Still Holding?

I went for a short walk yesterday and checked my four Cuddebacks that are still out. The two impressive two year olds (considering the area) and a yearling were all still holding both sides of their rack on February 8th.

I did get one picture of a buck that has shed both sides as of February 11th. But this could easily go to show that with no stress, no snow, and plenty of food, these deer can hang on later than usual. The deer that has shed has some white hair near his hooves so I looked to see if I could identify him.

Looking through all the pictures of the bucks that have been frequenting the bean field, it is either PegLeg, or another buck completely. The only picture of PegLeg I have that shows his feet, they're really wet and a little muddy and would be hard to discern any unique markings. This photo was snapped as the deer was exiting the field and could have easily dropped out in the field. His pedicles look pretty open. Let's hope he dropped back in the woods and just entered the field somewhere else off camera. The only bum deal out of this situation is the 1" of snow we got that wasn't forecasted. It's perfectly covered up all the most recent sign. If buck could have held on from the 8th to the 16th, then we're still in business. Then the most recent sign on top of this 1" is where the antlers will be. Stay tuned.