Tuesday 22nd September - All 25 seen

At 16:40 this afternoon, cow 214 was relaxing and chewing her cud among the bracken at the side of Sunny Hill Road, near ///list.since.dots. She was very friendly and enjoyed a back rub while resting. About ten minutes later, I made my way down to the grassy patch at the eastern end of the Sandy Bowl, where I was met by youngster 222. He greeted me with some affectionate head rubs before leaning in for a neck and back scratch. While standing with him, steers 33, 210, 270, 1626 and 1640, along with cow 1396, were all resting on the grass, with older steer 30 grazing in the thicket behind. After a while, I made my way over to check on them. Most had already got to their feet and were preparing to wander off to catch up with the rest of the group in the woodland to the south. Unfortunately, the unseasonably warm weather had brought out the flies, but the cattle didn't appear too bothered.

Around 17:20, I accompanied the group into the woodland, where steers 20, 21, 197, 230 and cows 211, 212, 234, and 940 were well spread out, enjoying plenty of gorse and leaves from the trees and bushes. They were all very friendly as I made my way around, happily accepting plenty of strokes and rubs. Cow 211 enjoyed a long neck rub and thanked me with plenty of licks, while youngster 230 enjoyed an extra long back scratch while resting under the shade of a tree. I said my goodbyes at 18:00, leaving them peacefully grazing in smaller groups, gradually making their way southwest through the woodland. All seventeen cattle were happy, relaxed, and looking well.

At 18:15, youngster 217 was munching on the grass just to the side of the cattle grid at the Beacon Hill Road entrance to the site. He paused to say hello before getting back to his dinner. He seems to be making a habit of wandering off on his own lately, but thankfully this evening he knew where the others were and, after a while, wandered over to rejoin them.

At 18:25, steers 219, 220, 227, 228, and 271, along with cow 72, were spread out browsing the gorse bushes along the sides of the path near ///curable.places.twitches, about 350 metres to the southeast. They all stopped to say hello and enjoyed plenty of fuss before getting back to their grazing. Older steer 35 was grazing alone among the thicket about 70 metres further southwest, near ///trend.dunes.noun.

By 18:55, the group had started to gather near ///grapes.suits.bowls, where they took a well-deserved break, with several coming over for more strokes and rubs. I said my goodbyes at 19:20 as darkness was falling, leaving them slowly moving north to continue their grazing. All eight were happy, relaxed, and in good condition.

The cattle were all good today.