So then, this week is another fun one. And by fun, I mean super depressing. At least I’m being consistent, right?!

I hate to continue following a bit of a dour theme in these, but I can’t really help it at this point. To spend time in the Scottish countryside and not admit a sense of loss at everything that is missing would be lying.

Traveling to Bridge of Orchy recently, I was able to once again witness the remarkable efficiency of sheep and deer, able to reduce a lush swathe of saplings into a collection of pointy twigs.

I followed a path used by walkers running alongside a deer fence, and the difference on either side was amazing. It shows you in no uncertain terms who the culprit is for the lack of plant life and wildlife in general. On both sides of the fence, there were lovely selections of Scots pine, showing off their variety of shapes and rounded tops when given space to grow. But while on the one side, these pines were surrounded by saplings going from 10cm to 10m, and lush patches of birch exploding in all directions. The other side had lonely pines and the odd sapling struggling to make it beyond ankle height. The other thing was the sound. The regenerating side was filled with birdsong, while the other was completely silent except for the odd meadow pipit. Looking at the two landscapes side by side one just feels right. One is neat and orderly. The other is scruffy and chaotic.

You may read some of my ramblings and take me for a hater of deer and sheep, but this is not the case. At the right densities, deer at least are essential to the Scottish landscape. Not only are they important cultural icons, but they are valuable forest managers, preventing forests from becoming too dense and helping to maintain open glades.

However, at the high densities they are at across most of Scotland, the landscapes eventually revert to simplistic blankets of heather and a variety of grasses and rushes. Without predators to move the deer around and keep them at lower densities, all the trees will continue to grow without creating any offspring. That is why, until a natural solution can be reached, trees must be surrounded by fences to prevent hungry mouths from trimming young trees before they can become tall enough to escape deer’s influence.

Without predators, man must intervene to keep them at low enough densities that their grazing has a minimal effect. Judging by studies within Scotland and abroad, the ideal density is about 2-3 deer per square kilometer. When this density is reached, it is almost astounding how quickly life bounces back. You can quite easily walk through a grove of trees where many deer like to hang about. And you can easily see through the trees in all directions. But put up a fence, or reduce deer numbers, and suddenly the landscape comes alive. Blueberries, crowberries, rowan, birch, countless species of flowers. How was all this life hiding away beneath the surface?

I hope we can begin to look past our desire for control and allow nature to take the wheel once again. Its scary and uncertain but that’s where the fun and the beauty of it is.