oddities ~

Mother nature does toss in some oddities at times ... such as a the piebald deer.  What is a piebald deer?  A piebald deer is a white-tailed deer; but this also happens with others of the deer family, such as with elk, caribou, mule deer, etc...   It's a genetic variation where the animal has more white fur than normal.  It might be in big large patches, or almost covering the entire body.  It is not an albino. No one really knows why this genetic variation happens.

Piebalds are not very common ~ and hunters and outdoor enthusiasts may go their entire lives without seeing one.  So if you've never seen or heard of a piebald before, don't feel bad.

We have a piebald in our neck of the woods.  It's been around for about five years now.  I have seen it on several occasions; but never have the camera with when I do.  The other day, Dear Son InLaw happened to spot it down the power line and managed to snap off a photo.  Not the best shot ... but you can still see it.  It was standing to the right of the other two deer that it usually is seen with.

Even when I tried zooming in on the picture ~ I can't seem to get a decent clear photo of it ... sorry.












We came across another oddity of nature yesterday while out blackberry picking.  It was this willow.  I don't know what kind of willow it is; or if this is how it's suppose to be and I'm just not familiar with the species.

On the tips of the branches were these leaf clusters, almost resembling a cone; but they weren't cones.  They were made up of the leaves.  I wish I had taken more pictures of the bush.  It wasn't just the one branch of the bush that was like this ~ the whole bush, which was about 6 feet tall, had these leaf clusters on the ends of all the branches.  I've been searching online to identify this; but so far haven't figured it out.  It was quite a ways out in the woods where we came across this species (whatever it is).  I'm half tempted into taking another drive out there before the leaves drop and get more info on this.  Who knows ~ maybe I discovered something????  Or maybe you already know what I'm looking at here and have it growing in your backyard and your thinking I'm the oddity of nature??  We looked around for more of this same type of bush; but only saw what we call willow brush.  They had the same type of bark, height, leaves, etc... with the exception of the curly pine cone shaped ones on the tips like this bush did.

Oh well ... I guess we just don't always have the answers as to why mother nature slips in an oddball once in awhile.  I suppose, to keep us guessing??

Until next time...
So it goes in my neck of the woods.
~mel