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Two front doorsteps, one granite and one concrete, are all that's left of the old Parsons farmhouse on Apricot Street. They are flanked by two mature cedars, and on the street side of the property at least 50 more of these erect, earth-red trees march away in a perfectly straight line.
Chris Phillips, director of the Massachusetts Audubon Society Broad Meadow Brook Wildlife Sanctuary, knows the old Parsons property well. He's been coming here for three years, ever since he discovered it while researching a book, still being written, called "The Wilds of Worcester."
Wild it certainly is. The cedars were planted as ornamental trees, but now they are just one part of the lush forest that has grown on the property. The front lawn is a plantation of sumacs, a daring little tree that will take root just about anywhere.
Phillips and Gary Votour, caretaker of the Cook's Canyon sanctuary in Barre, walked over the property Monday. They are working with the Greater Worcester Community Land Trust and the city, which owns part of the land, to have the area turned over for conservation.
The Parsons land is a constant surprise. Behind the house is a brook that tumbles down stone spillways before running under the remains of an old cider mill...