Sunday 8th December - All 25 seen - the gate by the covered reservoir was lying wide open

Steers 20, 35, 217, 219, 222, 227, 230, and 270 were grazing in the pasture near ///noble.living.meals at 09:00 this morning. Despite the swampy and waterlogged terrain, the boys navigated it with ease. They were all very friendly, coming over to say hello while I checked on them. They were happy, relaxed, and looking well, even in the blustery conditions. By 09:30, most had made it to the western side of the pasture.

At 09:35, cows 214 and 234, along with steers 30 and 220, were munching on gorse near Horse Pond. Cow 214 was particularly friendly, wandering over to enjoy a back rub. Steers 30 and 220 were nestled deep in the gorse bushes, requiring some patience for them to emerge and be checked. All four were happy and healthy.

By 10:10, steers 33, 228, and 271, along with cows 72 and 940, were grazing on heather along the slope of Sandy Hill near ///kennels.primary.haunt. They were all looking really well.

As I made my way to find the others, I climbed up to the Lookout. The entire site was still windy and wet following yesterday’s storm, but conditions were especially harsh up there. Nearby, several portable toilets had been blown over.

Sussex steers 197, 210, and 1640, cows 211 and 1396, and older steer 21 were grazing in the pasture near ///gazes.splits.broker, close to the water treatment compound. I noticed the gate was lying wide open just as steer 21 approached it, but managed to close it before he could venture onto Gelvert. The group slowly moved to the thicket along both sides of the track near the compound, where they continued grazing. All were friendly and appeared happy and healthy.

At 11:05, Sussex cow 212 and steer 1626, were found grazing in the gorse bushes near ///soft.speaks.affirming. Cow 212 came out to greet me, but soon wandered around the nearby thicket, possibly looking for the others. She gave a gentle moo, prompting steer 1626 to join her. After a short time, they began following the path to the northeast, but soon stopped and mooed several times. Feeling sorry for them, I persuaded them to follow me to the corner near ///glee.meaty.recur by 11:25. From there, they could have climbed down toward the covered reservoir, but instead, they chose to go into the bushes and munch on gorse. As the rain grew heavier, I said my goodbyes.

The cows were all good today.