City of Oak Harbor groundskeepers’ hearts are in the right place, but it’s time for them to realize that brown is beautiful, and the sooner we all go brown, the better.

As faithful readers of the News-Times know, the city paid $200 for a gallon of green grass paint so the brown grass on the new stretch of Barrington Drive could be made green again. There’s no city water up there, and paint was considered preferable to a summer of brown grass between the street and the sidewalk, even if that meant the rocks and bugs would turn green, too.

The city describes its decision to paint some brown grass green as an experiment that could grow to other areas if it proves popular. Well, it’s time to stop this experiment in its tracks before it gets out of hand. Pretty soon the city workers will be faking mowing the fake grass, to make it seems more realistic to the tourists. Instead, we need to be proud of brown, quit watering our grass where water is available, and quit faking it where water is not available. Be proud of brown.

There’s only so much water in the Skagit River, and the fish need it more than the grass of Mount Vernon, Burlington, Anacortes and Oak Harbor need it. Same goes for the groundwater that everyone else uses. We have to save it for the endangered groundfish, which are so scarce that no one even knows they exist. Last weekend, I spent some time dousing for groundfish, using a fishing pole instead of a Y-shaped stick. The pole definitely pointed toward the ground in several locations, and as soon as I hire a groundfish driller, I’m going fishing in my backyard. If I catch the world’s first groundfish swimming around in the groundwater, I’m prepared to give half to the tribes and let the environmentalists save the rest.

To protect future generations of fish, both above and below the ground, we have to get over our obsession with green grass. Anyone who used to push a non-motorized lawnmower will tell you that brown grass is much more beautiful. Brown means the grass isn’t growing, and you don’t have to mow the lawn. What could be more beautiful than that?

It’s time to quit all this summer watering and give up on all the unnatural plants it sustains. At the end of one year, only plants native to Washington will remain. Kiss the gladiolas, dahlias and begonias goodbye; say hello to ferns, moss, huckleberries, salal and hearty grass that turns brown in the summer and goes back to green in the winter, no artificial watering necessary.

Oak Harbor residents can lead the way by deciding to go brown this summer, and don’t be embarrassed about it. “We’re brown because we care,” should be our new city slogan. Anyone caught with green grass should immediately have to paint it brown