Saturday 30th August - All 25 seen

At 08:50 this morning, Sussex cow 1396, along with steers 1626 and 1640, were grazing in the thicket near ///goad.eaten.feared, at the Royal Pavilion end of the site, outside the Nofence boundary. Nearby, steer 210 and cow 212 were happily munching on fresh grass in the sunshine. All were happy, relaxed, and looking well.

At 09:15, cows 214 and 234, were grazing outside the boundary to the east of the Sandy Bowl, while cows 72 and 940 grazed on one of the grassy islands. Cow 72 was especially friendly, wandering over for the longest neck and back rub. While I was with her, steers 21, 217, 222, 227, 270, and 271 all arrived one by one from the west. By 09:45, the group had started to settle down to chew their cud on one of the islands. Youngster 222 came over for another long neck rub, resting his head on my left shoulder, confirming his injury had fully healed. After some lovely head rubs, he joined the others to rest, and I said my goodbyes at 10:20.

By 10:25, youngster 220 was standing beneath trees near ///hired.noon.kinds, resting and chewing his cud. Nearby, older steers 30 and 33 were grazing in the thicket, all happy and in good condition. At 10:40, I found older steers 20 and 35 grazing much further south near ///handle.gallons.lots. They, too, were relaxed, content, and well.

When I returned to the Sandy Bowl shortly before 11:00, the four steers that had been grazing in the woodland to the south had joined the main group. Youngster 219 got up and came straight over to say hello and enjoyed a long back scratch. I stayed with the group until 11:50 when a heavy shower rolled in. While I sought shelter, they calmly sat through the rain.

A little later, on my way back to the Sussex cattle, I came across cow 211 grazing alone near ///stow.ties.clips. She was completely unbothered by the rain and, as it eased, came over to greet me. I brushed the water from her back, and she happily leaned in for a long neck rub. At 12:20, I said goodbye, leaving her peacefully grazing on the other side of the path.

The cows were all good today.