stick Championship has been held each summer. We ended up by the war time artillery pill box which sits in the Iron Age ditch and ramparts that once defended the nearby opidium from unfriendly neighbouring tribes and eventually (unsuccessfully) from the Romans.

As we walked along the bottom of the ditch Jake's hind legs collapsed under him and he started dragging them behind him. After several minutes rest he made it about half way back to the car before it happened again and after a further rest we made it back. It was heart breaking. I think his walking days are very nearly over.