Saturday 29th November - All 25 seen

At 09:30 this morning, eleven cattle were sheltering from the rain and foraging for acorns in the woodland near ///taker.flags.spout, west of Farnborough Road. The seven Sussex cattle, along with steers 30, 35, 219, and 230, were all rather wet but still came over to say hello and enjoy some strokes. Youngster 219 especially appreciated having the rain brushed from his coat during a long back rub. By 09:55, youngster 228 and yearling 270 wandered along the path from the south to join them. All thirteen were happy, relaxed, and looking well.

At 10:15, older steer 21 was resting about 500 metres further along the path to the southwest, near ///wakes.seated.cling, after grazing in the nearby gorse bushes. He came over and stood beside me for a while before heading off to join the others.

By 10:30, youngsters 217 and 220 were foraging for acorns near ///float.bench.feasted on Hungry Hill, while older steer 33 munched on gorse on the opposite side of the path. Yearling 271 was also nearby but deep in the bushes and took some finding—though he soon came out when he spotted me, ready for plenty of attention.

At 10:55, the rain had eased, and the remaining seven cattle were either grazing in the thicket along the path or resting and drying out halfway between Hungry Hill and their favourite Sandy Hill corner. They were all very friendly, taking turns to come over, say hello, and enjoy plenty of strokes and rubs. They particularly enjoyed having their coats ruffled to help them dry more quickly. After about ten minutes, the four boys wandered along and joined them. All eleven were relaxed and in good condition, though looking a little sorry for themselves in the wet weather. I said my goodbyes at 11:30, after giving youngster 222 a long neck and back rub, and watched the group begin moving toward the corner.

As the rain had stopped, I returned at 11:45 to spend a bit more time with the first group, who were now relaxing near ///sober.quick.drip, east of the Sandy Bowl. Most were lying down, chewing their cud and drying out. Sussex steer 197 soon got up to enjoy a back scratch. I said my goodbyes at 12:30, leaving them all resting peacefully.

The cows were all good today.