Memphis Democrat
February 19, 2004

The cardinals have started to sing and I keep seeing robins. Even though the ground is frozen (and so are the pipes), I know spring is around the corner. I can hardly wait. We heat our buildings with wood. One of the good things about firewood is it heats you up more than once. The slabs from the wood used to build our common house were delivered and big crews spent several days sawing and splitting.

The ice on the Mississippi River means that the bald eagles gather near the open water at the dams. A bunch of us met in Keokuk with Dr. Pete Goldman's ornithology class at Truman to look at the eagles. The students counted over 150 in all. And we saw lots of ducks, crows, geese and one white pelican.

Ted and I went to Edina to a burn workshop put on by the NRCS. We plan to burn more of our land this spring and thought it would be good to get a refresher in safe burning. Seeing all those pictures of fire got me fired up even more for spring.

Chad and Alyson went to the Valentine's Day fundraising supper for the Rutledge school. They had a great time catching up with the neighbors and listening to the singers. Jacque and Cecil had a double date with Stan and Gigi from Sandhill at the high school basketball game. They were impressed with Scotland County's energetic playing style.

Winter is when we really get a chance to dive deeper into some of the topics we don't have time for in the busier parts of the year. Folks have been discussing various styles of agriculture in person and over email. Kurt hosted a salon, where folks could get together to explore these questions in depth.

The work on the structure of the common house is coming to a close. Dan and Tamar have washed the floor meticulously so that it could get sealed. Word is out that we'll be able to begin moving in within a week.

A subgroup here calls themselves Ironweed and they are planning to build a kitchen and chicken coop this year. They are committed to reusing materials, so they are looking for license plates to shingle the roof. They are also looking raw wool (dirty is okay) for insulating the ceiling. Give them a call if you have any to give.

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