Memphis Democrat
August 21, 2003

I had a great trip out to the West coast to visit my friends. And so many other people have been traveling to see friends and family or go to compete in tournaments that it would be overwhelming to read them all. Suffice it to say that it is kind of quiet around here, and at the same time we get to hear about so many interesting adventures.

A small group went to the Rutledge Fall Festival meeting to offer their ideas and help with things like face painting. We really enjoy the festival and appreciate the hard work our neighbors put in to make it happen. Speaking of neighbors, Don Tague stopped by and with his usual delivery of Wall Street Journals he brought us an heirloom mushmelon he had grown and it was delicious! Thanks.

Bluestem food co-op got their fridge and low-tech water system installed, so they have begun eating in their new building. I miss their smiling faces at the Cattail co-op's meals, but I know they are happy to have reached this milestone.

Plenty of other interesting things have been happening construction-wise. Skyhouse put in the bales that are acting as insulation in their floor, and put up a few walls downstairs too. Kurt and Alline put the finishing touches on their power system cabinet. Bob has begun work on a small building that he wants to build to live in this winter. And as always, the Common House is humming along. And all this is happening in 100 degree weather!

Don is an organic farm inspector and he has been tooling around southern Iowa visiting farms and processing plants. He somehow manages to do this at the same time he and his garden crew are pulling buckets and buckets of tomatoes out of the garden. Which means then that Jacque is awfully busy turning those tomatoes in salsa, sauce, ketchup and juice for the winter. We also have two solar dehydraters, which uses the heat from the sun to dry veggies for winter. They are full every day of everything from okra to kale. Its nice to have the heat to dry the vegetables, but I think we're all wishing for cooler weather and some rain.

We have tours the 2nd and 4th Saturday of the month at 1pm. Please call before coming by, 883-5511. http://www.dancingrabbit.org

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