• Tuesday-What'sUP December 20 - 07:32 pm

Not too long ago someone asked on the What'sUP page, if there was somewhere in the Keweenaw where you could see real reindeer. Today, Lisa and Charles Mills not only answer the question, but provide a couple of pictures too. That's their son Shawn standing with several lit up reindeer in the first shot and again in the second one with the 'real McCoy's', who are sporting some serious antlers. I wonder if Santa's team members are thinking that Shawn's headgear is pretty neat too? :->

Wow I guess I never new that there antlers grew that big and tall. That is just pretty neat to see. Also Nate sorry that your date was not in the cards this time. I hope thursday is the winning day now:) Well everyone have a great day. (morning babe hope your day goes great)

Good morning from Mishawaka IN. Boy are you guys lucky. You have real reindeer. They look so cute and so does Shawn. The reindeer by Shawn looks like he's muggin for the camera. By the way its 5° here this morning. Stay warm everyone.

Anybody know what the band/belt around the male(maybe?)reindeer's muzzle is? Do they hook a leash on to it? I don't think you'd pull a sleigh with the nose.

Hi all from cloudy Southwest Florida where a forecasted high of 67 today is considered a 'cold' winter day.

Recently while in Alaska I toured an area where they had a few reindeer. I learned some interesting facts about them I would like to share.

Reindeer and caribou are of the same species. Caribou are a bit larger. Reindeer were domesticated in Eurasia about 2,000 years ago.

Reindeer and caribou have unique hairs which trap air providing them with excellent insulation. These hairs also help keep them buoyant in the water. They are very strong swimmers and can move across wide rushing rivers and even the frozen ice of the Arctic Ocean!

Wow, those are some big reindeer! Brock, maybe we should plan a stop to see these big fellas on our trip up there this winter, eh? : ) Have a great day everyone!

Oh wow, check out Lisa and Charles' photo album. It looks like Shawn has a buddy for life, in Thunder his Great Dane.
Reminds me of a couple who lived along Lake Erie, who had a great dane, that would lay in driveway and watch the cars go by. Yes, of course, I had to stop each time she was out and get some pets in...because she was the sweetest thing.

NKR, You're having a heat wave. I'm coming over to grab some of that warmth...it's only 3 degrees here on the shores of Lake Michigan.
Hubby had fun last night trying to get his semi started in the cold. Usually when it's this cold he brings it home, so he can plug her in. But this weekend he took it to the shop for minor repairs...only to find it sitting in their lot last night, not plugged in. According to hubby, it took them two hours to get the engine to turn over...now that's cold.

strange trivia: I heard that in the arctic circle reindeer and caribou have extra blood vessels in their noses to combat the cold. This causes their noses to be red! Rudolph?

Also that some of the moss is hallucinagenic and if the people eat a lot of reindeer meat they may have mild hallucinations. Reindeer flying?

Just interesting ideas, true or not....

Maija, Another reindeer fact that I heard is that male reindeer lose thier antlers in the winter...and the females keep their antlers.

I think a couple of those little caribou would just enhance my herd of miniature horses!

Very nice pictures. I too have heard that the males lose their antlers in the winter and that it is the females who had them, hence it was an all female team pulling Santa's sleigh!

Debra J sounds like a perfect plan to me. Good time to test out the ol' sleds too I think.

All this reindeer talk is making me wish for Christmas even faster. On Dasher, on Dancer and the rest of the gang.

There is a nice article in this month's Natural History magazine
about reindeer in Siberia. One picture shows a 3,000 year-old
sculpture of reindeer looking as tho they are flying. The author
of the article said that when you are on a sledge being driven
byreindeer on one of those frozen Siberian rivers in the winter,
you feel as tho you are flying. So the notion that Santa Claus is
flown around the world on Xmas Eve by 12 reindeer (maybe 13 if
you include Rudolph?) has some basis in how a person really
feels when driven in a sledge or sleigh by reindeer. (A lot more
fun to think of reindeer right now than of poor old Lions or
Packers, eh?)

Lisa and Charles,

Thanks so much for sharing your photos and expierences with so many.

Jackie and Myslef (Marty Olgren), are the proud owners of Antler Acres and the reindeer. We have 1 male (Keenai) and 4 females (Alice, Olive, Mabeline, and Zoei.

Alice and Olive are from Canada, just north of Montana, while Mabeline and Zoei were born on our farm behind Kearsarge, and Keenai hails from Foster City, Michigan.

It is true that the male reindeer lose their antlers in mid December, actually the photo that you see of Keenai above is probably the last of him as he sports those beautiful antlers, since this photo he has dropped both sides and he looks kind of bald, he now is on the bottom of the social ladder, as the girls now are pushing him around.

The halter that you see around Keenai's nose is so we can connect a lead rope to him and walk him. We are training Keenai on how to pull our sled and he should be doing so in the near future.

Reindeer and Caribou are cousins, and reindeer are found in North America and Asia and Lapland.

Alice, Olive and Mabeline are bred and we should see calves from them in Late April or early May. Zoei was born on April 29 this year and is too young to be bred.

All are welcome to enjoy the reindeer.

Merry Christmas to All!

Marty and Jackie Olgren

Marty,
Was that you and Alice at Somero Farms a couple years ago, when they were selling Christmas trees?
Recently, I came across pictures of my youngest daughter and a reindeer that I think was named Alice.

Ok, On Keenai, on Alice, on Olive, on Mabeline and Zoei. I like being personal with that Christmas Present Stuff.

Well Brock, I think I have a few hours left before you win so I'm gonna go buy some Castroil and go give Hilarie a teaspoon full to ensure victory for me :)

(Actually I'm kidding on that :) ) And I'm really starting to wonder what you guys will want for dinner when you come up North.

Marc,

It sure was Alice. She is the one we take out on the road most of the time. Thanks for remembering. Hope the photos and memories are everlasting.

The reindeer bring out the child in all of us.

Marty,
Thanks for bringing her out there! The reindeer was a great treat, even for us big kids:)

My daughter still talks about it and wants to see them this year. I can't make it, as I am currently sailing somewhere between Viet Nam and Singapore on my way to Myanmar (Burma), but I think my wife might make the trip up to Antler Acres for a tree.

MArc,

Please have her let us know who she is... She will get a special tree.

Marty

Marty,

When I called home yesterday to see if my wife was heading up to Antler Acres, she informed me she's heading down under the bridge tomorrow to be with family for the holidays and can't make it up there:(

Nonetheless, we wish everyone at Antler Acres a safe and happy holidays, from Painesdale AND Singapore!!

I'm off for Pirate Watch,
Marc

Marc,

I have a good friend living in Singapore. He and his wife have a place in Eagle Harbor.
Email me at fbiguy@pasty.net and I will give you his email address... maybe you can connect with him.

Marty

Hey can you send me a email with info as to how to get there, phone number, and if you have trees and reefs this yr? thanks jtbess1969@charter.net

I especially like the tree with the Christmas Lights.