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The other day a buddy called and said, "I just saw two awesome bucks in a yard over on such-and-such street. Grab your camera and get over there."

So I did. And this isn't what I saw. The deer were gone.

This shot came from a reader. These bucks were at Primland Resort, according the guy who sent them. Primland is into quality deer management, and this is the kind of deer you get when you don't shoot yearlings.

I've been trying to shoot my bow a little and though I'm in much better shape overall than I was a year ago, those bow muscles need some work. There's still time...

The same reader who sent in the shot of the unique non-typical below sent in this shot of a pretty six-pointer.

The rack doesn't appear to have a ton of mass, and it's not very wide. But it's sure nice and tall. Based on the buck's body I'd say he's a 2.5-year-old.

So, is it a shooter? I'd say he is for a lot of people, and I would have a hard time faulting someone for taking this deer.

A reader sent in a couple trailcam shots of Roanoke County bucks, including this weird non-typical.

Racks such as this aren't unheard of. In fact there's even a term for them -- cauliflower bucks. This one is probably a yearling, which is why there just isn't much there. But the more years this buck makes it, the bigger that bunch of nubs on its head will grow.

I'm sitting here at my desk wrapping up work on tomorrow's Roanoke Times Outdoors page while dealing with a difficult distraction -- live coverage of the Tour de France on the Versus network.

I've watched quite a bit of the tour this year, and I admit it's because of Lance Armstrong's return. I never expected that Armstrong could win, but I figured his being in the race would make things more interesting, and that's been the case.

A lot has been made of the supposed rivalry between Armstrong and his teammate, Alberto Contador of Spain.

As much as these guys ride together, Armstrong knew full well that Contador would be stronger in the big mountains, where this race is won. But I think early in the race Armstrong played things up in regards to the rivalry, if for no other reason than to help fuel interest in the race.

Once Contador established that he wouldn't lose (barring a crash, illness or other catastrophe) Armstrong was left fighting for a spot on the podium, and that's still pretty interesting considering his age (ancient, by pro cycling standards).

As for Contador, I was pretty ambivalent about him until yesterday, when he pulled one of the most baffling moves I've seen in years of closely following this race.

About 2 kilometers from the top of the day's final climb, Contador was in a group with rivals Andy and Frank Schleck, and teammate Andreas Kloden. 

Had the four reached the summit together, there was a good chance that Kloden could have hung with the others to the finish, and solidified his chances of finishing in the top three overall come Paris. With Armstrong still also in the mix for a podium spot, there was a chance Astana could sweep all three top spots -- a remarkable team achievement.

So what does Contador do? He attacks, meaning he put the hammer down. The strategy was questionable, because even if he had dropped the Schlecks, he wasn't going to get much time on them. And he didn't need time on them anyway.

The problem was, the Schlecks were able to hang on, but Kloden couldn't. He ended up losing two minutes, and was passed in the standings by the Schleck brothers.

So the only thing Contador accomplished was to hurt his own teammate. So this guy is either really selfish, or really dumb. Or, maybe, both.

As I write this it appears that Contador may win today's individual time trial. So he's clearly the best in the race. But I can't imagine he's winning many friends in the peleton with moves like Wednesday's. That might not hurt him in this race, but it will come back on him at some point.

A friend sent in this shot of a nice buck on one of his hunting places. Again, it's hard to judge mass when deer are in velvet, but this looks to be a pretty good deer. By the body I'd say this is a 3.5-year-old. Agree? Disagree?

I have been seeing good numbers of deer -- nearly all does, though -- while out and about. They really seem to be in good shape this year, and I'm thinking it must because everything is so green and lush.

I've also been looking up, and what I've seen on several oak trees has been promising. Has anyone else taken time to check out the mast crop? What are you all seeing?

Another reader sent in this trail cam shot of a nice buck that's wandering around on their hunting property. It's not a giant, but it sure is pretty.

In a comment below, BobH mentioned that he doesn't pay much attention, from a scouting standpoint, to summertime trailcam shots. He has a good point. It's all but impossible to pattern a buck that we will be hunting in October and November using pictures from July and August. 

In fact, in many ways, looking at summertime trailcam shots is a lot like watching fields in late summer.

What they do is tell us there are good bucks in the area, and that can help make those long hours on the stand in the fall a little more bearable. And it's also fun.

The best way to kill one of those big bucks is to have already done a lot of the scouting work. Think about where you saw big buck sign during the rut last fall, or where you found it when scouting immediately after the hunting season. Bucks use those areas year after year, so if was good in 2008, it's probably going to be good in 2009. (And it was probably good in 1979.)

I got back late last night from a two-day trip for the Tucked Away Treasures series Sam Dean and I have been doing on fishing on some of Western Virginia's smaller public lakes.

We spent a few hours yesterday afternoon at the Bath County Recreation ponds, and had the chance to meet Chasten Taylor (left), her sister Tresten, and their cousin Jacob. The kids were from West Virginia, and were at the ponds with their grandfather, Ralph Hamilton.

The kids were a hoot, and I love this shot Sam got of them posing with their mess of bluegills. Fifteen-year-old Chasten and 11-year-old Tresten were really giving 12-year-old Jacob a hard time. He had caught only two fish and they made sure he didn't forget that. They were also teasing him for being "short." Jacob was a good sport, and I think he'll get the last laugh. At least about the height thing.

A buddy sent me this shot of a nice bear caught by a trailcam near one of my friend's hunting set-ups.

With deer antler development well under way, and done in some cases, now is when a lot of us start getting our cams out there to see what we've got running around our hunting areas.

You'd think with all the gear I have I'd have a couple trailcams. But I don't. I've fooled with them in the past (back in the old days when they still used this thing called film) but haven't been compelled to make the jump to a digital one.

Part of me was waiting until they came down in price. But I think it's safe to say they're down in price (the camera that shot this is a $100 Wildview) so I guess I can't use that excuse any more. Maybe I'm just not too eager to get pictures of all the big bucks I have no shot of actually killing when the season opens.

It's also time to get seriously thinking about other pre-season prep. Now is also the time to start shooting those bows more regularly, and also time to work on hunting-related fitness. Starting a fitness program now will pay off big time in the fall when it's time for those early morning hikes into the stand carrying a 50-pound pack, or time for dragging that big buck back to camp.