A Prickly Subject
Susan B. Eirich, PhD
November 20, 2023
A marvel of evolution, the porcupine depends on its unusual armor for protection
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A marvel of evolution, the porcupine depends on its unusual armor for protection
She came to us tiny, cold, and limp, a baby chipmunk barely a few weeks old. Prospects didn’t seem good. But it is amazing what warmth and tiny doses of Pedialyte can do. Within a day she was eating well, and very soon thriving. She grew. She grew plump. We
Yesterday, I had a conversation with an ant. A tiny little red one. Well, maybe it wasn’t a conversation, as it was sort of one-way, but I enjoyed it. Most of it was nonverbal—an appreciation and admiration of its strength and persistence. The sink was full of them—excited, industrious, and
The part of our Earth that Earthfire calls home spoke to Jean and myself as soon as we saw it. There was something about it, hard to express… It felt like a strength of being. Was it the unusually vivid awareness of the bedrock upon which we stood, the solid
When the bears wake up, it is a wondrous occasion. The land begins to pulse with their powerful presence. They emerge slowly, tentatively—is it time yet? A nose. Sleepy little eyes. Fuzzy ears. One front leg reaches out of the den entrance. Another. Slowly, the front of the body emerges.
Many years ago, Jean, Co-founder of Earthfire Institute, saw a magnificent old cottonwood tree stump lying on a sidewalk in Driggs, ID. It lay on its side in the hot sun, all of its limbs sawed off and strewn around it. It had been cut down to make room for
Last month, I wrote that when our lines of connection to other living beings are dimmed, our access to understanding the connections available to us in nature becomes limited. Inherent in connection is the possibility for reciprocity, and thus, for mutual enrichment, enchantment, and healing. There is another aspect to
When our line of connection to other living beings is dimmed, our access to the understanding of the relationships and joy available to us in nature becomes limited. Inherent in connection is the possibility for reciprocity and thus for mutual enhancement, mutual enchantment, and mutual healing. The essence of reciprocity
This post was first published in Teton Valley Top to Bottom’s 1999 Winter Edition, then reposted here on Earthfire Institute’s website in February 2017. We share it again today in honor of the arrival of a new winter and the dreams and stories that will come from it. It’s snowing
We want our bears to be really plump before they go into hibernation, and this fall, they weren’t plump enough for our comfort. Among other girth-widening foods, they were only partially eating their sweet potatoes. Our animal caretakers observed that Teton Totem was refusing his cold oatmeal– he wanted it
A marvel of evolution, the porcupine depends on its unusual armor for protection
She came to us tiny, cold, and limp, a baby chipmunk barely a few weeks old. Prospects didn’t seem good. But it is amazing what warmth and tiny doses of Pedialyte can do. Within a day she was eating well, and very soon thriving. She grew. She grew plump. We
Yesterday, I had a conversation with an ant. A tiny little red one. Well, maybe it wasn’t a conversation, as it was sort of one-way, but I enjoyed it. Most of it was nonverbal—an appreciation and admiration of its strength and persistence. The sink was full of them—excited, industrious, and
The part of our Earth that Earthfire calls home spoke to Jean and myself as soon as we saw it. There was something about it, hard to express… It felt like a strength of being. Was it the unusually vivid awareness of the bedrock upon which we stood, the solid
When the bears wake up, it is a wondrous occasion. The land begins to pulse with their powerful presence. They emerge slowly, tentatively—is it time yet? A nose. Sleepy little eyes. Fuzzy ears. One front leg reaches out of the den entrance. Another. Slowly, the front of the body emerges.
Many years ago, Jean, Co-founder of Earthfire Institute, saw a magnificent old cottonwood tree stump lying on a sidewalk in Driggs, ID. It lay on its side in the hot sun, all of its limbs sawed off and strewn around it. It had been cut down to make room for
Last month, I wrote that when our lines of connection to other living beings are dimmed, our access to understanding the connections available to us in nature becomes limited. Inherent in connection is the possibility for reciprocity, and thus, for mutual enrichment, enchantment, and healing. There is another aspect to
When our line of connection to other living beings is dimmed, our access to the understanding of the relationships and joy available to us in nature becomes limited. Inherent in connection is the possibility for reciprocity and thus for mutual enhancement, mutual enchantment, and mutual healing. The essence of reciprocity
This post was first published in Teton Valley Top to Bottom’s 1999 Winter Edition, then reposted here on Earthfire Institute’s website in February 2017. We share it again today in honor of the arrival of a new winter and the dreams and stories that will come from it. It’s snowing
We want our bears to be really plump before they go into hibernation, and this fall, they weren’t plump enough for our comfort. Among other girth-widening foods, they were only partially eating their sweet potatoes. Our animal caretakers observed that Teton Totem was refusing his cold oatmeal– he wanted it
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