Memphis Democrat
February 28, 2002

Alyson here again, reporting on the week's doings. Rachel and Megan returned home last night from a folk music conference in Florida. They heard lots of musicians play and met with other people who promote folk music. Although they didn't go swimming in the ocean once, they had a great time. Rachel even got to meet Megan's parents.

Susan and Erik also returned this week from their vacation in California. They particularly enjoyed their trip on the train -- Erik's first time! They must have conspired with Rachel and Megan to bring us some warm weather from other locales, because the temperatures suddenly rose into the 70s. They also brought us some citrus, including a huge lemon the size of a grapefruit. It's a special treat for us to have travelers bring us food from other places, since we try to eat mostly food that grows locally. It's part of trying to save fuel, support local farmers, reduce waste and pollution, and generally cause less damage to nature.

This week we boiled down the sap we've collected so far, and together with Sandhill we got about ten gallons of syrup. Quite a haul! And the sap is still flowing. Tony said he saw some of the younger maples flowering already.

The redwing blackbirds have decided it's warm enough for them to move in. Suddenly they're singing on the top branches of every tree. The coyotes also seem to be more vocal at night. I heard it's mating season for them.

Rainbow gave a reiki class this week to Tamar, me, and Stan from Sandhill. Reiki is an ancient healing art that originated in Tibet and involves the gentle laying on of hands to promote health. It's now being recognized by many Western doctors and health practitioners as a useful complementary or alternative therapy for healing many kinds of ailments.

We began our telephone interviews of prospective interns this weekend. This summer we're planning to have interns here to learn about all aspects of our life, including alternative construction, organic market gardening, and land conservation. We're also looking for an artist in residence, to keep the creative juices flowing in our little village. We received stacks of great applications, so now we've begun the enjoyable process of getting to know some of the applicants better. It's fun to share conversation with so many like-minded people.

On the building scene, Skyhouse has seen lots of visible progress this week. Much of the drywall is up on the second floor ceiling and lofts, and the upstairs plumbing and wiring is all done. It's exciting to see the rooms begin to really take shape.

We were delighted to receive a dinner invitation from our neighbors Clayton and Janet Dilavou. I went over with Cecil, Tom, and Tony, and we had a wonderful time seeing their land and chatting with them. They have a lovely lake just behind their house, where we watched the sun set while eating dinner in their sunroom. It was great getting to know them, and they told us lots of stories about their years of living in this area and about their time abroad. They also generously offered us some greenhouse glass, seedling trays, plastic tubing, and a small shed on their property that they no longer need. Thanks!

Susan Brown left for a couple of weeks to travel to Washington, DC. She will be caring for a woman with a disability who is speaking at a conference. And she'll also get to visit her mother, who lives there.

We're all looking forward to a visit from folksinger Allette Brooks this week. She'll be staying with us for a few days and playing in Kirksville on Wednesday night. I missed her show in Amherst, MA when I lived there last year, so I can't wait to hear her play here. We'll have to make sure we have a singalong evening while she's here -- I bet she'll really jazz it up!

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

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