Memphis Democrat
January 20, 2009

Dear Friends, This is Alline reporting in. I continue to be delighted and impressed by our readers – your correspondence is always thoughtful and encouraging. We (the column writers and all of the Rabbits) appreciate the time that you share with us each week, reading about our (mis)adventures and challenges.

Slowly but surely the Rabbits are returning to the roost (ooh! How I love mixing metaphors!). We’ve had an especially challenging time getting them all home however – with the sub-zero weather last week our cars simply gave up – “it’s too coooooooooooold!” they whined, as we tried unsuccessfully to start them. Biodiesel is fantastic in the summer, but any remnants lurking in the gas tank or fuel lines become jelly (“must be jelly ‘cause jam don’t freeze like that!”) in cold weather. We are very grateful for the above-and-beyond efforts of Tom Cowan who spent all day stranded in a garage in Ewing waiting for a Jetta to thaw out, for Tim who walked to town and drove the vehicles back, one by one, as they were repaired, and for the combined patience of everyone here who needed transportation.

A Note on Car Use: What an odd feeling, writing that last paragraph. I feel almost traitorous by admitting that we do, indeed, drive cars. True, we drive them mostly to get from where we live (in the middle of nowhere) to a train or bus station. And before moving to the rural Midwest, most of us were passionate about using public transportation and bicycles. But I really want to present a realistic view of life here at Dancing Rabbit, so while Thomas rides his bike to visit his family in Pekin, IL (160 miles) and Tom Cowan would be up for any bike trip at all, the rest of us mere mortals sit on our posteriors and motor, at least when the temperature dips to 11 below zero.

A Note on Bike Use: There are more bicycles per capita at Dancing Rabbit than probably anywhere else on the globe. And except for extreme circumstances (broken limbs, sub- zero weather, asphalt-melting heat) you’ll find more Rabbits on bike and on foot than in cars.

After waiting a full day in the Quincy bus station while Tom, Rabbit transporter of the day, was cooling his heels in Ewing, Ziggy has returned home from New Jersey and other places east and south. Tony, too, has finally come home, after a whirlwind visit with family and friends. Amy and Juan, who were in Colorado for an Innkeeping Seminar (Amy is the Innkeeper for the soon-to-open Milkweed Mercantile) arrived on the same train as Dan Steineke, who had been basking in the warm California sunshine. This week will bring the return of Rachel, Jennifer, Cynder and Tamar. Jan is visiting friends in Michigan for a few months, but we know she’ll return because she left her Venus Fly Trap in my (barely) capable hands (“open up, little plant – I have a delicious fly for you!”). Jeff is due back soon as are Ted, Sara and Aurelia, and Annie swears she’s coming back in the spring. Liat still has a few months of traveling a head of her, but we expect her back in the spring, too. Whew!

Maikwe, Tony and Thomas are busy planning our annual retreat; it takes a lot of work to build a village! More on this in future columns.

In other news, the seed catalogs have been arriving by the pound, and we spend our days curled up by the fire pouring over them. Visions of dinosaur kale, French radishes and bright red raspberries dance in our heads, while we blithely forget all the work involved in gardening and remember only the delicious results. A few of our catalog favorites: Southern Exposure Seed Exchange and Sand Hill Preservation Center, not to be confused with our neighbors here in Rutledge at Sandhill Farm. Both are purveyors of organic heirloom seeds. The catalogs are not fancy-schmancy or even in color, but the work these farmers do and the seeds they sell are absolutely stunning. Heirloom, open-pollinated seeds are our future, and ensure that our children’s children will be able to grow their food without inputs from chemical companies and huge corporate agri-businesses. We encourage you to consider supporting them. And speaking of gardening, add “Gaia’s Garden” by Toby Hemenway to your list of books to read. Many of us find it incredibly inspiring!

To read more about Dancing Rabbit written by those who live here, I highly recommend Ziggy’s blogs “Small Scale” and “Ziggy’s Year of Mud,” and his insightful video work. All can be gotten to from here: http://small-scale.net . Also online is “Ecovillage Musings,” my place to rant when I am not in the MemDem rotation (http://ecovillagemusings.blogspot.com/). We are always interested to hear your thoughts, comments and suggestions; please email them to alline at milkweedmercantile dot com and I will pass them on to the rest of the Rabbits. Stay warm, be well and we’ll see you next week!

Back to list of Memphis Democrat Columns