Sunday 21st September - All 25 seen

At 10:10 this morning, the seven Sussex cattle, along with steers 21, 30, 33, 219, 220, and 222, were gathered near ///rant.shields.marker, northeast of the covered reservoir. Before long, they drifted off in smaller groups to graze the surrounding area, enjoying fresh grass, heather, leaves from the bushes, and even a few mushrooms. Sussex cow 211 and steer 222 stayed behind a little longer, happily leaning in for long neck and back rubs before rejoining the others. Most of the group eventually ended up in the pasture beneath the hill to the south, after spending time grazing through the gorse and bracken. They were all very friendly, stepping out of cover to greet me and enjoy plenty of strokes and rubs as I made my way around.

By 11:20, youngsters 220 and 222 had wandered west to graze near ///slant.twins.paths, southwest of the reservoir. Sussex steer 210 had been with them but left to forage for acorns along the wire fence to the east of the reservoir. After checking on him, I returned to the higher ground and saw the three had regrouped and were making their way back to join the others. All thirteen were happy, relaxed, and looking well.

At 11:50, I found youngsters 217, 227, and 230, along with cow 214, grazing near ///aware.powers.rally, beside the path at the bottom of Hungry Hill. They were very friendly, each approaching one by one for plenty of back scratches. By noon, they had all crossed into the pasture to the west to continue grazing, and by 12:20, steer 230 had settled down to relax and chew his cud. All four were content, relaxed, and in good condition.

At 12:25, I spotted cow 72 grazing in the sunshine by the side of the path near ///visit.birds.shin. Older steer 35 was grazing in the pasture opposite, but soon came over to say hello. Both looked happy and healthy.

By 12:35, steers 20 and 271, together with cow 940, were resting and chewing their cud among the bracken near ///acute.trains.cost. Just to the east, the final three cattle were happily grazing in the thicket. I noticed cow 234 had a scratch on the left side of her neck, though it didn't seem to be bothering her as she carried on grazing. By 13:00, all six had moved into the woodland to the north and appeared to be heading off to join steer 35 and cow 72. Apart from cow 234's minor scratch, they were all happy, relaxed and in good condition.

The cows were all good today.