Memphis Democrat
April 8, 2004

Alyson here. A week or so ago, our friend Michael at Sandhill, who's lived in Missouri for many years, said to me, "Well, we're coming up on our one day of perfect weather for this year." It seems like maybe we're due for more than one this year, though--lately there has been a whole string of clear, cool, gorgeous days.

As I mentioned in a recent column, we've been seeing a lot of burning prairie around Rutledge lately, and this week we got in on the action. Despite Rachel's poor health, she made it out to participate in two burns in one day: over at the Shultzes', and right here at DR. It was so windy, some of us thought the burns wouldn't happen, but our local firefighters are such experts they took it all in stride. We burned around twenty acres, I think. Thanks to all who helped direct and control the fire.

The Common House continues to be the site of daily meditation, and yoga three times a week. The new phone coop has moved in, and people can be seen using the phones in there on occasion. (We now only use the phone in the trailer for local calls.) Recently when Tereza was giving a tour to a large college group, they all gathered in the big room for an hour-long question-and-answer session. It's great to see the new building starting to get more regular use. When we get hot water and the internet in there, I think things will really take off. It will be interesting to see which comes first--many houses here have an internet connection but no running water!

People have been doing gardening everywhere I look lately. Bob and Laura are chugging away on their warrens, planting, mulching, and building cold frames. Penn has been gardening down at Bluestem Coop. Chad's got his onions in the ground and has just built an insulated box for germinating his tomatoes. Ted and Tamar have been doing lots of gardening down at Ironweed Coop's new garden. Trish has been taking care of the early gardening up at the Timberframe, with Stefanie away for a few weeks. Here in Skyhouse, Jacque and Tony have gotten our tomatoes and some brassicas going inside our south windows.

Tamar, Thomas, and Chad planted several rows of rootstock as the beginning of a fruit tree nursery. It's so exciting to be planning for so many generations of future fruit trees on our land. Another recent development is that Cattail decided to turn the herb garden into a community resource. People can come and weed, water, mulch, or otherwise tend the beds, in exchange for herbs.

On April 1st Gigi at Sandhill hosted a bunch of Rabbits at a big potluck supper. It was fun to see everyone and share the delicious dishes and desserts everyone prepared. I didn't know there were so many ways to cook wild parsnips. Afterward we enjoyed a big bonfire and burned up several years' worth of collected brush.

We also held a very special community gathering this year, as in years past: a Passover seder. This is a traditional Jewish holiday commemorating the flight from Egypt, and reminding us of the preciousness of freedom. It's also a time for remembering those who are still suffering or enslaved by others, and fighting for their freedom. Most of the population of DR as well as some friends from Sandhill gathered to celebrate with a traditional meal at sundown.

We're happy to have our four-wheel-drive truck back in service. We've been using it quite often, for hauling recycling to town and picking up things like mulch and sawdust. It's nearly time for our big spring clean, when we'll use it to haul away some of the stuff that's collected here over the years, that we haven't figured out a use for.

This week Kurt had a birthday and the folks at Bluestem threw a small party for him, complete with a cake. He told me that he loved the feeling of being in a small enough village that everyone knew him, and he kept hearing people shouting or singing to him all day long. Later I found out that our Postmaster, Mary, had her birthday on the same day. Happy birthday, Mary!

We've decided that it's warmed up enough to start giving our regular Saturday tours again, so put on some comfortable shoes that don't mind a little mud, and come on by! We give tours every second and fourth Saturday of the month. All tours start at 1:00 and go for an hour or so. Please do give us a call during the week if you would like a tour, so someone makes sure to schedule the time to give it for you. Our number is 660-883-5511. The first tour is this Saturday, April 10th, and the next one will be Saturday April 24th.

Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage is a nonprofit and a residential community that demonstrates ecological sustainability in Rutledge, MO. Please call before coming by, 883-5511. http://www.dancingrabbit.org

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