Today was a lazy day. Doing not much of anything. Was still wearing pajama bottoms and a shirt when I let the heelers outside a little after noon. Had gotten the mother and little maskless heeler inside, and was waiting on the masked heeler when I noticed a neighbor walking up the walk from across the street.

Now, he has been living in the rental across the street for probably a half year or more, which gets him well above the average stay of any of their tenants in the past, oh, 12-15 years or so. But we have actually spoken only once, when he came over to ask a question on bird hunting.

He has a momentary look of panic, as the little maskless heeler comes tearing across the living room towards him at the front door, but she just blows past him without a glance to join her sister on her squirrel hunt in the snow (they tag teamed a tree rat yesterday, and caught it).

Today, our neighbor's been out rabbit hunting. And happened across a really nice mule deer buck, accompanied by a doe, who did not run away. Just stood and watched, as my neighbor drove past. Unusually calm behavior so soon after hunting season. In the canyons, about a mile off the county road.

Our country is still completely buried in the snow from Hallowe'en, which just started melting today. So, when he neared the county road on his way out, he cut the tracks of the two deer.

And spied blood in the tracks.

Season's been closed for nine days now. Unlikely one was injured by a hunter and is still walking around, bleeding. So either a) it was injured on the highway, or b) someone's been poaching.

So I call one of the local wardens. Yeah, it would be closer for me to head out there, but a) if it's an enforcement case, he's still gonna have to come out to find and collect evidence, and b) I'm still persona non grata on that ranch (a several years-old dispute regarding the fence built along said county road).

So I spend my afternoon cropping and posting pictures of some of my latest benchmark finds (still backlogged by over 30). And watching some tv with the wife.

And the phone rings.

The warden. He found the two deer, right where my neighbor said they would be. The buck and doe deer look just fine. Just not too eager to go running in all this snow. But the buck is definitely not going to leave the doe.

And he found the blood.

Lots and lots of blood. In itty-bitty droplets, literally all over the countryside. Always along sets of deer tracks, but some several days old. And almost certainly not all from these two deer.

So, his question?

"When they're in heat, do doe deer shed blood like dogs?"

Well, I'll be dog-goned.

A question I've never had before. And, come to think of it, one I don't really know the answer to.

But yeah, I guess they would. They're mammals, after all. Basically the same physiology. And a receptive doe's got to leave something behind as an attractant for any buck that may be wandering through the country. Expect it would be bloody menses, just like with bitches.

He describes the blood spots. Most dark brown, a few with red blood mixed in.

A little early for the rut, it seems, but that's what it's got to be. We just don't normally have this much snow on the ground this time of year, to let the spots show.

But for the mule deer does, menstrual season is here.