Sunday 8th September - All 25 seen

At 10:00 this morning, cows 72, 214, 234 and 940, along with steers 35 and 219, were grazing in the thicket near ///limes.desk.tiger at the Royal Pavilion end of the site. Cow 214 approached me straight away, happily accepting a back rub while relaxing. All six were looking well.

Steers 20, 222 and 271 were happily grazing near ///going.tidy.face at 10:30. Steer 20 still had some leaves stuck to his wound. Youngster 220 was eating leaves from the bushes to the southwest near ///forces.kite.brave. Steers 33 and 230 were nearby, enjoying fresh grass in the warm sunshine. All the boys were doing well.

The seven Sussex cattle were scattered across the pasture near ///count.royal.cabs at 10:55. Several of them came over to say hello and enjoyed receiving back rubs. They all appeared happy, relaxed and in good condition.

At 11:30, steers 21, 217, and 270 were standing and relaxing under the trees north of the covered reservoir. They slowly moved out along the track by the fence line, taking breaks every few meters to rest and chew their cud. I then left to search the surrounding area, including the thicket, for the other three steers. At 12:05, I found steer 30 eating leaves near the water sampling hut at ///pushes.hides.climate. He soon wandered south, enjoying the heather. Despite a thorough search, I couldn't find steers 227 and 228.

Frequent rumbles of thunder began around 12:30, adding some excitement to the day. All four steers followed me to the water treatment compound southwest of the reservoir and then into the pasture beyond. After saying goodbye to them about ten minutes later, I headed to higher ground to see if I could spot the two missing steers.

Determined to make sure the boys were okay, I went back to check on the other cows. By 13:00, the steers from the second group were in the trees west of Horse Pond, while the seven Sussex cattle were grazing in the heather to the north. At 13:20, I found the first group of six relaxing on the hill near ///bend.tins.stove. I was delighted to see that steers 227 and 228 were with them and both looked well. Despite the thunder getting closer, the cows were completely unfazed and appeared less bothered by it than I was. After giving steer 227 an ear rub, I said my goodbyes

The cows were all good today.