Memphis Democrat
March 31, 2005

Day to Day Life
Memphis Democrat Column -- Jacob's Travel Logs

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This is Nicole, writing about 2005’s first full week of spring! Lots of new beginnings and premier events… Ironweed reports that they have moved the first of their seedlings into cold frames. Folks have started to garden in earnest, inciting run-ins with some pesky plants and critters that I associate with the warmer seasons. Yesterday I was working in my newly-named Taco Glocken Garten, and I saw my first tick of the year. While Tamar was transplanting raspberries a few days ago, she dug an innocuous-looking twig out of the ground, and later, after her face turned into a scary, puffy red mask, realized that it was poison ivy. Frank Russell, the grandfather of one of her fiddle students, came to the rescue with some jewelweed tea he had in his freezer. Tamar is eternally grateful. Speaking of violins, and music in general, Laura, Tamar, Jacque and I have begun working on a quartet that I picked up earlier this winter. Laura and Tamar are playing violin, Jacque is playing flute, and I’m on cello. Our first few runs through sounded like an infernal dirge, but once we picked up the tempo a bit, the parts started coming together. I am optimistic about our future prospects. Easter was an exciting day for us. Due to a series of events that had transpired over the past few weeks, many of us suspected that we would not be receiving a visit from the Easter Bunny. Earlier this year, Mr. Bunny called us to express his delight at our decision to name our community after him. He was so glad that someone had finally recognized him as a real artist: “Everyone always says ‘Ooo, look, it’s the Easter Bunny. Hippity Hoppity!’ But I’m not hopping! I’m dancing!” It just so happened that he was planning to relocate his egg-painting operations, and rural Missouri seemed like the perfect low-profile sort of place, of course there were other locales in the running, and everything had to be very hush-hush, but he had to admit that we were at the top of his list…on and on he went until whoever it was who answered the phone interrupted and said that, to the best of her knowledge, Dancing Rabbit was not named after the Easter Bunny. Our relationship with Mr. Bunny deteriorated rapidly. So, when Easter morning rolled around, none dared to hope that there would be treats for the denizens of DR. Laura and I were sitting forlornly on the porch swing when Laura gasped and said, “Could it be?!?” In the distant mists, we spied a strange blob making a mournful keening sound, like a lost whale. It wandered closer, and Laura said, “It is! It’s Ostrich-tron! My Polish grandmother told me about Ostrich-tron, but I never believed her!” As it bobbed and weaved slowly to and fro, Ostrich-tron kept dropping rocks on the ground. I thought that maybe it was making those sad noises because it kept losing its rocks, so I picked one up and gave it back, and in return, Ostrich-tron gave me a chocolate egg and some chow mein noodles! We helped Ostrich-tron collect its rocks, and after giving us lots of treats, it drifted away. We waved goodbye, a little sad that our new friend was leaving us so soon, but hopeful that Ostrich-tron would visit us again next Easter.

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Memphis DemocratMarch 31, 2005

Memphis Democrat
March 31, 2005