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THE AU DUB OrN SB Ue eas 
2 arson to erson 
“Spring has now unwrapped the flowers”, as one of our hymns says. 
And once more our grass and prairie resume their annual greening. 
A word of explanation and interpretation of our outdoor surround- 
ings seems appropriate now. [he growth around our church—except 
for a regrettable portion of grass, planted and maintained out of 
servile conformity to habit and community standards!—does not 
consist of weeds, but of natural prairie growth! 
It is not an accident, nor (heaven forbid!) an economy measure. 
We are working toward the development of a small natural prairie. 
Bill Sproat has been our guide and adviser in this project, and some 
benefits are already evident, which will increase with patience, some 
volunteer work, and ecological love. 
A muskrat has been sighted at the lower end of our church prop- 
erty. Mourning doves have been seen outside the minister’s study 
window. Birds and small animals are able to breed here, because the 
prairie (never call them weeds) offers shelter and hospitable environ- 
ment. [This tendency will increase. Remember that weeds are merely 
plants growing where they are not wanted. Once we change our 
attitude and response, and make these plants wanted, they cease to 
be weeds. 
Human anologies are straining to be expressed, but not now. I 
confess to having once wrongly believed that the thistle was an ugly, 
ugly plant. When I ceased to cut it down in its infancy or youth, it 
grew tall, flowered, and gave both seed and down for the birds. They 
use the down in their nests, and the seed gives nourishment. I now 
love my thistle, except when it bites me, and even then, I know that 
it would not have done so, had I not wronged it by my intrusion on 
its space. 
That’s our landscaping story. We are not poisoning our environ- 
ment with weedkillers, because we are not hostile to our environment 
and have not declared war on it. I suggest we take pride in our 
prairie; boast about it instead of apologizing. If we can make it a 
status symbol, what an affirmative blow for life and a healthful 
environment! 
The Rev. Russell Bletzer, Deerfield 
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