Sunday 6th September – All 4 seen – Gentle reminder that the fence needs repairing by the fire hydrant sign

At 16:15 this afternoon, cow 201, along with steers 200 and 208, were grazing along the sides of the main path just beyond the bend after the straight by the racecourse, near ///sleepers.lighter.surreal. They were all very friendly, stopping to say hello and enjoying a few strokes. Like earlier in the week, cow 201's collar was showing as being in the thicket in the centre of the site. Steer 207 was grazing in the pasture to the south of the path about 50 metres further on, near ///inch.cashiers.mats. He spotted me approaching and came over to greet me, with the other three following and joining us soon after.

After our initial greetings, the cattle gathered around me and started to rest and chew their cud. They were all happy to be approached for their checks. Steer 200 enjoyed a neck scratch before positioning himself for a long back scratch, which he thoroughly enjoyed, shifting around to ensure I reached all his itchy spots. Steer 208 had been watching on with great interest, and after a while he wandered over to spend some time with me. It appeared he wanted to try a back scratch too, and I was only too happy to oblige. After initially being a bit unsure, he quickly relaxed and thoroughly enjoyed the attention. All four were happy, relaxed, and looking well.

At one point, I slipped away to check that there was still drinking water available in the pond, with the group watching on as I left. They seemed happy when I returned, with steer 200 coming over for another back scratch. The army must have been training in the area at some point, as there were a large number of spent bullets lying on the grass close to where the cattle were gathered. I gathered them up and removed them from the site.

After saying my goodbyes at 17:05, I set off north along the side of Brock's Hill to go and check the water by the fire hydrant sign. Behind me, I heard a chorus of moos and turned around to spot all four following me. I wandered back to say a final goodbye before setting off again. There was still plenty of drinking water available, both in the main pool and in the surrounding run-off areas. The broken strand of barbed wire was lying loose, stretched out on the inside of the fence line. Concerned that one of the cattle may stand on it, I repositioned it on the outside of the fence line. A gentle reminder that the fence still needs to be repaired.

The cattle were all good today.