Summer is in full swing at Earthdance, and the long days bring with them a flourishing of activity and fullness as Life spills itself everywhere. We invite you to check out our upcoming slate of programming below and come join us for one of the wonderful events being offered in the coming months. For this month’s loft, amidst this business and thriving of summer, we also pause to remember one of our smallest community members, as Christos Galanis shares news of our dear cat Izzy:
You can tell a lot about a person by the way they treat animals. In the same way, you can tell a lot about a community by the way they care for our non-human kin, and the Earthdance community has shown, once again, that our values of creativity, love, and mutuality are extended to all members of our community, no matter how small or furry. These past few weeks we were aware that our beloved cat Izzy was nearing her end of days, and on-site residents did their best to make her comfortable and ease her into this transition as best they could. There was some debate as to what was best for her - whether to put her down at the vet and spare her suffering, or to let her end her life naturally, as she had lived it, roaming the fields and the farmhouse and surrounded by familiar faces. In the end, it was decided to let her transition take its course at her own pace, and this also gave the community time to fill her up with love and snuggles and to say their goodbyes. For such a small cat to survive in a rural area for eight years, surrounded constantly by woodland predators, you know Izzy was a fierce one, and I trust that her strong spirit would have wanted to go out on her own terms, listening to her own body, improvising when needed, and abiding by the spiraling seasons of Life. I only recently found out that Izzy had lived the first six years of her life on a farm in Iowa which was owned by community member Sean Kearney’s Aunt. Having adopted him there, Sean subsequently brought Izzy to Earthdance with him in 2015, where she adopted all of us, and ended up remaining with us for the rest of her days.
Considering the turnover of staff at Earthdance, this made Izzy one of the longest ever consistent residents, and for many of us, it’s hard to remember a time when you wouldn’t see her prowling across the apple orchard by day, or meowing softly late at night as you walked back into the farmhouse from the sauna. On July 17th she finally slipped away, and on-site residents gathered for a memorial service where she was laid to rest on the land. A Dogwood tree was planted to mark the site, with everyone taking a turn to lay a stone down. Since then, I’ve collected dozens of photos of her from the community, some of which I’ll share at the end of this email. Blessings on her long and adventure-filled life, and I imagine I speak for the whole community in offering gratitude and praise for her presence in our lives and in our community, and the ways she touched so many of us. Go well, dear Izzy. xox
- Christos Galanis
(Top Left) Sean bringing Izzy to Earthdance in 2015
(Top Right) Izzy being loved up
(Bottom Left) Izzy adorned and prepared for burial
(Bottom Right) The dogwood tree planted in Izzy's resting place | 
