Hello

The weather was awful again so we dropped David at Uni as he only had to be in for a few hours. So in our spare time we went to Simpsons Garden Centre to see the reindeer. I would have liked to have seen them in the Cairngorm but it was still interesting seeing them in their Paddock.
Did you know that their hair is hollow with small pockets that trap air making great insulation to keep them warm. The hair covers them from top to toe. They can warm the air as they breath through their nose, warming the air before it hits their lungs. Their big nose helps with this . Antlers are made of bone with both male and female having a pair with the males usually losing theirs in December. The three males at the garden centre still have their antlers and because they have been castrated will those them the same time as the females in the Spring. One called Balmoral, born in the Jubilee year, had a magnificent pair and another had the velvet still on them. Reindeer antlers grow from the tip whereas horns grow from the base.
They have 'clicky' ankles so that helps them keep track of each other in snow storms.

A wild and windy night out there and sounds like the weekend will be much the same.
Sorry for falling so far behind Again !