November 5th, 2016 was the “deer opener” in Minnesota; I’m no hunter, heck, I’m a vegetarian and have been for longer than I can recall. To celebrate the lives of the living, I chose not to wear blaze orange, climb a tree stand or drive back country road,; instead I headed to protected land in search of some regal and aging bucks.

Much like those readying themselves for “the hunt," Tamy and I woke long before sunrise, packed the car and made our way to a favorite spot to see and photograph deer. Far from captive, these herds roam between national and state park lands, and thus have a highly coveted status… protected wildlife. Able to wander for miles along thick river corridors, the herds brave non-human predators, starvation and the occasional drive-by collision. Without the human selected pressure to “bag” the biggest buck with the most points, these deer can grow large and survive up to eight years.

On this atypical November morning, temperatures fell to a balmy 37℉ (3℃) and plateaued at a whopping 75℉ (24℃). following a brief hike, we stumbled upon a pair of bucks staking out breeding territories just as the mist was beginning to rise. Rather than move in for a tight profile, I chose to include the foreground and background elements to suggest something about the time and place. In this wildlife landscape, the buck has curled his upper lip in what is known as a “flehmen response” to female pheromones. The contraction of lip muscles exposes the vomeronasal organs (VMO) near the roof of the mouth to the volatilized chemicals in urine and feces deposited by interested does.

With heavy hunting pressures close to our location, this male and others like him need only worry about the paparazzi during his pursuit of some love. While I’m not one to bash those who enjoy the hunt, I often wonder why the kill is a necessary prerequisite to enjoying a quiet morning in the woods.

"If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear, does it make a sound?" The thought experiment that attempts to assess the essence of being and reality blurs the lines between knowledge, observation and truth. The answer to the question clearly depends on one's frame of reference. In an anthropocentric world, the zealot might say no, for in the absence of a person to hear, the phenomenon does not exist. However, if one separates the id from the humanness label and accepts that science exists in the absence of oneself, then the tree clearly does make a sound. The falling body compresses the air, alters localized regions of pressure, and creates waves that propagate through matter; the product is a sound that emanates across the forest.

The Young BuckNikon D4 + Nikon 200-400mm VRI — The Young Buck
Nikon D4 + Nikon 200-400mm VRI

This exercise that seeks to find a connection between sensation and reality is, to me, about truth. An argument that claims a falling tree makes no sound, parallels those which profess humans bear no responsibility for a changing climate. The empiricist who that knows sound waves are not about the hearing but about the physics, can also recognize the body of evidence that point towards an anthropogenic cause for the predicament we now face.

The ConversationNikon D4 + Nikon 200-400mm f4.0VR — The Conversation
Nikon D4 + Nikon 200-400mm f4.0VR

There are countless models that correlate human expansion with accelerated global changes. The impact of our species is so profound that recent research now suggests that the development of agriculture in North America 6,000 years ago is linked to fundamental structural changes in plant and animal distributions that had previously remained constant for 300 million years (Scientists peg Anthropocene to first farmers). Not recognizing ones impact in the past is a forgivable offense, but in this modern era. denial is not reality and ignorance is a choice.

Clash of the TitansNikon D4 + Nikon 200-400mm VRI — Clash of the Titans
Nikon D4 + Nikon 200-400mm VRI

Today is December 25, 2015 and we have yet to experience a cold stretch or significant snow in central Minnesota. It is the warmest year on record and the rut continues throughout a season that is often defined by nutritional stress rather than sex. Just like the falling trees that break the solitude of a quiet forest, humans must accept the responsibility for the changes they impart on our home... these are strange days on planet Earth.

Wildlife Landscape #1 - Buck and Willow

When You Hear the Quiet

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