Wednesday 30th September - All 25 seen - Cattle foraging for acorns in woodland southeast of James Bond Pond

At 16:10 this afternoon, steers 197 and 219 were foraging for acorns under the oak trees near ///cabbies.cake.tower, southeast of James Bond Pond. Despite my best efforts to move them on, they just circled back around to continue eating them. I did manage to move a load of acorns away from the area they were searching, but I didn't have anything with me to collect the remaining acorns and remove them from site. Cows 211 and 1396, along with steer 1640, were grazing in the thicket to the west of the path but unfortunately joined the boys as I was leaving. Cow 211 was very friendly, enjoying a long neck rub before thanking me with plenty of licks. All five were happy, relaxed, and looking well. Despite not all the cattle currently having collars, would it be worth setting up a temporary NoFence boundary so they can't graze there?

At 16:35, a mixed group of seventeen cattle were resting in the warm sunshine near ///curries.shame.reset, southwest of the Lookout. Most were lying down, relaxing and chewing their cud. Cow 212 was the first to stand up and come over to say hello before enjoying a long back scratch. When we were done, youngsters 222 and 228 both took turns wandering over for neck and back rubs. By 16:55, the entire group were on their feet, with older steer 33 leading them to James Bond Pond for drinks. There were a few stragglers who stopped to enjoy some heather or leaves from silver birch trees along the way, but eventually, they all gathered at the northeast corner of the pond to drink. It's surprising just how empty the pond remains, with the cattle having to wade quite a distance through the mud to get to the water's edge.

After resting in the sunshine for a while, the cattle began to drift off into the pasture to the north of the pond to graze. Many of the group lingered for extra back scratches before crossing the path to graze. Steers 20, 21, 33, 30, 35, 210, 217, 220, 222, 227, 228, 230, 270, 271, and 1626, along with cows 72 and 212, were all happy, relaxed, and looking well. I said my goodbyes at 17:50, just as steers 227 and 228 moved into the pasture to join the others.

Shortly before 18:00, cows 214, 234, and 940 were peacefully grazing along the sides of the main path near ///asterisk.umpires.public, east of the hill up to the Lookout. All three were very friendly, stopping to greet me before leaning in for plenty of strokes and rubs. They thoroughly enjoyed the attention, with cow 234 clearly unimpressed that I stopped to go and spend some time with the others. The girls were looking gorgeous in the setting sun. All three were happy, relaxed, and in good condition. I said my goodbyes at 18:25, leaving them grazing peacefully.

As I was leaving at 18:30, the first group of five cattle were spread out grazing on the hillside southeast of Horse Pond, near ///bead.hires.deflate. I had been keeping an eye on them, and they didn't spend too much more time in the woodland after I left them. They then moved northeast into the pasture to graze in the sunshine, slowly tracking east towards the pond.

The cattle were all good today.