Published: October 10, 2008 01:39 am            

Signs of nature’s times — in the deer woods

True to my incurable verbosity, I have added a line to an old saying. An apple a day, and a walk in the woods, keep the doctor away. Everyone needs a walk in the woods once in a while, and those who don't know this, and fail to do it, end up taking a lot of anti-acids and aspirin.

Our race lived in the wilds for millenniums and we don't do very well if we are away from the woods for long periods of time. This little known effect, which could be called Barham's Theory of Reinvigorational Relativity, is not yet widely taught in medical schools, but I am so certain of its validity, that I practice it faithfully. In fact I take care to spend enough time in the outback to acquire immunity from most ills of civilization. And right now, during the months of October and November, is a prime season for woods walking. Besides the colors of mature leaves, which shock us every fall with unbelievable beauty, there are many other things going on in the woods to interest us. A word of caution; learn if there are hunters in the woods you plan to walk. If so, walk somewhere else and wear hunter orange clothes. Never wear white, brown or other animal colors on fall walks.

           

Deer about

 

One thing which is starting its run is fall deer behavior, and the signs of it are all over the woods. We have an abundance of deer hereabouts, and non-hunters and others who don't get into the woods very much will find some interesting sights during woods walks. Trust me. There are more deer in our woods than we think, and almost any wooded area will produce the signs I mention here.

Besides seeing the actual deer, which you will do if you tiptoe quietly along, there is much more to charm the eye. Go it alone, or if your confidence needs bolstering ask a deer hunter to guide you. Importantly there are the tracks that deer leave where they walk. A certain feeling comes over everyone who has looked down at a deer track. I say the feeling is rooted in ancestral instincts.

Shallow tracks mean a lightweight animal; little tracks are made by the young; splayed tracks tell us the deer was running. Next are the rubs; saplings and trees where buck deer have rubbed the velvety skin from their antlers of the year. These stand out in autumn woods because the bark is rubbed away and light colored wood is exposed. Looking for rubs is like Easter egg hunting, only more fun.

The rubs are there, with their stories to tell, but it takes a little walking about in the woods to enjoy these revealing signs. Take a close look at rubs. Notice the size of the tree rubbed. Large bucks usually rub some large saplings or even trees maybe six inches in diameter. Small bucks usually rub sprouts, thumb size or smaller. Probe around on the rubbed area and notice the short, dark hairs which were dislodged from the buck's forehead and face. If the tree is rubbed on all sides, there may be tracks or scuffed leaves which trace the buck's path around the tree. Bigger, taller deer may scrape higher on the tree.



Fights and Scrapes

 

In coming weeks, as the rut begins, bucks will actually fight selected saplings. The scene will consist of many broken limbs, the bush often being totally mutilated. Soon after, the bucks will start making scrapes; pawed areas on the ground. Instinctual communications enter the picture here. Scrapes are meeting places where bucks request the presence of interested does. The buck marks his scrapes the only way he can, with his urine in the scrape and scent from facial glands on overhanging limbs from which he snips their tips and onto which he rubs his face.

Look above each scrape for the snipped limb ends. Scrapes also serve as territorial marks, warning other bucks to stay away or suffer the consequences, read sharp antlers to the rib cage. Bucks check their scrapes often for the scent of does or intruding rivals.

Follow natural pathways from the first scrape you find and you are likely to find another one and maybe another and perhaps half a dozen or more. Scrapes will become numerous as November matures toward winter.

For now, see if you can find a dozen rubs in an afternoon. The exercise and fresh air will cure what ails you. And you can wonder how many points were on that buck that rubbed the arm-sized cedar. Or you can picture the monster buck that broke the pine over and left hand sized tracks. You can see the torn bark, touch the broken limbs, smell the oozing resin and maybe even hear departing footfalls in dry leaves. And you will be all the better for it.

        

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