Since Black-tailed Bucks lose their antlers beginning in late December and through the winter, they need to regrow them in the spring. Adrian Adams got a very nice photo showing the new growth.
The antlers are covered in a membrane called velvet. The velvet nourishes the growing bones underneath it. I've read that if you could touch it, you would find it's hot!
Thanks to Adrian for allowing me to share his photo with you here.
It's been a lovely spring day today with temps in the mid sixties.
Black-tailed Deer do swim, and they are occasionally seen in the Gualala River. Paul Brewer recently photographed four Does wading in the river.
Perhaps they were thirsty! The Gualala River looks beautiful now. Look how blue that water is!
Thanks to Paul for allowing me to share his photos with you here. To see much more of Paul's nature photography, here is the link: http://www.capturingnatureswonders.com/
It is a lovely day here on the Mendonoma Coast. Gentle breezes, temps in the 70s and the fog has been pushed way back. We are in for a warming trend for the next four or five days.
Every year the Bucks lose their antlers and begin the process of growing them back again, a little bigger each time if their nutrition is good. Jim Hennessy photographed this handsome buck with his antlers in velvet.
Velvet is the membrane that nourishes the growing bones underneath. If you could touch it, you'd find it hot! Or so I've read.
Thanks to Jim for allowing me to share his photo with you here.
It was cloudy, warm and quite humid this morning. Then the fog rolled in for a spell. And this afternoon has turned sunny. A wait-five-minutes kind of day! Update: storm clouds flowed into the area and it rained overnight. We received .30 inches, so from the two small storms this week we got .65 inches of the blessed wet stuff.
Young Bucks can be seen practicing jousting. Michael Reinhart photographed such an occasion.
Pretty soon this fighting will be for real as the mating season of the Black-tailed Deer will soon be upon us.
Thanks to Michael for allowing me to share his photo with you here.
Fog in Point Arena, sunny in Gualala, hot when you get a little away from the immediate coast. No smoke - hooray! Something for everybody today.
It's comforting to witness the normalcy of Nature. In late spring, the male Black-tailed Deer begin sprouting new antlers. They are covered in velvet, a membrane that nourished the growing antlers. Cherle Clark had this handsome fellow pay her a visit recently.
Fawns continue to be born. John Batchelder photographed a newborn that was still wet! So very cute.
Thanks to Cheryl and John for allowing me to share their photos with you here.
Wow, we had a lightning and thunderstorm overnight! Lightning on the Northern California coast doesn't happen very often. We received a little rain too - .16 of an inch at our place in Anchor Bay. Not much, but always welcome.
Spring doesn't know...