December 1, 2012 Rain, rain......go away.....

Bah, humbug....it's raining.  Grump...grump!  As though it does any good.  I DESPISE rain in the winter.  There goes a weeks worth of setting up a nice base on my ski trails.  Oh well.....it happens every winter, even though it isn't officially winter yet.  We have the snow and the weather that constitutes winter. 
On the plus side, I have been out hauling hot water into the large fountain/birdbath that the deer use to drink out of......trying to thaw it out so we can pick it off its base for the winter.  It went from 54 degrees to 2 degrees so fast that it froze solid and was a bit heavy to try and move.  That thing is heavy empty.  The deer are enjoying their drinks in it again today, while waiting for it to finish thawing.
The bird bath on the deck railing that the squirrel is drinking out of is heated.....so, no problem.  The squirrel and the birds love this one year around.  Recently, a starling came through, in their very speckled plumage they wear this time of year.....including having a dark beak!  I actually went and got my bird book out to see, that in fact, it was a starling.  It was having a wonderful time having a bath in that rather than just getting a drink.  I think I mentioned, one night, a young raccoon was sitting in it, also quite enjoying the warmth.  Now that there is snow, the raccoons seem to have moved on....or at least to warmer digs for the winter. 
A medium sized buck has come and settled in with the girls now too.  So, we have it and the little year and a half year old buck enjoying each others company and that of all the girls.  After breakfast yesterday, they both walked across the field and laid down where they could watch what was going on.
Another thing we find interesting is how the deer families stick together in "family units" as they continue to grow.  When you have been watching them closely, and know the individual deer, as long as we have, you see things many others never will.  When the does have their fawns in the spring, they kick the last years fawns out.  The little bucks go away and may or may not ever be seen again.  Since we always have a few spike bucks around in the fall, we assume they are some that were here the winter before.  But, a while after the does start moving their fawns around, they let the yearling doe fawns come back and hang out with them.  We have seen this with Shadow, of course.  But, some of the other does who have been regulars around here for a number of years also have their older daughters hanging out with them.  So, in some cases, we get some fairly good sized family units of deer.  Shadow's is currently her twins from this year and a daughter from each of the last two years.  Some of the other does have family units of three or four also.  Now, this is the first time Shadow has had a buck fawn....so, it will be interesting to see if he is pretty much gone for good next spring too.  I know Zoe's was.  She is here pretty much year around.....so, I had wondered about whether her little guy would leave, or not.  He did.  Of course, at that age most of the little bucks change a lot in looks.  That means, we aren't going to be able to tell who the little spike bucks belong to when they come back for winter time and winter treats. 
Well, the rain seems to be letting up a bit.  It is getting pretty foggy though.  I guess it is time for more hot water in the fountain and a walk for Toby.