Saturday 11th July - All 4 seen

At 14:55 this afternoon, the boys were spread out grazing along the treeline, heading towards the water trough near ///officers.stack.diverged. Youngster 283 spotted me approaching and came over to greet me, eager for plenty of head and neck scratches. Before long, the others followed, each taking turns to say hello and enjoy some attention. They were all very friendly and thoroughly enjoyed long neck and back scratches, returning the affection with gentle head rubs and the occasional lick. The boys were in good spirits despite the continued hot weather, which unfortunately had brought out many flies.

After our initial greetings, the boys soon gathered around me, content to relax and chew their cud in the partial shade of the trees. They took turns stepping forward for more attention, particularly enjoying long back scratches. After a good while, they began to drift off to graze, although one always seemed happy to stay behind to keep me company. The boys split their time between grazing, grooming each other, play-fighting (which I had to ask them to calm down a couple of times), and coming back for more attention. They were all happy, relaxed, and looking well.

At 16:00, I wandered off to check the water trough, with the boys following closely behind. They stood at the edge of the woodland, watching intently, while I gave the trough a good clean and made sure it was full. I was hoping they would wander over for a drink so I could see whether their collars were still triggering while they drank, but they seemed perfectly content to remain where they were and chew their cud.

Afterwards, I went back over to spend some more time with them. Youngster 282 enjoyed a long neck scratch before going to lie down just outside the wooded area, still in the shade. The others also enjoyed a little more fuss before youngsters 278 and 283 lay down to rest as well, while youngster 276 was content to stand beside me and enjoy yet more head and neck scratches.

When I said my goodbyes at 16:30, the boys got up and followed me for a short while, but sensibly stopped and stayed in the shade.

The cows were all good today.