Zack Mahiques - Prayer for the great family

In this poem, the author is giving thanks to the things that make up our environment and allow us to live. He first thanks the Earth for her soil and richness and allow everything to grow and live on it. He also thanks it for the night and day, giving us peace at night. Next he thanks the plants for their beauty and their ability to withstand nature and he also thanks the air for being our song, or allowing us to breathe. Wild beings are next, who are our family or brothers, because their share with us their secrets and freedoms and teach us ways to be brave, self-complete, and aware. Water is next because without it we could not survive. The last thank you goes to the sun, for without it, nothing could grow and no life would exist. He calls the sun the one who wakes us and thanks it for warming caves where snakes and bears sleep.

Zack Mahiques - Control Burn

This poem in Turtle Island describes how the indians burn the brush to enrich the soil and allow the manzanita seeds to grow. He remembers how the indians used to do it so they could grow crops, and then describes the landscape. The manzanita crowds the bushes and prevents other plants from growing. The only way to remove the manzanita is to burn it using a controlled fire. He calls the fire an old story, reminding him of how the indians used to use it to clean the land. Should the forest be burned again, the manzanita will be removed and the land will be restored to how it was during the indians time.

Blake Gillespie--earth jazz

My favorite analogy of Eisenberg's was the use of music, especially jazz, when it comes to the cohabitation of earth. He was point on in his explanation, because not only are jazz musicians talented, but they also have the ear for it. I feel like we do not have the ear for listening and adapting, and that is something that is imperative for change. Likewise, the listening ear is important in everyday life as well. We don't listen enough. We don't slow down enough and listen. The walk-abouts the aboriginals perform in Australia is a perfect example of listening and doing. They become one with their surroundings through singing and listening to nature. We need to replicate that from time to time.

Zack Mahiques - Babets Feast

I remembered the movie we watched one day in class about the French woman Babet. When she was forced to live in another country, not being able to communicate with the townspeople forced her to change. While she did change from cooking spectacular feasts to rehydrated bread and soup, she also incorporated a little of her style into her new cuisine. Going to a new place is always hard, and its even harder to fit in. Sometimes in order to fit in, people change their lifestyles in order to look and act more like the local crowd. Although this may seem like a good thing, its important to keep your individuality because thats what makes you who you are. Babet demonstrated this when she was able to order the fancy ingredients to cook the townspeople a feast, of which they were afraid of. Once they saw that it was not a witches dinner, they became comfortable and got to see first hand what Babets old life was like.

Zack Mahiques - Managers vs Fetishers

The fetishers are the people who know that the wilderness is the center of the world, but they still believe we can return to Eden. The managers on the other hand know the importance of the wilderness, but also think they can control it. Nature is the center of the Earth because we depend on nature to survive. This false hope the fetishers have of returning to Eden prevents them from seeing the problems that are being caused. The managers also know how important nature is, but it is impossible to harness its power. Hurricanes, tornadoes, and other natural disasters, and even some animals cannot be stopped by humans. It is this power of nature that we need to respect and understand that we are simply a part of nature, not the controllers of it.

Blake Gillespie--habitat v. habituse

As we discussed early on in the semester, we live in two different environments. The habitat is the place in which we live, and the habituse is the way in which we live in our habitat. I think the habituse can be difficult for some people sometimes. This situation reminds of the movie City Slickers in which Daniel Stern and Billy Crystal are taken from their cushy city lives to live out on the west as cowboys. Though they struggled for some time, eventually they became one with the west. I think some people do not take this time to adapt when in new situations. They are so accustomed to their comfort zone, and fail to realize what else is around them. We need to take time to adapt as well as live.

Laura Harrison-Snyder "The Great Mother"

"The Great Mother" is a very short and simple poem, but riveting nonetheless.

Not all those who pass

In front of the Great Mother's chair

Get passt with only a stare.

Some she looks at their hands

To see what sort of savages they were (20).

As I read that I wonder how Mother Nature would judge me in regard to my treatment of the planet. While I may not actively go out and cut down trees, am I too wasteful? How harmful are my day to day habits toward the earth? Would I be considered a "savage"? I may never know the answers to these questions, but I can at least try to live a more Earth-friendly life.