Pay The Toll

Two mature bucks face off in a flooded bottom at last light, breath visible in the cold air, neither one willing to back down. The foreground buck stands in profile while the second holds his ground in the shallows, water reflecting the golden sky between them. Bare hardwoods and white birches frame the scene, and the low sun backlights everything in amber. It's that tense moment in the rut when two bucks cross paths and someone has to give—or nobody does. The title says it all: you want to pass through here, you pay the toll. Pick your size. Canvas, ready to hang.