No one lives within several miles of this place. One seasonal road passes through the hundred acre tract of undeveloped land known as Petra, Maine. There are no buildings. Traffic seldom travels the road and although the road continues past Petra, it becomes so narrow and so wet that most people wouldn't chance it with their car. Mostly, ATVs travel the road, and then during the daylight hours. In the winter it becomes a snowmobile trail and automobile traffic is impossible.
Petra is within the St. John Valley of northern Aroostook County, which is itself Maine's northernmost county. The St. John River and the Canadian border are not far from here.
The wildlife camera has been mounted to the trunk of a tree on the edge of this small opening in the tree canopy. On all sides of this tiny clearing is a dense, dark, and rather spooky cedar swamp. Except for such small openings as this, nothing grows on the forest floor other than mushrooms and moss. The cedar swamp is in the remotest corner of Petra, furthest from anything remotely resembling civilization. Getting to this clearing is a long and wet walk through a thick swamp that is dark even in the afternoon.
At 8:45 o'clock at night, long after the sun had gone down, this white-tailed deer entered this small clearing, triggering a wildlife camera that I had mounted to a tree on one edge of the clearing. The camera is triggered by a combination of movement and body heat, which minimizes the number of unproductive photos. When it fires, I have it set to take a series of five photographs in rapid succession.
The camera flashes when using the flash, and it clicks audibly. Yet after becoming momentarily startled, the deer stated at the camera for only a few seconds and, after less than a minute had gone by, it turned its attention to eating the leaves of saplings growing in this place. I find that to be remarkable.