Deer stands: A simple tradition

How much do deer stand designs vary? Well, let's put it this way: There are simple platforms, and then there's the photo you can see if you go online of a guy aiming his shotgun from the deck of his stand — while sitting chest-deep in a steaming hot tub.

Stands in Minnesota, unsurprisingly, tend to be considerably less posh. They're not known for their luxury or frills. They're basically a place for waiting. And waiting. And waiting some more.

They're a place to peer through the trees as the sky gradually lightens and the sun starts to glimmer through the branches. A place to drink coffee from a Thermos and watch your breath cloud and dissipate in the frosty November air. And finally, when that moment arrives, they're a place to hear the light crunch of leaves as a buck wanders within range of your stand.

Like their cousins the tree house and the ice-fishing shack, deer stands vary widely in materials and design. Construction methods range from precision carpentry to scrap wood and old carpet.

If you drive the back roads of northern Minnesota it doesn't take long to spot a deer stand in almost every clearing. They're beautiful in their rough simplicity.