This is my second new post today.
The drawing of Santa and Mrs. Claus is below this post so just scroll down to see it.
THIS post has a new drawing of an actual reindeer named Sweetie.
Reindeer Elf training a Young Reindeer
Today we went to the Cache County Fairgrounds to see reindeer. The reindeer were from Rocky Mountain Reindeer Farm. We met Sweetie and were able to pet her. She is a young 18-month-old reindeer. She was absolutely beautiful. Her Elf Trainer named Alora, was amazingly knowledgeable and very good with our grandkids... so I drew her with Sweetie. .)
(By the way, Elves have magic that can make them the size of mortals when they are among us. So Alora LOOKED like she was a mortal, but I drew her in her natural Elf size)
Alora (who has a great Elf name), taught us so much about reindeer. I am listing some of the facts now but tomorrow I'll see if our son-in-law and daughter can remember more facts.
Reindeer legs and feet go to 33 degrees in the winter. This lets their core body temperature stay and 101 degrees Fahrenheit.
Reindeer females have antlers and shed them later than the males... so Santa's sleigh (if the reindeer have antlers on them at Christmas) must be pulled by all female reindeer. Male reindeer lose their antlers before Christmas.
Reindeer keep their magic in their antlers so if they lose one antler they can only fly in circles and are not allowed on Santa's team.
Reindeer and Elves have a rivalry but the Elves usually have the upper hand brecuase Elves have opposable thumbs.
Reindeer keeping their magic in their antlers is the other reason that only females can pull Santa's Sleigh.
Santa sometimes in his supersonic flight on Christmas Eve will stop at Reindeer farms at different places to give one of his regular reindeer a rest. Santa will then hitch up a local reindeer like Sweetie and she will fly with the team for a few minutes so that the regular reindeer gets a break.
Reindeer magic that allows them to fly works only in the night before Christmas.
Caribou is a North American term for wild reindeer. Everywhere else in the world wild reindeer are just called wild reindeer.
Wild reindeer (or caribou) have longer legs than domesticated reindeer.
Reindeer can pull heavy loads but they can NOT carry heavy loads.
Reindeer have very thick multiple layers of hollow fur that insulates them so well that even though their core body temperature is 101 degrees, they can lay in the snow and not melt the snow.
Reindeer have pads on their feet that constrict in the cold so that their hooves make a cup-like shape and this is great for swimming.
Reindeer can run up to 48 miles per hour for a short time but they can run all day at 10 miles per hour.
The song Up On The Housetop refers to the reindeer and says "Click! Click! Click!" and I always thought it was referring to the sounds of hoves on roof tiles. But when a reindeer walks its cloven hooves click together! THAT is the clicking sound the song is talking about.
Reindeer eat reindeer moss and grass. They can dig up to three feet into the snow to find grass to eat. They fatten up over the summer and burn fat in the winter.
NOTE: This new drawing is found, in printable form, by clicking on the button labeled 'Holiday." Then scroll down to the bottom of the list of Christmas drawings and you will see this drawing's title. Just click on the title and you will get the printable drawings.
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