Colour tattoo of a stylised buck symbol filled with a camouflage pattern in greens and browns, on the upper arm.

Camouflage buck on upper arm

Upper arm · Colour · Photo

A stylised buck, with antlers in a bold silhouette, is tattooed on the upper arm. The outline is filled with a camouflage pattern of browns, greys and green patches, with fine lines suggesting leaves and bark. The design is centred on the arm and fills most of the frame against a dark background.

Upper arm Deer Antler

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A story inspired by this tattoo · fiction

Dear Tom, the buck came back to the top field on Tuesday, the big one with the split crown that Dad always said was too clever to be shot. I watched him from the hide for an hour and never once saw him move against the bracken. He just became the bracken, then the birch, then a grey stone at the edge of the wood, and only his eyes gave him away when he turned.

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Dad taught me that trick the spring before he went into hospital. He'd sit me down on the stile with a flask of stewed tea and make me name what I could see. Bark, leaf, shadow, sky. Then he'd say, now find the deer, and I never could until he pointed, and after that I could never unsee it. He said the trick was not hiding but agreeing with the wood.

I've kept the rifle oiled in the cabinet like he asked, though I don't think I'll use it. Mrs Ashby from the farm asked if I meant to sell the land and I told her I'm not ready to decide anything before the first frost. The rest of the paperwork is on the kitchen table under the teapot.

Come up at the weekend if you can. Bring your boots and don't wear that red jumper. We'll sit on the stile and see who spots the buck first, and I promise I'll let you win if you're quiet enough to deserve it.

Love, Jen