Reindeer Arrive in Ballard

Being Swanson's virgins, we didn't know about the annual Reindeer Festival.

We peeked through the slats in their corral, expecting tame blacktail deer with a headdresses made from PVC tubing. But no...they appeared to be...what? Real reindeer? There is such a thing?

Like llamas in a state fair's 4H display, they looked a little forlorn. One sat on the hay with his legs tucked beneath him, still as a plastic figure in a nativity scene. It dawned on us that we never actually believed in reindeer; we'd lumped them in with mythical creatures like jackalopes. It turns out reindeer aren't simply labradors dressed up in antlers from the Hallmark store.

They're semi-domesticated relatives of caribou found in places like Iceland, Norway, and, for a limited time, Ballard. See for yourself.

Photo courtesy of Archie McPhee Seattle, a holiday gift to the Seattlest Flickr pool. Aw, thanks.