Memphis Democrat
April 5, 2007

Alyssa here giving you the weekly update from Dancing Rabbit.

Welcome to the new residents and work exchangers that are starting to arrive! Amanda arrived on Tuesday and will begin work next week with the Milkweeds on their Mercantile/Bed and Breakfast. BJ, a new resident, arrived on Thursday. Both seem busy settling in and adjusting to their new home.

Ironweed had their first official work day on their kitchen on Tuesday. Ironweed has been building their cob kitchen for a number of years now and hopes that this will be the final building season. Ted and Tamar were able to get all of the windows installed while Tony B. and I worked on planing boards for the floor of the loft. It was exciting to see activity and change in the kitchen again.

Aurelia had her first outing sans parents on Tuesday afternoon. She "walked" over to Sandhill for Tuesday night potluck with Tamar, Tony B., and myself. She seemed to enjoy the bumpy stroller ride and the lengthy time outdoors. While at Sandhill, Aurelia looked just like one of the other kids (how quickly her baby phase is coming to an end), playing and hanging out with Renee on the front lawn.

Many folks seem to be putting time into preparing and planting in their gardens. Bob is out working in his garden almost everyday and his garden is certainly looking fabulous because of it! Ironweed has now planted into many beds in their garden. It is so exciting to see beets, peas, onions and salad greens sprout! Suzanne planted seeds for transplant into her new garden. Tom and Thomas worked on cleaning up a Strawberry patch in the Bluestem garden too.

The Ye Old Barn Raising Society hosted another swam/work party on Thursday morning. More than 10 of us gathered to help with the removal of dead limbs from our beloved Elm tree at the entrance to Dancing Rabbit. Tom and Ted could be found high on the tree with chainsaws while the rest of us chopped, sawed, trimmed and relocated the wood to burn and wood piles nearby.

Alline hosted another movie, The Departed, on Thursday evening. It was advertised as violent and not kid-friendly and with that it seemed that only the die-hard fans of such movies showed up for the excitement. At the same time, Amy, Tony B. and I spent time together in Skyhouse for Sewing Night. It seemed as if only Tony B. actually worked on his project of patching a pair of pants while Amy and I spent most of the time talking.

Dancing Rabbit said goodbye to one our residents, Brian, this week as well. Brian has lived here since September and decided to continue his community search elsewhere. A number of us gathered after dinner on Friday night to spend some last time with Brian and bid him farewell. We wish Brian the best of luck and hope that he will stop by and visit again soon.

Dancing Rabbit has hosted many groups from the EEC class at Truman University in the past, and this Saturday brought another one. Nine students helped Ironweed with various projects including strawberry bed preparation, path maintenance, and mulching. It was great to have such an large and enthusiastic crew!

Back to list of Memphis Democrat Columns