I thought at first this bunchgrass was in such beautiful shape this spring because of a winter of voles fertilizing it while nesting in its thatch.

Then I realized that it hasn’t been grazed. Down by Bella Vista Road, the deer fences have gone up this spring, to protect young orchards or vineyards from deer, or perhaps just because they keep people out.

In the five kilometres between Okanagan Lake and Vernon there is now no place for deer to get down to the wetlands and the water, which means, as well, there is nothing for them on the hill, although the grass may grow. For deer, movement is all.

This is a desert.