Legends, Old Cedar Trees and Children

The Land Between The Lakes National Recreation Area is located in Kentucky and Tennessee between Lake Barkley and Kentucky Lake. In 1963 the area was designated a national recreation area by President John F. Kennedy.  The Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers flow very close to each other in the northwestern corner of Middle Tennessee and Western Kentucky, separated only by a rather narrow and mostly low ridge. The area of land that separates the two bodies of water by only a few miles became known as "Between the Rivers" since at least the 1830s or 1840s.  After the Cumberland River was impounded in the 1960s and a canal was constructed between the two lakes, Land Between The Lakes became the largest inland peninsula in the United States.

The area is made up of approximately 170,000 acres, 300 miles of shoreline and over 400 miles of country roads. It is non-commercial property with no residential homes nor businesses within its boundaries.  The Trace, also known as KY 453, is a 45-mile scenic highway that runs right through the middle of Land Between the Lakes.  It begins at Grand Rivers, KY at the northern entrance of LBL, and ends at Dover, TN, the southern entrance.  The Trace leads you through this unbelievably beautiful National Recreation Area and provides easy access to many attractions along the way, including abundant wildlife as well as native grasses, plants and trees. If you are entering from the northern entrance, the access roads to the right lead directly to Kentucky Lake, and those on the left will take you to Lake Barkley. The two are connected by a canal located near the northern entrance. I live about 5 miles west of that entrance.

There are camping facilities located on several of the access roads, but mostly one can drive for miles without seeing any signs of the human species, unless you count the road signs that point directions.

We have our favorite places, my friend and I, and one of them we call the Cedar Tree Place. It's really in the middle of nowhere, about halfway down the Trace and off an access road, but in it lives a cedar tree that must be as old as the land itself. It is magnificent and has been the inspiration for many childhood memories that I've shared.  It's where I go to find peace.

Cedar trees grow anywhere trees will grow. It's almost seems they accommodate themselves to the climate and the land itself. They've been around a lot longer than recorded history, though they've played a role in that history no matter its location. Perhaps it's because they live so long and withstand the pressures of age and time and climate, but they come to us in this century ripened by legends and lore.  Most associate the cedar tree with an old fashioned Christmas, but I try to not limit its time frame to anything in particular.

My favorite cedar tree here in Western Kentucky has personality and awe and wonder etched all over it, not from human hands but from within the soul of the tree itself. Most of the legends that I know have their origins in Native Americans; to them the tree was sacred because they believed it held the souls of their departed ancestors. When I was a child I always expected to see faces appearing through the bark of the cedar. Looking at this special tree even now, I still expect to see them every time.  Because of this legend, you'll find cedar trees growing within or very near old cemeteries all across North America.  The Native Americans planted them there so the ancestors could always watch over them.

Another of the legends was about the broken winged sparrow who knew he couldn't make the flight southward with his family late one autumn. He sought winter refuge in the trees, but all turned him down except the cedar. He lived within its dark green branches all through the long cold winter, never growing hungry. The cedar tree provided all the insects he needed for food in the tiny holes of its branches and for dessert he ate of its spicy blue berries. When spring came and his family arrived, they found him healthy and happy and they gave thanks to the tree by promising to forever raise their young in its branches.

Have you ever heard the music that comes from trees? Sometimes it howls and sometimes it mourns and sometimes it rustles. The leaves and the branches make music. The cedar tree has no leaves, but it holds onto its branches often long after they are dead and hollow. If the wind blows through the hollow branch of a cedar tree, you will always hear music.

My favorite legend tells of a young man who heard the wind blowing through the hollow branch of a cedar tree. Depending on the direction of the wind, sometimes the sound was low but sometimes it was high. He broke the hollow branch off in his hands and blew from one end of it to the other. It made no sound at all and he lifted his voice to the Great Spirit in the sky, asking for direction so he could make music just like the cedar tree did. The Spirit sent a woodpecker who pecked holes in the hollow branch, then sat on one hole then the other as the young man blew through it. The young man was delighted with the sounds, lifting his handmade cedar flute high and singing with the birds or dropping it low to mourn with the trees as he learned to place his fingers over the holes to produce the sounds he'd heard around him.

Legends are beautiful stories given to us by those who were much more attuned to Nature than we are. Legends are the stuff on which cultures are built. I like to think those legends tell us a little about ourselves as well.  Children love stories. They can learn a lot about nature through legends.

I hope you have a place near you where you can take your children and grandchildren to learn all that Nature has to teach us. I hope when they look at the bark of trees they can see beauty and strength within. And when they pick up a hollow branch, poke a few holes in it so they can hear the sound of music when they blow through. Maybe a woodpecker can help.

There must be areas where Nature is allowed to roam free and where children can roam free as well. The imagination of a child is an incredible gift and when it is paired with Nature, there are no boundaries. Sometimes children become complacent just like adults and when the opportunity to play outside comes available, often there are excuses:  'It's too hot, it's too cold, I'm too tired, I'll just play a computer game, I'll watch TV, it's boring outside.'

Nature is anything but boring, but it's up to us to teach that to our children.

And nature is not just for children. Take a look at your nearest cedar tree. Look at the tiny holes that house insects that provide food for the birds. Look at the cracks and crevices at its base; can you see the creatures who live there?  When I look down at the base of my special cedar tree, I see the leg and foot of an elephant.  Imaginary, sure, but it proves I haven't lost my childhood fantasies.  The little berries are there now on the branches; later in fall when they become bigger and darker, smush one in your hands and breathe in the scent.  And while you're there, if it has a hollow branch, poke a hole or two and blow through it; there's nothing quite like making your own music.

There are a lot of trees out there. Maybe now's the time to find a special tree for you and your favorite child. Trees are a good place to start holding hands with Mother Nature.

~*~

(For accuracy, much of the info concerning LBL is from Wikipedia; if you are interested in reading more about the area and what it offers, visit this website.)