It’s that time of year!

An Old Tradition Hangs On

Despite the infill of subdivisions, old habits of spring burning aren’t dead yet.

The bigger the flames the better, it seems.

Sun and Water Released from their Wooden Time Capsules…

…and eating the sky.

And that got me to thinking. Skipping the debate about global warming, this is exactly what is missing here:

Deer Snooooozing in the Grass

For 4,000 years local people have burned these hills. For ninety years, the hills have remained clear of renewing fire.

Are the deer enough to renew them now?

The Question

When humans renewed the hills, they became human habitats. If deer renew them, will they become deer habitat? What will that look like?

Enough talk of humans moving into natural ecosystems and disrupting them … but what about deer moving into human ecosystems, and taking them over? Where will we go then? Into our computers and smokestacks?

The Answer