Memphis Democrat
March 30, 2006

Hi, friends and neighbors! Jenn here, bringing you news of the first week of spring at Dancing Rabbit.

Spring has always been a time of magic and growth to me, and my childlike fascination with seasonal shifts continued to swell when I moved to DR. Every season, I'm just as amazed as I was ten years ago with the rhythmic changes in weather and the radical shifts in the personaity of landscapes.

I'm a firm believer that the emotions of humans (and other animals) tend mimic the weather patterns they're seeing--if it's cold and mucky, people often feel down; if it's sunny and warm, people tend to feel perky; if it's stormy and violent, many feel inexplicably frustrated. It's no surprise to me, then, that the paradoxical week that brought us six inches of snow following a reasonably warm Vernal Equinox has also brought many of us feelings of frenzy, busy-ness, and excitement.

On Thursday, a group of people arrived at Dancing Rabbit for a series of meetings regarding "Communities" Magazine. Skyhouse welcomed several wonderful guests: Diana from Earthaven, Laird from Sandhill, Alyson and Kim from Red Earth Farms, Susan, and Molly. Many Rabbits have had a great time hanging out with other people who have long-term interests in intentional community living. Many of the guests joined us for our community dinner on Friday, after which several Rabbits enjoyed a recently-started ritual of watching DVDs of stand-up comedian Eddie Izzard. My side is still hurting from laughing so hard!

Jennifer, Rachel, Tamar, Ted, Cecil, and I spent the day in Kirksville on Saturday. Several of us attended an Anarchist Health Conference, where Rachel gave a presentation on women's self-defense and we all enjoyed meeting other local progressives. Those who didn't attend the health conference (and some of those who did) had a great time at the NEMO Folk Symposium, where local musicians and storytellers shared their talents.

We were all very excited this week by the return of seven Rabbits who had been absent from our village. Partners Ted and Sara returned this week from visiting family, and Thomas, Bob, Tom, Suzanne, and Penn came back from a demolition job. At this Sunday's meeting, a few people gladly commented on how great it felt to have the community back to it's full size.

Ironweed, a DR co-op/subcommunity, is on the lookout for old straw or hay for mulch. If you know of any that's' availible, especially in the Dancing Rabbit/Rutledge area, please give them a call at 883-5594.

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