Sunday 19th January - All 25 seen

Youngsters 227 and 230 were enjoying the long grass in the swampy area near ///shut.cabin.object at 08:40 this morning. Both were friendly, coming over to say hello and enjoying back rubs before returning to graze. The boys were happy, relaxed, and in excellent condition.

A mixed group of fifteen cattle was grazing across a wide area near ///logs.salt.audio at 08:55. They were enjoying plenty of gorse, heather, and leaves from the surrounding bushes. By 09:20, most of the group had gathered near ///mint.zebra.snacks, continuing to graze on heather. All fifteen looked happy and healthy, with several coming over to greet me. Steer 1640 didn't appear to be missing the other Sussexes too much. As I left at 09:45, youngsters 227 and 230 were making their way up to the pasture.

Older steer 33 was grazing in the gorse bushes near ///mops.clapper.washed at 09:55. Nearby, steers 210 and 1626, along with cows 940 and 1396, were deep in the gorse bushes to the northwest. The boys emerged briefly to say hello, making it easy to check them. All five were happy, relaxed, and in good health.

The final three—Sussex steers 197 and cows 211 and 212—were enjoying heather in the pasture to the northeast of James Bond Pond near ///bulbs.cuts.lame at 10:20. Cow 211 was especially friendly, thoroughly enjoying a long back rub as she grazed. She shifted her position several times to make sure all her itchy spots were scratched, then rewarded me with gentle head rubs and licks. By 10.35, the first group of five had wandered along to join the trio. After a short time, all eight disappeared into the gorse bushes on the far side of the path to the west.

Additionally, further to my January 7th blog post, I noticed that a couple of the Shetlands also have small bald patches on their hindquarters now. This was especially evident on youngster 228 today. Please let me know if you'd like me to share photos.

The cows were all good today.