Saturday 15th August - All 4 seen

Shortly before 15:00 this afternoon, the cattle were gathered around the water trough, having recently wandered down from the duck pond. As I approached, the boys were all standing to attention, watching closely. As soon as they recognised me, I was greeted with a full chorus of moos. They were all very friendly, taking turns to come over, say hello, and enjoy plenty of strokes and rubs. At one point, youngster 276 became a little too pushy in his bid for extra attention and needed to be gently told to calm down.

After our initial greetings, the boys soon gathered around me, content to stand and chew their cud. Although it was nice and cool beneath the shade of the trees, there were still plenty of flies about, so they were happy to have them gently brushed from their faces. One by one, they stepped forward for long neck and back scratches, clearly enjoying the attention. All four were happy, relaxed, and looking well.

By 15:40, it had clouded over, and the boys had drifted out into the pasture to the east, where they stood contentedly relaxing. They continued to wander over for more back scratches, shuffling back and forth so I could reach all their itchy spots. After youngster 282 enjoyed his, he lay down at my feet to rest, while the others continued standing nearby in a loose circle. It was lovely to spend some quiet, relaxing time with them today.

As I said my goodbyes at 16:30, all four had settled down to rest in the bushes near ///penned.nails.boast. As I walked away, they all got back to their feet and emerged from the bushes to watch me leave.

When I first arrived, the trough was only half full, so the boys had clearly already enjoyed some big, refreshing drinks. It was quickly filling up, though, and I gave it a good clean as it did so, removing leaves, pine needles, and even a few feathers from the surface.

The cattle were all good today.