CULTURE ARCHIVES // JOHN MUIR // THE STRENGTH OF TREES

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A Wind-Storm in the Forests

by John Muir (1838–1914)
Excerpted from The Mountains of California (1894) — Public Domain

Volume 7 // Issue 2 // Fall 2025 // Conservation


The mountain winds bless the forests with love. They touch every tree; not one is forgotten. Yet these storm-winds are far more than a blessing—they are also a test and a renewal. The trees bow, strain, and writhe beneath the blast, each yielding in its own way: one swinging in long, supple curves, another stiffly resisting, another trembling through all its leaves. Every bole, branch, and root feels the strain; yet through it all there is no confusion, but rather the perfection of harmony—each tree keeping its place and character, all instinct with one motion and one life. //

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