Sunday 1st November - All 3 seen

At 14:20 this afternoon, the boys were resting beside the westerly set of tank pits, near ///stand.couriers.hawks. Youngsters 282 and 283 were lying under the cover of a tree, while youngster 278 was slightly more out in the open. All three were happy to be approached and enjoyed plenty of strokes and rubs while relaxing and chewing their cud. The boys were damp from grazing in the fog, which had persisted throughout the day. Although there was no rain, the air was so saturated with moisture that you could feel the fine droplets of fog on your skin while spending time with them.

They were all looking very comfortable, so I intended to leave them to rest peacefully. However, one by one, they gradually got to their feet and came over for more fuss. Before long, they had gathered around me and were taking turns to lean in for lengthy neck and back scratches. They clearly loved the attention, shifting positions to ensure I reached all their itchy spots before rewarding me with affectionate head rubs. All three were happy, relaxed and looking well.

By 15:10, they had set off to graze, gradually moving east towards the area behind the eastern set of tank pits. They took regular breaks from grazing to come back over for more attention. Youngster 278 loved having his neck and chin scratched, extending his neck right out to make sure I didn't miss a spot. Youngster 283 thoroughly enjoyed long back scratches, while youngster 282 just wanted to stand close and have the sides of his neck stroked.

I said my goodbyes just after 15:45, leaving the boys peacefully grazing on heather and leaves from silver birch trees near ///keen.sues.hook. While grazing, they had come across a large pile of spent bullets lying in the heather, which I collected. I was just approaching the ammo compound when I heard a loud noise behind me. Turning around, I found all three boys running after me! After putting the bullets through the ammo compound gate, they all enjoyed some final strokes, with youngster 283 lingering for extra back scratches. I bid them farewell at 16:00, as they headed southeast to graze some more.

Before leaving, I went to check the trough. Other than a couple of handfuls of leaves floating on the surface, it was still looking clean. I removed the leaves, leaving the trough clean and ready for the boys to use if they stopped by later.

The cattle were all good today.