Memphis Democrat
April 21, 2008

Greetings from Cob at Dancing Rabbit, where spring is in the air....and in the squishy ground beneath our feet! Yes indeed, mud season is upon us, and muck boots are the new fashion regardless of the weather. Our clay soil has become sufficiently saturated that it takes more than one or two sunny days to firm up again.

As inconvenient as this may be for delivery of construction materials, it does make the ground much easier to work by hand. Ziggy (aka Brian) has been burning through his supply of elbow grease digging the foundation trench for his new cob & strawbale roundhouse. At least he'll soon have a place to put the 9 tons of crushed stone he received mid-week. The delivery truck arrived during a village-wide game of Capture-the-Flag, and some rabbits were happy for the chance to catch their breath and watch someone ELSE get stuck in the muck for a change. Fortunately some well placed gravel and some skillful driving resolved the situation before anyone had to get behind and push.

While gardeners have been waiting for the ground to soften and overnight temperatures to moderate, others have been busy working on developing and refining their building plans. Hammers and saws will soon resound as Jan creates the structure for her new strawbale house; as Bear finishes a screened-in porch for Larkspur; as work continues on the Milkweed Mercantile; and as Jennifer begins an expansion of the Timberframe. During fair weather this past week, Toby & Michelle made progress on the footings for their Yome, the Mercantile moved closer to gaining a roof, and several more rabbits scouted out ground in the new neighborhood for their future homes.

Alline hosted Catherine Wolf, a reporter from National Public Radio, and Katie Barnes, a student photographer from the University of Missouri at Columbia. They spent the day (fortunately a warm & sunny one) interviewing DR members and capturing images of ecological living, prairie style. We don't know when the story will air on KBIA, but Katie's photos are available for viewing at http://www.pbase.com/katiebarnes.

Rain or shine, the other work of Dancing Rabbit continued unabated...committee meetings, community discussions, approving an annual budget, reviewing preliminary research on such diverse topics as road and drainage improvements, village-wide natural treatment systems for waste water, and finding a "new" tractor. In advance of Earth Week (Earth Day is April 22nd) Nathan also organized a bracelet-making party to prepare for the one-year anniversary of the founding of Critical Mass in Kirksville...promoting the use of bicycles for regular transportation. Kirksville Critical Mass will have a celebratory "Species Ride" on Friday, where each bicyclist is encouraged to dress up as their favorite species. Giant White Mountain Snow Gorrilla anyone?

One of the beauties of the Dancing Rabbit community is that as an intentional community founded on ecological covenants and a commitment to non-violent communication, our members represent a wide diversity of faiths and all are respected for the truths and traditions they hold. In this spirit we gathered on Saturday for a (mostly) traditional Seder dinner potluck. As the Passover and Exodus story was told, we shared in the Jewish observance with unleavened bread and other elements of the tradition...complete with a large carrot playing the role of vegan shank-bone.

Perhaps the most exciting news is that this week marks the beginning of a new visitor season and the arrival of nearly a dozen folks who will be spending between one to three weeks learning more about the what, why, and how of DR, and every one is potentially a new neighbor. Visitor season is always a busy time, as we hold additional workshops and work parties for each of the five visitor sessions through the year. The work parties actually started a little early, as we drove the tractor & trailer around the village collecting accumulated piles of brush to tidy up a bit before company arrives. We have quite a respectable burn pile now...but don't worry folks, we'll call the fire department ahead of time!

We anticipate a full and rewarding week, and hope the same for you. Speaking of anticipation, my son wants to be sure everyone remembers his 13th birthday is this Friday, April 25th. Birthday cards can be sent to Thistledown at Dancing Rabbit. But seriously friends, keep those cards and letters coming and let us know how you're doing...we love to hear from you!

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