At this time of year the entire herd is free ranging over two sites. Here on Cairngorm we have most of our adult females and calves and we keep an eye on them usually every second day. In the winter we also lease more winter grazing at our second site where all the adult males are, plus a few cows and some of our bigger male calves with their mums. Tilly monitors the goings on there every couple of days, but we go and give her a helping hand whenever she needs. It’s always a joy to catch up with the reindeer there, especially when the weather is this good! Andi went over to help check all the temperatures last weekend and she took some photos which I thought I’d stick in a blog! Otherwise our social media is mostly made up of the cows at this time of year… so here’s a good mix of the reindeer Tilly has this winter!
Jelly looking great and enjoying a peacful winter!Frost will be 7 years old in the spring! He’s a very reliable ‘Christmas reindeer’ and was out and about at events on weekends throughout November and December. He’s now having a well-earned rest and enjoying free roaming in the hills.Kernel was a breeding bull during last year’s rut where we would certainly not want to be this close to him! But now his testosterone levels have dropped he’s back to his usual freindly self. Phew!Magnum with the white patchy face had his first Christmas season as an adult last year – he’s also now enoying a well-deserved break. Limpopo next to him is one of the darkest reindeer in the herd and is a yearling bull.Mr Whippy standing out like a sore thumb when there’s no snow!Adzuki with his head down grazing and Christie looking into the camera, beautiful as ever. Turtle and her nephew Elbe enjoying the easy grazing.The size of Sherlock’s new antlers are ridiculous already! Usually the males don’t grow antlers until closer to the spring but Sherlock is in such good condition he started growing them in December!What a beautiful day to be out in the hills! Haricot closest to the camera!2 year old Iskrem having recently cast is antlers. Closest to the camera is Earl Grey. He’s one of three male calves at our second site along with their mums. They’re the 3 biggest calves of the year and are already starting to think they’re big bulls!
December has been another mixed month for me in terms of work with time at home on the hills, and out and about on tour! Here at home, I’ve been on the hill working with the herd, taking lots of people up to meet the reindeer on Hill Trips, and helping to keep the office afloat at this incredibly busy time of year. I’ve also been on road again with Christmas teams doing parades and events in Strathaven, Dunkeld, Fife, and very locally in Carrbridge amongst other places. Once again, the reindeer were super and made me incredibly proud.
The Paddocks has also been open – hoorah! We’re still not allowed in the building, and it’s all quite basic at the moment, but at least we have had beautiful reindeer on display, and we have even been visited by Santa. Here’s just a few photos from December for you all.
4th of December: Earl Grey is one of the biggest calves of 2024. What a chunky boy, and a complete poser!4th of December: Cuppa and his funky “eyebrows” making him look super serious all the time.5th of December: The mallards often steal the show on a Hill Trip!6th of December: The team enjoying their lichen after a Christmas parade to the Benarty Centre, Fife.7th of December: Cowboy ready to pull the sleigh in Dunkeld. This is his first season as a sleigh puller and he’s an old pro already!8th of December: Chai was so relaxed behind the sleigh whilst waiting for Santa to arrive she laid down! 11th of December: A funny face from Mangetout!12th of December: Dad Ärta and his son Earl Grey, with matching white noses!13th of December: Scully is in great condition just now after having a year off motherhood, hopefully she may now be in calf. Fingers crossed for the spring. 14th of December: Latte at Landmark Forest Adventure Park in Carrbridge. Completely unfazed about the giant T-rex looming over the pen!15th of December: Christie and Morven. 15th of December: Maisie is a local lass who’s been working with us on weekends and during her school holidays, here she is with two “hats”, Beanie and Trilby!15th of December: Some of the lovely dogs posing by the fire in the shop, Fraoch, Elsie, Ginger, and Tiree! 18th of December: Scully, Christie, and Torch posing beautifully! There’s even a wee rainbow if you look super close. 20th of December: Irish being cute!20th of December: Mocha and her mum Vienna. Vienna has recently lost an antler this week.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all our blog readers, we really do appreciate your support and hope to entertain you every Friday of 2025 too!
November has been a very mixed month for me in terms of work! Here at home I’ve been on the hill working with the herd, taking lots of people up to meet the reindeer on Hill Trips, and spending most afternoons sleigh training or working though the gazillions of adoptions that are coming in ahead of Christmas. I’ve also been on road with Christmas teams doing parades in Dumfries and as far south as Wilmslow. The reindeer were super and made me incredibly proud. Biggest shout out to Akubra who pulled the sleigh like an old pro in his first public events!
31st of October: I had to cheat a little as turns out I was rubbish at taking photos during the first week of November so here’s Feta and her calf Earl Grey from the last day of October!31st of October: Another one from October for good measure – here’s Helsinki and her son Irish!7th of November: Juniper! The only ‘polled’ reindeer in our herd (meaning she doesn’t grow antlers).7th of November: Vanilla looking beautiful. One of three pure white reindeer in the herd.8th of November: If there’s a white bag on the hill, Beanie is never too far away!9th of November: Mel and I took this handsome bunch to a primary school for the day. They did a super job. In the team was Dr Seuss, Clouseau, Akubra, Magnum, Espresso and Irish.12th of November: Lisette feeding a lovely bunch of free rangers. 16th of November: Dr Seuss back on tour! Here he is gently resting his chin on the sleigh before a parade. Clearly trying to impress the crowds as he is usually known for causing mild havoc by wrecking our decorations!17th of November: The boys resting in Dunfermline with Magnum at the front. They were back on the hill in the evening.19th of November: Akubra back on the hill after a weekend away! He was a total star and pulled the sleigh in two parades.19th of November: Feeding the calves out of the bags. Earl Grey on the left and Pukka on the right both with a foot in the air!20th of November: Adzuki looking very smart in the snow!21st of November: Turtle enjoying the snow!21st of November: Christie alongside a snow bunting! I love these incredibly hardy birds! A flock of around 40 came and joined us on the Hill Trip.25th of November: The snow had mostly gone after Storm Bert but Scully and Feta found a patch.25th of November: Pip proving that reindeer can’t bite! Look at the small row of bottom teeth and the hard palate at the top of her mouth. 27th of November: Latte coming in for a close up. What a funny face!
