Memphis Democrat
September 30, 2008

This is Alline with all the news that’s fit to print from Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage.

At the risk of wallowing in clichés (one of my favorite things in which to wallow), the air is crisp, the sun is lower, the light is more diffused, and the world is filled with fresh apples. Clichés and stereotypes often have a basis in truth, so there you are! (Kurt just popped in and said that we know that it is fall when the leaves start fall-ing. Insert groan here.) Speaking of leaves, they are beginning to lose their green and take on fall shades. Ironically, the poison ivy is a spectacularly vivid red, luring unsuspecting out-of-towners to gather it for floral bouquets. This really happened a few years ago – in preparation for our big Land Day celebration, our devoted interns went a-gathering and came home with armloads of lovely botanical specimens. They arranged the goldenrod, the ragweed and the poison ivy in glorious, albeit itchy, arrangements.

Land Day 2008 is fast approaching, which means that Dancing Rabbit has been here is Northeastern Missouri for eleven fabulous years. Thanks, everyone, for your hospitality!

This column appears both in local Missouri papers and is emailed to an extensive list of Dancing Rabbit supporters. For those reading this online and not experiencing it directly, the weather has been absolutely glorious. Ultimate Frisbee is exceptionally popular, being played twice a week by enthusiasts from DR, Sandhill and Red Earth Farms. On Saturday, many of us wandered the three short miles (on foot, on bike, and in a car or two) to Sandhill Farm for their annual Sorghum Fest. It was a lovely day, with equal parts delicious food experiences and delicious learning experiences. It is always fascinating watch the sorghum cane get crushed in the mill; the next stop on the tour is the “Sugar Shack” where we got to watch Sandhill’s ingenious steam-powered cooker in action. The steam heat produces an even, rich, and deeply flavored syrup, making Sandhill’s sorghum better than it ever was! I see lots of “molasses” cookies (made with the far superior sorghum) in my future!

Before I forget, Liat is looking for old comforters (fabric with batting inside) that you no longer need. She needs several with which to make thermal curtains for her home. If you can help, please call and leave a message for her at 883-5511. As an eco aside, consider making/purchasing thermal curtains in your own home, especially if your windows are single pane glass. There are a variety of styles that range from using already-thick fabric (old comforters or purchased quilted fabric) to fancy schmanchy products like Warm Windows Insulated Roman Shades. The Warm Windows fabric is five layers of insulation, including a vapor barrier, that is ready to be made into easy-to-use Roman Shades. Whatever method you choose, please consider doing something. You’ll save valuable resources (both environmental and financial!) by keeping the warmth inside your home.

In other news, the Dancing Rabbit babies continue to get cuter and smarter and more talented each day. Zane is now blowing kisses to his fans, and appears to be completely obsessed with trucks. We hope he will consider using biodiesel. Aurelia, well, Aurelia will soon be the charismatic leader of Dancing Rabbit (even though we don’t believe in that sort of thing, and make all of our decisions by consensus).

The building season continues at a frenzied pace, especially now that we all realize that summer is not an endless season. Ziggy continues working on his amazing reciprocal roof, Jeff and Matt have an earth bag installing “party” planned (do we know how to have fun, or what?), Ted continues to amiably host a string of college classes, Thomas works on his building, Jennifer continues work on her foundation, and Tom is halfway finished with the addition on the home he shares with Tereza. Yep, winter IS coming!

In a last note: this column is being written and will be emailed out on Monday; it will appear in local papers on Thursday. As you no doubt already know, the Milkweed Mercantile (the strawbale B&B/Café/Store that Kurt and I are building here at Dancing Rabbit) is in an online contest for a $20,000 cash award. Our extended community has been amazing – votes for us have been pouring in, and the company in the #1 spot is shaking in their boots (well, perhaps jiggling a bit). If you have not yet voted, and would consider doing so, please see the details on my blog (http://ecovillagemusings.blogspot.com/). While there you can also view the video that Ziggy made about the Mercantile. $20,000 is a huge amount of money, and would purchase a large part of our solar and wind power system. As always, your support is appreciated. Voting ends Tuesday, September 30, 2008 at MIDNIGHT.

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