Light and Shadow
  • Home
  • The Rains Come
  • ecographs
  • Monochrome

The Legacy of Luna

12/14/2013

0 Comments

 
Picture
The Trees for the Forest

November 2013

Yesterday, a bright morning sun pierced the woods near my home. It illuminated my drive down Lookout Mountain with views of yellow Hickories and Sweetgum as well as red Maples and Dogwood.  Trees were much on my mind as I had just finished Julia Butterfly Hill’s remarkable book about her two years lived on a platform nestled in the heart of a giant Redwood tree. Her book is titled The Legacy of Luna: The Story of a Tree, a Woman, and the Struggle to Save the Redwoods.

When I reached the valley below, a large oak appeared backlit, sunbeams turning its brown leaves a translucent red. I thought of this woman who named herself Butterfly and of the tree, already named Luna when she arrived. She revealed her sudden illuminations on page after page, and I realized that very little in my personal experience prepared me for her remarkable story. Despite the alien nature of her adventure, analogies appeared, stories not beckoned. My stories are, for me, the best way to understand the stories of others.

            My own experience with giant trees is limited to a few eastern old growth forests, most recently the Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock Wilderness named for the author of the beloved, though often satirized poem, “Trees.” Though small by comparison to the ancient Redwoods of Northern California, these trees tower above hikers on the trail. Some would say that the feeling of Creation and Creator is tangible in these forests. These old growth trees certainly set the mood  of being in a special place.

            I have been told that it is the kiss of death to be labelled a Nature Poet, and this was certainly the case for the bard who authored the poem “Trees.” Poetry aficionados show scant regard for Kilmer and his works. The forest got its name at the request of a group of veterans and commemorates his service and death in World War II, more than his poetry. In a twist of irony, this commemorated man is ignored by fellow poets, a group who find themselves generally ignored by the larger society. He is commemorated by a grove of Tulip Trees, not logged because the company railroad could not reach them. In unprotected zones, these trees are highly valued as timber. Tulip Trees (also known as Tulip Poplar, even though they are a kind of Magnolia) grow fast, straight, and large. They are a favorite of lumbermen, which was likely a factor in helping them to become the State Tree of Tennessee.

              This morning, the moon, for which Luna was named, has crossed the sky and shines round and full, just above the trees which surround my porch. A faint pink line, like that on the side of a Brook Trout, edges the Eastern horizon, squeezed between the dark line of trees below and iron gray clouds above.

            This woman named Butterfly, was similarly squeezed between her love for the forest, her sympathy for the residents of Stafford, victimized by a mud slide after a clear cut on land adjacent to the grove where Luna stood, and a larger society which was at times hostile, supportive, and indifferent to her struggle to save the trees.

            While buffeted by winds, hail, and cold, she suffered and recovered from frostbite. She clung to the platform and later the tree itself, fearing the wind would knock her loose and send her plummeting to the ground. She faced an oncoming lightning storm and prayed to the Creator and Creation for strength and survival.  She referred to the tree as a Goddess and says that the tree itself taught her how to survive the first winter.

            Meanwhile, Pacific Lumber, owner of the land on which Luna stood, tried to get her to come down. The state government tried to get her to come down. Some activists, who saw her as an intruder and an outsider, tried to get her to come down. Company guards tried to starve her out of the tree by blockading her supply chain. News media saw her as a commodity to exploit.

            Through all this, she stayed in the tree and learned the lessons of the forest. She grew spiritually yet relied on others. She was supported by activists through the environmental movement, by celebrities such as Joan Baez, and by school children who sent stamps. Native American activist Leonard Peltier, supported her from his prison cell. Other generous people sent hats, winter clothing, and food. She had a ground support crew that never gave up on her. She emerged transformed and dedicated to a struggle that continues today. 

The Legacy of Luna

The Story of a Tree, a Woman, and the Struggle to Save the Redwoods

Julia Butterfly Hill

Harper Collins Inc., Publishers, New York



0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    ​Archives                

    April 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    July 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    March 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    January 2013

    Categories

    All
    Environment
    Literacy
    Nature

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly