Better'n a Baker's Dozen of Deer

A few days ago on a morning walk, the sun was pretty bright out, making me think conditions wouldn't be good for using my camera. For about the first half hour, I spotted some deer here and there, but contrasts not good. Happily, a load of deer came into view in shade. Within six minutes, I snagged three separate clips within 500 feet that I thought interesting.

Baker's Dozen
So many deer came into view in my first clip, I wondered how many I recorded. Upon viewing the clip several times, I'm more than 90 percent sure I have 14. My title refers to baker's dozen. I don't believe the term is used much anymore, but I wanted to refresh my recollection of its meaning. From "baker's dozen:"

a group of 13; a dozen plus one: from the former practice among bakers and other tradespeople of giving 13 items to the dozen as a safeguard against penalties for short weights and measures.

One doe, which I feature in the second video segment, caught my eye for smudge-like markings on her flank and shoulder. In the third clip, five deer are prominent. At the very start, however, a faraway sixth one ambles at the extreme right part of the clip. Blink and you miss it!

During viewing and editing, I noticed these deer all had taupe coloration but some were smaller than others. When I "shot" deer earlier in the year, fawns were more tawny and had white spots. More on the spotting later.

Coloration
Taupe and tawny each have 5 letters, starting with "ta". I wanted to clarify the color distinctions.
From "Taupe Color":

intermediate shade between dark brown and gray, which shares similar attributes of both colors. However, taupe does not describe a single color, rather, it is used to describe a vast range of colors from dark tan to brownish gray.

From "tawny":

A color adjective, tawny describes something that is a mix of yellow, orange, and brown colors. … Tawny comes from the Anglo-Norman word, taune, which means tanned.

It turns out that colors change during the year. In viewing some of my videos of deer from earlier in the year, does also look tawny. View deer/fawn segments at "Critter Shootin' Near Mid-June 2019" and "Fawnzies and Deering Does" (from July).

"Whitetail Deer Facts & Trivia, Information & Photos" is loaded with good deer info to begin with. Surprising is that the coat colors change throughout the seasons, like getting dye-jobs year around.

The whitetail's coat will change with the seasons, from reddish brown in the spring and summer when vegetation is growing to grayish brown in the winter. This helps the deer to stay camouflaged all year round. The change in color happens quickly, usually in 1 or 2 weeks.

Fawn Spots
From "More Information: When Do Fawns Lose Their Spots?":

Fawns maintain their white spots for 90 to 120 days after birth; quite useful for their survival. These spots eventually fade away from their body after that time frame. Once gone, a shiny brownish fur replaces it. A thicker coat replaces the previous coat of the fawn as the white spots slowly fade. The purpose of the thicker coat is for them to survive the winter.

Antler Starts
Another feature that piqued my interest with these clips was absence of antlers or forehead nubs. I wondered when male deer started developing them. From "Managing for Age in White-tailed Deer"

Male deer begin growing their first set of antlers at about one year of age. They will grow a new set of antlers yearly. With proper nutrition equal, antlers will get larger each year until about six years of age.

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For more articles about deer, enter "deer" in the search box at the upper left of this window. Or find and click "deer" link at Partial Index of Keywords section (just below Popular Posts section). BTW, additional deer videos are available at my YouTube channel.

Dozen Matter If 12 Is Significant

Why does 12 seem a significant quantity? The thought occurred to me after I counted to 12 in one of my exercise stretches that I usually count to 10. I then thought about terms and expressions that include "12" or "dozen".

The association between twelve and dozen are numerical meaning. From Online Etymology Dictionary,

from Old French dozaine "a dozen," from doze (12c.) "twelve," from Latin duodecim "twelve," from duo "two" + decem "ten".

Some Familiar Expressions that Refer to Dozen

a dozen eggs (in a carton)
from New York Times

Under a system that came to be known as English units, which was a combination of old Anglo-Saxon and Roman systems of measurement, eggs were sold by the dozen. It made sense to sell them that way because one egg could be sold for a penny or 12 for a shilling, which was equal to 12 pennies. That system held sway in the American colonies and persisted after the revolution, becoming part of the system known as U.S. customary units.

Why are Eggs Sold by the Dozen?
from fresheggsdaily

The number twelve has had special significance for man since the ancient times, from Jesus' twelve apostles to twelve full moons per year and twelve months in a year. There are twelve inches in a foot and twelve hourly divisions on a clock. There are twelve zodiac signs, twelve tribes of Israel and twelve Knights of the Round Table.

In Western Europe, particularly England, from as early as the 700s and continuing right up until around 1960, the Imperial Unit System was used. Under this system, there were twelve pennies to a shilling, likely because of the huge importance of the number twelve to civilization. This meant that an egg could be sold for a penny, or a dozen eggs could be sold for a shilling, with no change-making required.

cheaper by the dozen
from YourDictionary

"Things are handled more efficiently as a group, rather than individually." This expression is best known as a book and movie about a couple that has 12 children.

The Dirty Dozen
from IMDB

Another movie, this one about a US army major and 12 convicted murderers to assassinate German officers in World War II.

a dime a dozen
from knowyourphrase

copious newspapers from that time (1800s) advertised how certain kinds of food, like eggs, oranges, and peaches, were available for purchase by the dozen, and their cost was nothing more than a single dime

baker's dozen
from The Phrase Finder

the practice of medieval English bakers giving an extra loaf when selling a dozen in order to avoid being penalized for selling short weight

Maybe somewhat surprising, no national chain claims the name for baker's dozen. I found four independent shops with the name—all donut-themed.

• In Corona, CA
• In Raleigh, NC, no website, Yelp
• In Rowlett, TX, no website, Facebook
• Baker's Dozen in Topeka KS, no website, Facebook

Six of one or half a dozen of another
from Programmer Interview

“6 to one half dozen to the other” is a phrase that’s used to basically say that the 2 options you have are essentially the same. Since a dozen is 12, and half a dozen is 6, then it should be clear that 6 and half a dozen are basically 2 different ways of saying the same exact thing.

a gross of items, related to dozen—144, which can be 12 x 12 configuration/grid. From The Word Detective

The use of “gross” as a noun to mean “twelve dozen” (144) of something arose in English in the 15th century, drawn from the French “grosse douzaine” meaning “large dozen.”

In the 14th century, English adopted the Old French term “grossier” (from the Latin “grossarius,” wholesaler) as “grocer,” meaning a merchant who buys and sells “by the gross,” i.e., in large quantities.

About Time and Twelve

12 hours on a clock, most common display for number of hours, whether analog or digital—
The 24hourtime.info history section describes timekeeping and devices, 24 hour displays being the initial standard.

The origins of our 24 hour day can be traced back at least 4000 years, to ancient Egypt and Babylon, and perhaps further back in time. The Egyptians and Babylonians divided the parade of stars that appeared in the sky each night into 12 sections, marked by the various stars that rose and set that night.

Gradually the 12 hour dial became used for most standard clocks, and the 24 hour dial was reserved for the more esoteric, technical, or complex clocks.

12 days of Christmas and related Shakespeare play, Twelfth Night
from A Company of Fools

'Twelfth Night' is usually considered to be a reference to Epiphany, or the twelfth night of the Christmas celebration (January 6), as in the popular song “Twelve Days of Christmas”

12 months in a year
from Calendar Origins

Ultimately, all calendars began with people recording time by using natural cycles: days, lunar cycles (months), and solar cycles (years). ... The Ancient Egyptians are credited with the first calendar of 12 months.

12 signs of the Zodiac WRT ecliptic
from Space.com

ecliptic, the apparent path the sun appears to take through the sky as a result of the Earth's revolution around it. … Because of the Earth's yearly revolution around the sun, the sun appears to move in its annual journey through the heavens with the ecliptic as its path. … Twelve constellations through which the ecliptic passes form the Zodiac.

12 years in the Chinese Zodiac
from Time

Because the Chinese calendar is based on the moon's rotation, the new year can occur anytime from mid-January to late February. According to legend, the calendar was created by Ta Nao, a minister of Emperor Huang Ti's, and has been used in Asia since 4000 B.C. … After 12 years, the cycle restarts, matching the length of Jupiter's solar orbit.

Untimed 12

12 inches to the foot
from Fact Monster

In the 14th century, King Edward II of England ruled that 1 inch equaled 3 grains of barley placed end to end lengthwise.

12 disciples, and other biblical references to 12
from patheos

There were 12 tribes in Israel and this symbolizes the completeness of the nation Israel. Jacob had 12 sons which were the heads or fathers of each of the 12 tribes of Israel which are likened to 12 princes. ... Jesus chose 12 disciples who later became the 12 apostles which seem to fit the context of the number 12 used elsewhere in the Bible as this number also signified governmental rule or authority.

"12th of Never", recorded by Johnny Mathis and the group Earth, Wind & Fire


An Oddball Connection to 12

In my online travels for this article, I encountered a site, "Printable Paper Graph Paper", where you can print grid paper, including 10 x 10 or 12 x 12 to the inch. This site could be very useful for students who graph images. The top level "Free Paper" site shows numerous other printable offerings.