Temperature is -8, partly cloudy, bit of a wind.
This particular moon has been glorious throughout its cycle, and I'll be sad to see it go. This is apparently why- the average distance of the Moon is 384,000 km. However, it's an ellipse and the point closest to the Earth is 25,000 km closer than the average. And that's the case this month. So it looks bigger. Also the Earth and the Moon are closest to the Sun in January. So the surface of the Moon receives in January more light than in any other month. The result is one of the brightest Full Moons in years: 30 percent brighter than the dimmest full moon.
This morning I went for a snowshoe to the point and came back along the frozen river. Lots of fishing cabins farther out and lots and lots of fox tracks by the shore. Last year I saw a coyote mooching about out by the fishing cabins, haven't seen one this year. But there are lots of tracks. Met a great big deer this morning in the marsh near the Wild Wood. We usually see deer all the time but they've been elusive recently. I wondered if they might be mating but no, it seems they mate around November in this part of their range and the fawns are born in May.
If they are around I can usually smell them which is not unusual. They have several glands which allow them to deposit scent.Glands between the antlers and the eye are used to deposit scent on branches overhanging scrapes.This from Wikipedia- the tarsal glands are found on the upper inside of the middle joint on each hind leg. Scent is deposited from these glands when deer walk through and rub against vegetation. These scrapes are used by bucks as a sort of "sign-post" by which bucks know which other bucks are in the area, and to let does know that a buck is regularly passing through the area—for breeding purposes. The scent from the metatarsal glands, found on the outside of each hind leg, between the ankle and hooves, may be used as an alarm scent.
Throughout the year deer will rub-urinate, a process during which a deer squats while urinating so that urine will run down the insides of the deer's legs, over the tarsal glands, and onto the hair covering these glands. Bucks rub-urinate more frequently during the breeding season. Secretions from the tarsal gland mix with the urine and bacteria to produce a strong smelling (very!) odor. During the breeding season does release hormones and pheromones that tell bucks that a doe is in heat and able to breed. Bucks also rub trees and shrubs with their antlers and head during the breeding season, possibly transferring scent from the forehead glands to the tree, leaving a scent other deer can detect.
No wonder Rosie-the-dog goes mad with sniffing.
Here's more- sign-post marking (scrapes and rubs) are a very obvious way that white-tailed deer communicate. Although bucks do most of the marking, does visit these locations often. To make a rub, a buck will use its antlers to strip the bark off of small diameter trees, helping to mark his territory and polish his antlers. To mark areas they regularly pass through bucks will make scrapes. Often occurring in patterns known as scrape lines, scrapes are areas where a buck has used its front hooves to expose bare earth. They often rub-urinate into these scrapes, which are often found under twigs that have been marked with scent from the forehead glands.
So that's something to look for!
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