Tuesday 21st July - All 25 seen

At 17:25 this afternoon, seventeen cattle, including Sussex steers 197 and 210 and cow 212, were resting on an area of long grass north of the water tower, near ///calm.sped.panthers. Most were relaxing and chewing their cud, with several enjoying a late-afternoon snooze. They were being plagued by flies, which were continually settling on their eyes and around their nostrils. They were clearly uncomfortable, often standing up to shift position. Even so, several wandered over to say hello, happily enjoying plenty of strokes and rubs before offering a gentle head rub in return. Despite the constant irritation from the flies, they were all looking well.

Older steers 21 and 35 were resting beneath the shade of the trees to the southeast, near ///burden.text.part. Although they were still being bothered by flies, there were noticeably fewer, and it was considerably cooler in the shade. The boys were both happy, relaxed, and in good condition.

At 18:45, the remaining six cattle were resting or grazing in the pasture north of James Bond Pond. Sussex cow 1396, along with steers 1626 and 1640, were resting in the bracken near ///litters.rating.warthog. Steer 219 and cow 211 were grazing to the northwest, while steer 230 was resting beneath the shade of the trees to the south. Youngsters 219 and 230 were especially friendly, both thoroughly enjoying long neck and back scratches while relaxing in the sunshine. Cow 211 soon wandered over to greet me, happily accepting plenty of strokes before lying down in the bracken to chew her cud. This group was also being bothered by large numbers of flies, although they appeared considerably more settled than the first group. I said my goodbyes at 19:20, leaving them all resting peacefully.

The cattle were all good today.

Note: For some unexplained reason, I've been unable to create a new blog post since last night, regardless of which device or browser I've used. I've found a workaround, but I wanted to mention it in case anyone else is experiencing the same issue.