Hunting for Deer...Keys Style

For most of my life I have been reading and hearing about the very small deer that live isolated in the Florida Keys. The only place that I knew you could find them was on Big Pine Key. Big Pine is located just a few miles South of the 7 Mile Bridge in the middle Keys. Yesterday Estelle and I had our most successful photo-hunt for these tame, easy to find and delightful animals.

The deer that we found lived on the next key west of Big Pine, No Name Key. Yes, its real name is "No Name". By the way No Name Key is the home to a great pub and restaurant called "the No Name Pub". The food there is outstanding, the beer cold and 75,000 dummies like me have put their names or phrases on one dollar bills and hung them on the walls, ceiling and even in the entrance to the bathrooms! You have to see it to believe it.

Within 30 seconds of leaving the Pub we found our first deer. We expected her to run as soon as she saw us. Well, she took one look at Estelle and asked, "Where is our treat"? I said, out loud to the deer, "The sign says, Don't Feed the Deer". I told her that "we cant give you food its against the law". The deer turned around to leave and as she was going I thought I heard her mumble, "Schmuck, you believe everything you read?" She was the size of a large dog and just about as tame.

We then started searching in earnest. The only way to find these animals was to keep your eyes open. They were on the side of the road, in the swamp next to the road, on peoples front lawns and in the streets. They were all over the island. We saw three or four in a few minutes. They were all tame and easy to talk to.

As we proceeded I saw a doe. Now, here was a deer that I could get out of the car and shoot up-close. With my camera, of course! When I got out of the car she turned to look, not at me, but to my right. I then heard the noise that got her attention, it was her father. By Key Deer standards he was huge, about the size of a large German Sheppard. (The dog not the man.)

Mr. Deer had a rack. He began showing off. He even kissed his daughter, cleaned her up and posed for photos. It was really something to see.

He then silently looked at me and asked for food. He really wanted a snack. When I showed him the "$200 Fine" for feeding the deer sign, he turned his back and walked away. I heard him say that his friend down the road was right and he called me names! (I would have thought living in the Keys would have made them nicer. Come to think of it they reminded me of some of the people I met in Key West.)

Well we continued on down the road and finally found ourselves in the absolutely most dangerous place in all the keys, U.S.1 the road back home.

If you happen to find the No Name Pub, and half the fun of going there is finding it, leave an extra buck for me. Then tell Mr. Deer I said "Hello."

Key Deer

Cold Beer

No Name Pub Ceiling   Part of the $75,000 on the walls

NO NAME PUB on No Name Key