Wed 18th Feb - Staff check

20 seen well in scattered groups. 5 Sussexes without functioning collars weren't with them and weren't anywhere to be seen after searching 

Tuesday 17th February - All 25 seen

At 15:00, steer 20 and cow 940 were grazing near ///slam.scores.headers, southwest of the Bourley Road car park. Cow 940 was especially friendly, wading her way through the waterlogged ground to come and say hello and enjoy plenty of strokes and rubs. Three other steers were deeper in the gorse, so I left them undisturbed and planned to check on them again later.

By 15:25, cows 72, 214, and 234, along with steers 217, 222, 270, and 271, were spread out grazing among the gorse near ///savers.dimes.built, southwest of the Lookout. They paused to greet me as I made my way around, all happy to receive strokes. All seven were relaxed and in good condition.

At 15:40, cow 211 appeared at the Lookout and came straight over to say hello. She was very affectionate, enjoying a long neck and chin rub before offering gentle head rubs and licks in return. Shortly afterwards, cow 1396 and steers 210 and 1640 arrived from the path to the south and began grazing nearby. They were all content and looking well.

By 16:00, steers 21, 30, 33, 35, 220, and 228 were found browsing gorse near ///valued.kilts.deep, on the opposite side of the path from where the earlier group had been grazing. The boys were all relaxed and looking well. Youngster 228 particularly enjoyed a long back scratch while resting and chewing his cud.

At 16:15, the final three Sussex cattle arrived at the Lookout, having been grazing in the thicket to the south near ///scoots.harps.named. They soon came over to stand with me but were quite vocal, calling out to their herd mates who had moved towards the area where the group of seven had been grazing. I walked the trio along to rejoin the others.

Finally, at 16:35, I returned to the first group, who were now grazing among the heather and gorse on the hillside near ///frail.imparts.dream, north of the fenced-off area. Youngsters 219, 227, and 230 each took turns coming over to say hello, while steer 20 and cow 940 grazed close by. They were all happy and content. I said my goodbyes at 17:00, leaving them all peacefully grazing.

The cows were all good today.

Monday 16th February - All 25 seen

 Between 07:45 - 10:00

All have been seen in 3 groups this morning, first group of 13 were just south of the cowshed. All were well and eating a variety of leaves, gorse and heather.

The second group of 5 including Brie, Buzz and 219 were between the closed off area and the covered dome, like the first group they were all content scavenging for leaves gorse etc.

I then found all 7 Sussex’s on the path just south of James Bond pond. They were all stood still enjoying the sunshine.  

All the cattle were good this morning 

Sunday 15th February - All 25 seen

Shortly after 09:00 this morning, the group of six Sussex cattle were sheltering from heavy rain under the trees near ///inserting.blog.lost, approximately 400 metres northeast of James Bond Pond. They were peacefully foraging for acorns and browsing gorse. Despite being soaking wet, they were all very friendly, each coming over to greet me and enjoy plenty of strokes and rubs. It was great to see that they had returned to Caesar’s and were happy, relaxed, and in good condition.

By 10:20, the remaining nineteen cattle were spread out under the trees northeast of the water tower near ///parked.station.liner, also sheltering from the rain. Cow 234 was resting alone under the trees to the northwest, on the opposite side of the track, while youngster 230 had wandered slightly further northeast of the main group and was relaxing and chewing his cud. Most of the herd were resting, while a handful grazed contentedly among the gorse bushes.

They were all very friendly as I made my way around checking on them, with most happy to receive plenty of strokes. They also seemed to appreciate having the rainwater and loose gorse brushed from their backs and sides. After yesterday’s lovely weather, the cattle looked decidedly unimpressed by the return of the rain. Even so, they were all content, relaxed, and looking well.

As I said my goodbyes just after 11:30, the rain eased slightly and the cattle began to move north, staying close to the tree line and grazing as they went.

The cows were all good today.