Lately the deer around here appear to have heavier and darker coats than usual. A buck a couple of days ago even looked shaggy. Does this hint of a cold winter to come?

More info needed. What's the fur on the backs of the squirrels look like? Have you noticed the Indians gathering a bunch of firewood?

Haven’t noticed the squirrels. But I have some Choctaw blood and I’ve been gathering firewood. Does that count?

Normal winter coat. Summer coats are brighter and might even have a pinch of red to them. Biologists claim the color of deer change from a reddish-brown to a gray-brown in the winter, because the darker color helps them to absorb more of the sun's heat. Knowing what it can be like to sit on a hot, black leather car seat in the dead of summer, I have no trouble believing them. Some claim the southern facing slopes of hills and ridges are great places for deer to feed and sun themselves on clear, frosty mornings.