Wednesday 1st October - All 25 seen

At 16:30 this afternoon, I met youngster 230 wandering along the path on the east side of Horse Pond. He came straight over for a long neck rub, then walked northeast with me until we reached steers 21, 30, 33, and 270, who were grazing near ///army.fuzzy.trucks at the eastern end of the site. Nearby, steers 20, 220, 227, 228, and 271, along with cows 214 and 234, were foraging for acorns about 270 metres further north near ///foal.begun.union. All twelve were happy, relaxed, and in good condition.

By 17:20, Sussex cows 211 and 212, with steers 210 and 1640, were foraging for acorns under the trees near ///frown.purely.await, southeast of James Bond Pond. They were very friendly, coming over for plenty of strokes. Cow 211 was especially affectionate, enjoying a neck rub and responding with gentle head rubs and licks. Older steer 35 was grazing about 100 metres to the northwest in the thicket, but soon emerged to give himself a good scratch against a tree branch. All five looked happy, relaxed, and well.

At 17:45, I was surprised to find youngster 222 grazing alone along the path near ///decorator.reset.shares, opposite the main entrance to the Gelvert Reserve. He was his usual affectionate self, greeting me with cuddles before enjoying neck, chin, and back rubs—wriggling about to make sure I reached all his itchy spots. At 18:05, Sussex steer 1626 came wandering along the path from the west, mooing as he approached. His head was covered in dust, which flew everywhere when I stroked him. I was delighted that youngster 222 now had some company, and said goodbye to them both soon after.

By 18:15 youngsters 217 and 219 were grazing near ///busy.noun.bibs, south of the smaller fishing lake on the Gelvert Reserve. Both were happy, relaxed, and in good condition. As I was leaving, steer 219 followed me towards the lake and called out a couple of times. I was fairly sure no other cattle were nearby, so I bid them farewell.

Finally, at 18:40, I found the last four cattle back on Caesar's, foraging for acorns under the trees near ///look.rails.tumblers, south of Bourley Road. Cows 72, 940, and 1396, together with steer 197, were all very friendly, pausing their search to come over for strokes. They were content, relaxed, and in good condition. I said my goodbyes shortly before 19:00 as it was getting dark.

The cows were all good today.