Sunday 4th October - All 3 seen

At 14:30 this afternoon, the boys were resting in the shade under the trees by the entrance gate at the corral. They were all looking very content as they relaxed and chewed their cud. They were happy to be approached and enjoyed plenty of strokes and rubs while resting. Despite being so comfortable, one by one they got to their feet, had a stretch, and wandered over to say hello, enjoying some neck scratches.

Afterwards, all three gathered around me to relax and chew their cud. They would take turns stepping forward for long back scratches. When not being fussed over, they would groom themselves or each other. By 15:15, youngster 282 settled back down to rest, with the other two joining him soon after. All three were happy, relaxed, and looking well.

As I was approaching the boys, I noticed a large quantity of sweet chestnuts lying on the ground beneath one of the trees. They had clearly been helping themselves to them. Whilst I appreciate that sweet chestnuts are not considered toxic to cattle, I couldn't help feeling that consuming them in such quantities was probably not ideal. Perhaps I was being a little overcautious given recent events, but I nevertheless collected a good number of them and moved them to the patch of grass northwest of the cattle grid. The boys watched on with curiosity, all getting to their feet as I wandered past them multiple times.

I said my goodbyes at 15:45, leaving the boys standing and chewing their cud peacefully at the corral. They all enjoyed some strokes before I wandered off to the south. As I neared the end of the path, I heard a chorus of moos behind me and looked round to see them following. They were clearly not ready for me to leave yet and wandered over for yet more strokes, greeting me with gentle head rubs. After a short while, we continued along the path towards the entrance by Hawley Hard, with them walking alongside me. After a final round of scratches, I bid them farewell at 16:00, with them wandering into the thicket near ///whisk.dreams.outsize to graze. The boys were all well and showed no signs of acorn poisoning.

The cattle were all good today.