Memphis Democrat
March 2, 2009

Cob here, reporting that the 2009 Construction Season has officially begun here at Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage! Ziggy took advantage of the frozen ground to take delivery on 9 tons of sand for use in plastering the walls of Gobcobitron, his earthen home. Dancing Rabbit Land Trust is also anticipating a large delivery of composted manure from some of our neighbors for use in our upcoming roads project. We're planning a trial installation of some grassy pavers (a thick honeycomb lattice made from recycled plastics) which once locked in place and seeded, should provide a level, green, absorbent and durable roadway for the village. We're guaranteed one more season of muck, as the roadbeds are prepared for this new surface, but alternately frozen and soggy ruts will finally be a thing of the past.

Meanwhile, the Land Management Team is actively looking for old/rotted square straw bales for use in erosion control projects. If you have any, or know where we can get some, please call 660-883-5511 and leave a message for Thomas or Sara. Just be sure to mention "rotten straw" in your message, as our call volume has increased so has the challenge of getting the right messages to the right people.

Another harbinger of spring is the volume of Work Exchanger (wexer) applications that folks with building projects have been receiving. It's always amazing to see so much energy and enthusiasm for hard labor from so many people from all walks of life. The level of interest in natural building techniques and lowering environmental impact continues to grow, and we're pleased to be able to offer so many opportunities for sharing what we've learned the hard way.

Gardening supplies and seed orders are starting to trickle in, and folks are getting their seed trays ready and clearing space behind south-facing windows. Our next round of swapping extra seeds and seedlings will be starting soon...always a fun and interesting way to try new plants or varieties you weren't sure enough about to buy for yourself. As hard as the ground is right now, it won't be much longer before we can start working the soil for another season of good eating.

This spring is also bringing significant media exposure for Dancing Rabbit. Last summer's visit from The Food Network has resulted in a look at how we rely on our local area as much as possible for our sustenance. We don't have an exact air-time, but rumor has it that "My Life in Food: Living Off the Land" is supposed to show on April 4th. Our recent visit from Nickelodeon is already in edit and will be included on "Nick News with Linda Ellerbee" showing on April 22, Earth Day 2009. Both crews spent several days filming on location, and racked up hours of interviews with various rabbits. It will be interesting to see how they manage to condense it all into 20 minutes or less.

Whether the footage makes it into the Nick News spot or not, it was a novel experience to have a film crew follow us through the woods as we checked on the sap flow from our maple trees. The week after filming stopped, we gathered over 100 gallons of the good stuff from DR and a couple of our neighbors. We're hoping it stays cold nights to keep the sap flowing for another couple weeks at least. If it gets too warm, too soon, the buds will open and the sap will start to get bitter as the trees rev up their biochemistry for the year. Thanks to our friends at Sandhill, cooking off the excess water (it takes about 50 gallons of sap to get one gallon of syrup from silver maples) is done very efficiently in their large sorghum pans. If you're interested in seeing exactly how maple sugaring works, stop by during Sandhill's Maple Sugaring open house this Saturday (March 7th) from 1-5pm. Sandhill is located off Route M, just outside of Rutledge.

Our social scene was busy this past week as rabbits continue to return home from winter travels, and friends and family start visiting again. This week saw a couple video premiers: First Earth - Uncompromising Ecological Architecture, much of which is available in short segments on YouTube.com, and Visions of Utopia, Part II. Throw in several birthday bashes, song circles, a blessing-way for Amy & Juan's almost-here baby, and the usual fun & games, and it was a full week!

I have two invitations for you this week. First, Alexis Zeigler is on a national tour speaking about the issues around the phenomenon of peak oil, and will be offering a free talk at Dancing Rabbit on Monday, March 9th at 7:30pm. His promotional bit says "What impact will Peak Oil and the escalating environmental crisis have on the political culture of the U.S.? What can we do to choose a better future? Green builder, activist and author Alexis Zeigler will present a slideshow and discussion titled Culture Change, Real Solutions for Peak Oil and Global Warming. The presentation is free and will examine current environmental issues and long-term solutions. More information can be found at http://www.conev.org". Let us know if you can join us for an interesting evening! Just leave a message for us at 660-883-5511 so we can set up enough chairs.

Finally, I hope you have a chance to take an occasional break from your daily busyness to relect on the bounty and abundance in your own life. Your connections with friends and family, the lengthening days and return of spring, food warmth and shelter, and all the other little things that we too often take for granted. I sat out on the porch swing this morning with my steaming hot coffee, watching the egg-laden robins poking around in the grass and establishing their territories. As I sat there and felt the sun on my face, listening to the piercingly sweet birdsong all around me, I resolved to do this each morning this week. I hope you'll join me.

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