Sunday 9th August - All 4 seen

At 16:25 this afternoon, steer 208 emerged from the side of the bushes just off the main path, by the pond at ///friends.amps.newest, to say hello. He was content to stand close by while I helped keep the many flies away from his face and eyes. Steer 207 was standing in the bushes behind him, but soon poked his head through to let me know he was there. Steer 200 and cow 201 then came wandering over to join us, with steer 207 soon emerging from the bushes. The four gathered around me in the shade, quietly resting and chewing their cud. All four were happy, relaxed, and looking well.

After a while, the cattle drifted into the pasture behind to graze in the warm sunshine, enjoying plenty of long grass and leaves from the surrounding bushes. They regularly returned for a break, though, often coming back to stand beside me and enjoy a little company. Steer 207 was particularly bothered by the flies, especially around his eyes, where they stubbornly remained despite my efforts to fan them away. Steer 200 was his usual friendly self, coming over for a long back scratch before leaning in for a relaxing neck rub. I regularly wiped the flies from his face as he enjoyed the attention.

I said my goodbyes at 17:15, leaving them all grazing peacefully. As I walked away, however, the boys followed me back to the main path and stood watching as I continued on my way.

While the cattle were grazing, I wandered over to check the pond, which still had some water, although the level was noticeably lower than when I checked last Sunday. Before leaving, I also walked over to the fire hydrant in the northwest corner, where there was still some additional water pooled for them to drink just inside the fence line.

The cattle were all good today.