i stood still, watching a couple mule deer pawing (or should i say hooving?) at the snow beneath them, exposing the grasses below the freshly fallen snow, and proceeding to eat the grasses. i watched the deer continue in this manner for ten to fifteen minutes while numerous hikers passed us by on the continued trek to the destination above. finally, i felt satisfied with my observations and proceeded up the hill, following the switchback around a corner to see this group of grasses sticking above the snow. none of the hikers who’d passed me paid any attention to these grasses - they simply continued up and up to reach their final destination. these grasses were, for all intents and purposes, inconsequential to all that passed them.

after having watched the deer struggle to find grasses to eat, it dawned on me how truly consequential these grasses were - and are. if the grasses were to disappear, most of us would not notice. but the deer would, and they’d move to a location where the grasses existed. then, we humans would notice that the deer were missing. i believe these grasses are a lot more consequential than we give them credit - like many things in the natural world.