Sunday 28th September - All 25 seen

At 10:15 this morning, steers 30, 35, and 217 were grazing in the pasture near ///cries.piled.trifle. Nearby, steers 20, 222, and 230 were lying down, relaxing and chewing their cud, while youngster 220 rested in the heather on the opposite side of the path. Before long, the three grazing steers also lay down, and youngster 227 also joined them after finishing grazing further east. Youngster 222 was especially affectionate, enjoying plenty of strokes and rubs while lying down. When I prepared to leave, he got up and wandered over, giving me gentle head rubs before leaning in for a long neck and chin rub. Around 10:45, youngster 228 arrived from the direction of Horse Pond, mooing loudly to announce himself, before lying down alone on the far side of the path. All nine looked happy, relaxed, and in good condition.

By 10:55, cows 72, 214, 234, and 940, together with steers 270 and 271, were lying down near ///define.linen.call, resting and chewing their cud. Older steer 33 was grazing in a gorse bush to the west. About five minutes later, the rain started, and the group got up and wandered north to the trees and bushes along the main path for shelter. They all stopped to greet me as they passed, enjoying strokes and rubs. While foraging for acorns, cows 72 and 214 and yearling 271 each came over again, happy accepting back rubs while resting. All seven were content, relaxed, and well.

At 11:30, steer 21 was foraging for acorns under the trees near ///range.heckler.dirt, southwest of Horse Pond. Sussex steers 197 and 210 were further west near ///sand.hike.slopes, while youngster 219 and the five other Sussex cattle sheltered from the steady rain in between at ///dwarf.home.drizzly. The two steers soon joined the group, though cow 211 eventually wandered off alone to graze up the slope of Sandy Hill. The others remained friendly, happy to stand and be fussed over while taking a break from their acorn hunting. I said my goodbyes at 12:25. All nine were happy, relaxed, and looking well. On my way back, I noticed steer 21 had moved further east and was now under the trees near ///bulb.fills.resettle.

At 12:40, as I was leaving, I spotted cow 234 alone near ///lately.scrub.reminds, sheltering from the rain. She wandered over to greet and, although rather wet, seemed content to simply stand close and groom herself. Checking the map, I saw more cattle grazing further southwest along the main path, so at 12:55, once the rain eased, I walked her along to join them. By good fortune, cow 214 and steer 227 were among the group grazing near ///dummy.lines.plot and came out to the path to meet her.

The cows were all good today.