there’s obviously a long story behind most of these pictures. with me there’s always a story, but there’s a particularly long one associated with my very first experience with what’s known simply and understatedly as “deer camp”. but until i find time to write it, i guess maybe you won’t get to hear the real story unless we’re sitting by a fire trading tall tales.

if you don’t know me and you’re suprised to find out that i’ve gone white-tail deer hunting you don’t have to feel odd, since most of my friends and family are probably just as surprised. but sometimes it’s good to surpise everyone – even yourself 🙂

and for the 99.99 percent of people who are confused about the title, it’s a reference from the movie “escanaba in the moonlight” in which the lead character is an aging man who is such a bad hunter he’s never downed a male deer ( a buck ) and is derided by all the local adults and schoolchildren ( escanaba is a real town and not far from our own deer camp ) as “bambi’s best friend” and a “buckless yooper”. and i suppose it might help to know that residents of the upper peninsula of michigan are commonly referred to as “yoopers”. see, it’s really quite a clever title even though nitpickers will nitpick that i’m not really a yooper.

none of the deer pictured were harmed, but i am – in fact – no longer a buckless yooper.