Wednesday 27th August - All 25 seen

At 16:50 this afternoon, steers 35, 230, and 270, along with cows 214 and 234, were grazing near ///navy.cape.shave at the Royal Pavilion end of the site (outside the Nofence boundary). When heavy showers passed through, cow 214 and steer 230 joined me under the trees. Both were very friendly, enjoying plenty of strokes and rubs. All five were having a great time, making the most of the lush grass, low-hanging leaves, brambles, and even a few acorns. They were all happy, relaxed, and looking well.

By 17:35, steers 20, 30, 217, 219, and 220, together with cows 72 and 940, were resting among the bracken in the pasture near ///glee.note.genius. Youngster 228 was close by, happily grazing. Cow 72 got up for a long back rub, rewarding me with gentle head nudges. Encouragingly, youngster 219’s left eye was clear today, with no sign of the white spot. All eight appeared well, relaxed, and healthy.

At 18:00, steers 21, 33, 222, 227, 271, 227, and 1626, were grazing among the bracken on the hillside near ///picnic.tamed.last, beneath and east of the Lookout. They were all friendly, coming over to greet me. Youngster 222 made his way down to enjoy a relaxing neck rub before getting back to grazing. His wound continues to heal nicely—it looked clean, with no inflammation, and caused him no discomfort, even when brushed by gorse. The boys looked happy, relaxed, and in good condition.

Finally, at 18:40, I found the remaining six Sussex cattle near ///blockage.witless.satin. They had moved quickly along Longbottom from the area near the water tower. They stopped to forage for acorns under the nearby trees before moving to the trees southwest of Horse Pond to do the same. Despite the unusually early and abundant acorn crop this year, they seemed to be finding only a few. As acorns are poisonous to the cattle, this will need careful monitoring to ensure they aren’t eating them in large quantities or showing signs of ill health.

After a while, the group moved through the bracken to drink from the pond before crossing the path to graze on heather in the pasture to the south. In the setting sun, they looked content, healthy, and in excellent condition. I said my goodbyes at 19:15, leaving them peacefully grazing.

The cows were all good today.