Deer scrapes, rutting season

The good news is Joe went back to the lab, off to the doctor's office, explained the issue, and back to the lab where they took his blood for the PSA blood test. Again. He'll check every couple of hours for a result. So far, nothing.

UPDATE: the test results were good. Same numbers. Cancer injection Tuesday.

Remembrance Day is Monday. It is a federal statutory holiday, but provincial offices may or may not be open depending upon the municipality here in Ontario. I had a great chat with Jesse in Vancouver, and after a Panto rehearsal, they were going to the cottage for the long weekend. It is a provincial statutory holiday in British Columbia.

I get my COVID and Flu shots Monday. Joe has to wait until 2 weeks after his Lupron injection for his cancer treatment.

🦌It is rutting season. It's also deer hunting season, so the deer are a bit antsy. Hormones and fight or flight. 

The bucks make a 'scrape' and urinate on their glands to put out their boy smells. They nudge a tree branch above them, to spread out more scent. I don't know if it is meant to make the females happy or the other males jealous! I saw a pair copulate in the backyard one year. Of course I videotaped it! (Not for the squeamish!) 

I found two scrapes beside the frog pond. Joe found one on his walk down beside the shed. 

Funnily enough, this one is right in front of the trailcam. 

The videos were somewhat sketchy. The buck comes in and out of frame. He didn't get the memo.

He really worked the scrape!

   

 This was funny, as you can see flying debris as he scrapes it.

 

I took a screen capture, and you can see the antlers better.

Here is our buck last year. Their antlers grow the same pattern each year. They'll lose them in January/February, after rutting season is over, food is scarce, and testosterone diminishes.

Something to look forward to! He lost it right in front of me as I watched through the kitchen window.

I moved the trailcamera to get a better image of the action at the deer scrape. All I captured was coyote peeing on the deer scrape. 

Walkies & antlers

🦌 But first, I had an interesting question about how we distinguish one deer from another. 

• 
  Antler shapes make it easy, if it is a buck. The antlers grow in the same shape each year, although usually one point larger.
• The females are difficult to tell apart.
• Size of the critters.
• Some fawns are bigger than others. 
• The behaviour is the big clue. The 'kings' and 'princes' are the bosses, and bully the others. There is a pecking order. 
• Mammas hang out with their fawns, one doe has twins and we call them The Trio. 

In 2015 I found 5 antlers that year. 

457 grams

    I took Cinnamon for a walk Monday morning. Can you see him?! He led me along the deer path. Critters tend to follow the same path as it makes for easier walking. 

He wanted to go into the wetland, which wasn't so wet, except at the edges. It was quite solid in the middle!

I noticed deer tracks with soil in them. This is why. They all walk on the edge of the wetland, when they don't have to worry about the crunchy snow.

It was really tiring. I stuck to my old snowshoe track, which helped, and found a stick to use as a cane. Back to the house for a rest! The snow is blinding, and really treacherous walking.

I've been watching this tree trunk for months, maybe years.  It has a split in the trunk. The split has widened! I've been watching it, but so far so good.

The snow is so crusty. You can see the shine of the icy top in the sun. The sun, however, is such a treat! I had a client yesterday, and the car sat in the sun. It was quite warm when I got in to come home. We know we are on the way to warmer weather and spring.

You know how animals in rehab are given toys to stimulate their brain cells? I brought the heated cat house in. Cinnamon likes it best. 

We were up to 16 deer. The camera has a bit of a tilt. The sun is so nice!

dawn feeding time from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Does and bucks

Sunday there were more bucks with lost antlers! This is Prince William. He's probably lost this antler in the past 24 hours, and we won't be able to identify him. 

Joseph Brian was out feeding them. You can see them waiting and watching from down the hill. They each get a mouthful, not much in the grand scheme of things, but since we feed the birds...

Hurry up, man! 

This must be the last of the trailcam videos of bucks with antlers. 

buck cedar corridor 1 from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Sadly we've a buck with a dislocated ankle. We'll see how he does. At first I thought it was a doe, but Joseph Brian spotted antler buds. He could run, which is a good sign. We shall watch for him. 

doe dislocated ankle from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Maggie last about 9 years  (2011 - 2020) with a similar injury. We made sure she got her fair share of rations:

Maggie in 2020 from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Not a good Monday. I was feeling dizzy and nauseous, visited the loo frequently, and had chills. I cancelled my Tuesday afternoon client, JB cancelled his physio appointment. I went to bed and had a nap. JB has a persistent cough. What a pair! This morning I am better, but I'll take it easy. 

Deer shed hunt

 I haven't been lucky since 2015. I wasn't confident. I am grateful for 2015, when a crew of 5 bucks left me antlers. The largest weighs 457 grams. Isabelle said that it must be like a loose tooth, since they shake off, as if it is irritating them.

Richard skips by the trailcam.

Richard Deer from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

His antlers are most beautiful.

Richard deer Jan 14 from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

With great excitement, JB noticed that Richard Deer didn't have his antlers Tuesday morning, Jan. 24th. With a storm on the way (20 cm?), I knew I had limited time to find it.

With his antlers gone, the way we can tell it is him by his behaviour (bossy), and the scar of his hurt shoulder, which seems to have healed somewhat.

With a storm coming Wednesday, I knew I'd best get out and get going. 

I followed the deer tracks along the edge of the wetland. You can see it has melted at the edges. Not a good sign.

I found lots of places where the critters sheltered under snow-laden branches.

Circling around the shoreline, I approached the point. Can you see Clover, the doe (below, left)? They are greatly camouflaged in the forest. She is the dark spot, sitting in her deer bed. She and her fawn bedded there. I like finding deer beds, and tracking the critters. 

Ofttimes they dig the beds out some, you can see where their hind legs create an impression in the snow.

It's pretty wet on the wetland, as you can see. They sink into the slush.

Here, the coyotes scraped away the moss for some reason. Their tracks are everywhere.

In years past I'd be walking out here on our property. It just isn't frozen enough for safe passage. We get a break on our property taxes for keeping the wetland property as is, since it is provincially significant wetland, and for lot #3 we pay about $100 in taxes. It is such a beautiful habitat, how could we not protect it?

I kept on following the deer paths, looking for fresh ones from today. The deer tracks lead me here. I had to go around, as the branches blocked me. The deer just slip under and I have to be careful. Hooray for bright orange fungus, a wee spot of colour.

Finally, some evidence of blood. I found nothing else in an hour and a half. It came from a track that leads across the wetland to our island. There is no way I can trust the deer path. I led hubby astray in the spring one year, March, 2012! We both had soakers. The wetland isn't that deep, but who needs a soaker?! Last week, a 69-year-old drowned snowmobiling on Six Mile Lake near Georgian Bay. 

I kept going, and found nothing more. Clover and her fawn were the most excitement for the 90-minute trek. 

Home again, Cinnamon's tracks!

Twas good exercise!

showshoeing from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

I haven't gone snowshoeing in awhile. The wetland is too wet. The deer paths are lovely to follow. My massage therapist posted an opening due to a cancellation, and I took advantage. 

I rested that night. I really enjoyed the 3-part Stonehouse series that evening. It is based on a true story, and we were first horrified at the plot, but laughed and laughed. I was pretty sore, and not from laughing. The Brits sure can put on a show!

I have some shoveling to do today. I'll need some coffee, a hearty breakfast, and my snowblower! And it is still snowing.