Known locally as the Stafford Giant, this thousand year old redwood tree located on Pacific Lumber Company property near the town of Stafford, California, was given the name Luna by Earth First! activists in October 1997, who were installing a platform on the tree to support a free climber during a full moon. In December of 1997, Julia "Butterfly" Hill began a two year consensual relationship with Luna, approximately 180 feet off the ground.

Hill ended her sit on Luna when she and her supporters reached an agreement with Pacific Lumber that protected the tree and others within a 200 foot buffer zone from logging.

In November 2000, observers discovered that a vandal had taken a chainsaw to Luna, creating a gash approximately 32 inches deep and 19 feet around the tree's 38 foot circumference. Such a cut would make the tree vulnerable to falling during seasonal windstorms, where winds could reach 60 mph. Arborists, engineers, and climbers worked to secure the stability of Luna with a collar approximately 100 feet off the ground, attached to half-inch cable secured to three other anchor trees. In addition, local activists packed the cut with local clay mixed with bear saliva and a tincture from Hill, "essence of Luna," that she created during her treesit. Redwood biologist Stephen Sillett predicted that the damage to Luna's cambium from the cut and from previous historic burns would mean the tree would die from the top down within two to five years. As of 2008, Luna is still standing and showing new growth in the canopy.

A non-profit organization, Sanctuary Forest, continues to monitor Luna, as part of the Deed of Covenant/conservation easement negotiated with Pacific Lumber.

Sources:
Glen Martin, "Vandals Slash Giant Redwood." San Francisco Chronicle. November 28, 2000.
--, "Steel Collar Fashioned for Slashed Redwood." San Francisco Chronicle. December 19, 2000.
Stuart Moskowitz, "Luna Stays in our Thoughts and Minds." Sanctuary Forest Web Site. Spring 2004. <http://www.sanctuaryforest.org/pages/page-13> (May 13, 2008)

Luna, alternative name for the moon, sleeping in the light of which is reputed to cause a form of madness, called lunacy.

I have, on some occasions, attempted this as an experiment. Unfortunately, upon waking in the mornings, I have found my exercise in science to be a failure.

The band Luna was started by Dean Wareham after the breakup of indie legends Galaxie 500. The band's name was decided on the spur of the moment, when Wareham was calling prospective members (which included former members of the Chills and the Feelies) and looking through his tarot cards. The band has released 5 LPs, 4 of which are melodic, hazy and dreamy pop classics. Pup Tent, their fourth album, experimented with brass instruments and string sections, and every now and then, went into Sonic Youth-y guitar freakouts. Still, it featured a few songs like the "old Luna." Days of Our Nights mines older Luna territory, and is a pleasant, albeit staid return to form.

Luna was the Microsoft codename for the new Windows XP interface. It's based heavily on concepts first explored in MSN Explorer. It has big icons similar to Aqua, and other "modern" computer user interfaces. It is for the first consumer OS based on the Windows 2000 kernel. IT has many enhancements and built in extras for things such as Windows Media Player, IE, and other Windows-esque enhancements. Windows now has a more distinct look and feel.

It is the biggest UI upgrade in Windows since Windows 95 (over Win 3.x), and takes heavy advantage of MSN services.

Lu"na (?), n. [L.; akin to lucere to shine. See Light, n., and cf. Lune.]

1.

The moon.

2. Alchemy

Silver.

Luna cornea Old Chem., horn silver, or fused silver chloride, a tough, brown, translucent mass; -- so called from its resemblance to horn. Luna moth Zool., a very large and beautiful American moth (Actias luna). Its wings are delicate light green, with a stripe of purple along the front edge of the anterior wings, the other margins being edged with pale yellow. Each wing has a lunate spot surrounded by rings of light yellow, blue, and black. The caterpillar commonly feeds on the hickory, sassafras, and maple.

<-- Fig. of Luna moth -->

 

© Webster 1913.

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