I don't like "weeds" and I don't like "brush", both terms that encourage people to get rid of wildlife habitats and food plants without thinking about it.

People have said "You oughta clear out that brush--you'll have more grass." The brush is where dozens of species of birds (not to mention insects) thrive....yes, I'm doing a small prairie restoration project, but I wouldn't destroy the brush for anything.

A nearby utility that oversees a freshwater marsh reserve was hosting an open house and awards ceremony for nature photographers. The program took place next to a butterfly garden. At the edge of the garden was a small arbor covered with ratty-looking passion vines. Of course, these had to go.

Flashback a couple of months: Gulf Fritillaries, who arrived in SoCal with the passion vine, were laying eggs all over them. A friend urged me to take eggs home and hatch them. "No," I emphasized. "They'll be better off here!"

That's a sad, sad story...but the attitude is all too common. "It's not pretty right now--rip it out, spray it..."

Around here, the electric utility suddenly decided to herbicide all the fencerows under their lines even when the plants growing there would never grow high enough to touch a line. This includes natives especially hard to cultivate and important for wildlife food.

Elizabeth