Pumpkins amongst the Christmas trees

We spent a lovely morning at our local Christmas tree farm today. They've scattered pumpkins in amongst the trees so people could wander and choose their own. We just wandered but it was fun.

Incidentally the seeds of the Norway spruce were very sticky.

Anyway after that - and a short grass fight - we went to feed the reindeer who were so gentle: GrandSon4 had his entire hand in their mouths and they didn't hurt him at all. From there we had to go and examine the tractor, GrandSon4's big passion in life, and we were just heading away when the reindeer herder appeared and invited people to go for a ride on the trailer. (It's a specially built trailer with seats. Normally at Christmas you have to pay but the rides were free today!)

He took us out to a field with more reindeer where he stopped and told us about them. The ones we'd been feeding in the pen were all male; the ones in the field were female or babies apart from the stud. When his testosterone is pumped up he has to be kept away from other males else he would view them as threats and attack them. 

As it is, each night he gets his pick of the females - called cows apparently - and he takes one to a secluded corner where presumably he gives her a nice meal and woos her before returning her to the herd the next morning. That's what the deer herder told us anyway and I believe him. (I added the meal and wooing.)

The male is the darker one in the centre of the photo.

I asked what they do with the deer fearing the answer - eat them - but he said they just keep them. They're happy in a herd and if they're forced to live by themselves or in twos they get stressed. Aw, so sweet.