Saturday 20th June - All 4 seen

At 14:45 this afternoon, the boys were gathered among the trees northeast of the duck pond near ///deny.gravy.blogs. Luckily, I still had my wellies in the car, so I was able to cross the swampy ground to check on them. They must have heard me approaching, as they soon wandered out to the edge of the trees to greet me. They were all very friendly, taking turns to say hello and enjoy the first of many strokes and rubs. Although it was a little cloudy and cooler today, they were still being bothered by large numbers of flies and other insects. Despite this, they all seemed comfortable, relaxed, and in good spirits.

After our initial greetings, the boys gathered around me and settled down to relax and chew their cud. They would regularly step forward for more attention, each enjoying long neck and back scratches. They also appreciated gentle face strokes and ear rubs, which helped keep the flies away from their eyes. The large horseflies landing on their backs were particularly unwelcome, and they regularly swished their tails to get rid of them.

By 15:40, youngsters 276 and 278 had wandered out into the duck pond to graze, while the other two stayed with me, happy to continue enjoying the attention. They were very affectionate, both offering gentle head rubs in return. Around 16:15, we wandered out to join the other two, who were still grazing, but they soon made their way over to say hello again. I said my goodbyes shortly before 16:30, leaving them all peacefully grazing in the sunshine.

I had only just made it back to the main path when I looked around and found that the boys were following me. They soon gathered around me again, eager for more attention while resting in the sunshine. I said my final goodbyes and slipped away shortly before 17:00, leaving them all resting contentedly beside the gate.

The cows were all good today.