When Rikki Hall died of brain cancer in March, packets of butterfly weed seeds were given away at his memorial service. Butterfly weed is native to eastern North America, and an important source of nectar for pollinators, especially the Monarch butterfly.
Rikki Hall, who studied ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Tennessee, wrote the political column "Sideways Glance" for the
Metro Pulse, often exploring environmental issues. Before that, he wrote the Metro Pulse nature column "That's Wild," and was one of the editors of the environmental newspaper The Hellbender Press. His columns were inspiring--full of passion and poetry. You can read some excepts
here.
On March 16th, he published his last
blog post:
A couple weeks ago I pruned the saucer magnolia in the front yard. The pruned branches now bear defiant flowers. Life is powerful and spirited.
Though doomed, these branches retain water and even draw some in when humid air sits over these hills. Death can be sudden, but only after taking its time. We all get a fair allotment of life to use wisely. I can not keep the spirit down when I see a cut branch make a few final blossoms, laughing a pink punchline. What a wonderful world.
A neighbor who attended the memorial service gave me some of Rikki's butterfly weed seeds. I propagated them on my front porch, then transplanted them to the flower beds surrounding the Butterfly Meadow. They are blooming now.
