When it comes to the outdoors, James is ridiculously capable. A couple of years ago he took me fishing up in Squamish. Well, he went fishing. I floundered around in a freezing river, waving a long graphite stick at the fish who mocked me with their toothy grins. That followed the time we went snorkeling for crabs.
Here’s James’s latest demonstration of woodsy prowess (caution: graphic photos of the inside of a small deer ahead). Boris, Travis and James, among others, discovered a fawn that had frozen to death in Boris’s parents’ backyard on Bowen Island:
In truth, I felt pretty unsure. ‘Doing something’ meant butchering the fawn. I was all for wild game but I didn’t know that everyone at the open house would be as open. And I didn’t have any hunting knives. I had excuses: I had never butchered a deer that wasn’t a fresh kill, I had never butchered a deer, never mind a fawn, in BC, within sight of downtown Vancouver and the birthplace of Greenpeace and all those moral vegetarians.
But, in the end, he went to town and they had a deer feast. I might have even temporarily suspended my no-red-meat habits for a taste of Bowen Island deer.
DarrenBarefoot.com 
Thanks for the overly kind overestimate of my outdoors prowess, DB. It’s really just curiosity and a little experience.
You’re welcome to join in anytime.
I’m so jealous I missed that.
Can’t wait to do some future slaughtering and butchering with James. He’s my meat god and I bow before his mighty knife.
Oh, that sounds so wrong…
Now there’s an image I didn’t need. Thanks Mark.
Anyway, I was also very impressed when I first heard of James’ butchering display, but then I remembered he was from Winnipeg, so he probably could have done it blindfolded.
I always figure that if you’re going to eat any sort of meat, you should be at least theoretically willing to kill or butcher it yourself. It’s more honest.
My only objection was the reference to “moral vegetarians”. I may be vegetarian but I’m pretty damn immoral.