Memphis Democrat
January 24, 2002

Last week we finished the main part of our retreat, but this week we tied up many of the loose ends. Folks have been gathering in committees to make the final decisions and begin to implement our plans. We also gathered for a full day to do what we call our Year In Preview. We look at all the tasks before us as a group and all the tasks we do as individuals. Then we make sure nothing fell through the cracks and that no one is overloaded.

But we also spent a lot of time relaxing after focusing so much energy on planning. There were an unusually high number of walks on our land, enjoying the unusually warm weather. We discovered bullfrog tadpoles in our little cattail pond, swimming around under several inches of ice. Tony worked at perfecting his figure skating turns and leaps. And Chad came over from Sandhill with enough sticks for a 3 on 3 hockey game. We have no sticks of our own, so if anyone out there has hockey sticks they no longer want, let us know. We'll take them off your hands.

We've been working, too. The winter is a good time to focus on indoor income producing work. But lots of folks were also working on finishing the insides of houses. A group went out to prune the fruit trees. Some folks have been scurrying around trying to wrap things up before they leave on trips to see family. This will be our last time with everyone the farm for a long while. Mark has already left to meet his family in Minneapolis before they leave for a trip to Costa Rica.

I had a lovely visit with Judy Sharp and Lorraine Kapfer. Lorraine was feeling a little under the weather. I hope she feels better real soon and is in tip top shape in time for her to work on her beautiful gardens. Cecil heard in church that Jackie Neese is in Columbia seeing doctors about her back. We hope they figure out what's wrong and get her on the path to quick recovery.

Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage is a nonprofit and a residential community that demonstrates ecological sustainability in Rutledge, MO.

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