Memphis Democrat
June 7, 2009

Hello again from ever-growing Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage in northeast Missouri. Ted here with this week's update.

It is hard to walk around Dancing Rabbit these days without noticing a sense of growth and vibrancy. With three more residents accepted for this year and more now applying, we're well on our way to cresting above the 50 member mark this year. The large number of work exchangers added to the mix this summer means we're experiencing a static population of 45-55, with peaks approaching 70 people on farm during a well-attended visitor session like the current one. Considering that the sign outside Rutledge claims a population of 103, it feels like we're growing into the once-outsized title of Village.

From atop the rafters and purlins that filled out the shape of Jan's house in the new neighborhood when I installed them this week, I had an excellent vantage point from which to observe the action in the village. Among other milestones I noticed this week were the last course of earth bags on Jeff's dome, the foundation stem wall for Maikwe's house, fencing around Thistledown's vineyard/garden, loft walls above the Timberframe's jaunty timber addition, and a rustic timber porch on Thomas's Mirth Lodge.

The weather continues to feature in our lives, in a year that is proving almost as wet as the waterlogged 2008 season so far. We've been waiting for a window of opportunity to start our village roads project, but the regular bouts of heavy rain have kept those very roads too muddy for the heavy equipment to work on. At the same time, those members whose construction projects will experience delays of access for sand, gravel, concrete and other materials during the road building process are trying to sneak their work in before the roads temporarily close.

That meant a very large concrete truck stuck on Main St. just past the common building Friday morning, enroute to pour Ma'ikwe's foundation wall. I heard first the message relayed by voice out to the construction site, and then the truck idling for some time. I did not relish the addition stress for the crew managing the pour in Ma'ikwe's absence this week.

In a surprisingly short amount of time, though, Irwin Zimmerman arrived with his backhoe to assist. I'd expected the pour to be aborted, but to my surprise I heard the growl of the concrete truck continuing up to the neighborhood where I was working on Jan's roof. A second truck later joined the first, and when the job was complete, both made it out without getting stuck again.

Despite a few deep ruts in the immediate vicinity of the foundation, the trucks made only superficial impressions on the playing field (right next to the building site), so that our Saturday Ultimate Frisbee game could go on without rebuilding the field. We are feeling increasing pressure to establish a new playing field, since the access road to the new neighborhood crosses half of the current field, but we have lacked a functioning tractor to mow with since our aged John Deere's fuel pump went out last year.

Perhaps in answer to that need, our neighbor Chad at Red Earth Farms, with contributions from the Possibility Alliance's Ethan, hosted a two-day workshop on scythes and scything Tuesday and Wednesday. We have perhaps 20 scythes within a mile radius these days, so bringing all the scythers (scythians?) up to speed can only mean good things for the tidiness of our paths and fields. I attended the second day, and was heartened to join 15 or so very interested participants taking part. My understanding of blade peening techniques deepened, and I began to really appreciate the tendency for groups of people here to get interested in positive new efforts at improving our collective lives.

Another example in evidence lately is a sizable number of villagers eating a wholly- or partly-raw-food diet. Each night before bed one can observe a handful of people pouring small quantities of each of a variety of grains, seeds, raisins, and other ingredients into jars, then filling them with water and leaving them to soak overnight. The morning meal, uncooked, is one that takes a modicum of patience to eat, each bite taking several minutes to chew. It makes for a meditative start to the day. Lots of fresh raw kale, lettuce, and other greens fill out the raw diet. I don't know that I'll stay with it long-term, but at this moment in the year when raw foods are really coming into abundance, I'm appreciating a deeper dive into foods that feel alive.

I'm a veteran of the 2001 Dancing Rabbit intern program, as is Sara, whom I met shortly after I arrived for my internship. So we were proud to see the return of a fellow 2001 intern, Brian Toomey. He arrived this week with his partner Lilly, along with all the belongings they'd recently evacuated from their Manhattan (New York City) apartment. They are guests of Skyhouse, but rumour has it they don't have any plans to leave if all goes well.

That seems quite in keeping with the steady stream of people interested in joining Dancing Rabbit this year. In addition to the couple already invited a month ago, we accepted current guest Brandon as a new resident this week. Brandon has visited Dancing Rabbit on a regular basis since 2004, and brings the experience of a variety of experiences he's had since, including working with draft horses. I'm excited to hear more active discussion of animal traction joining the current variety of Dancing Rabbit gardening and farming styles. This week we'll interview two of the current visitors for residency as well. The Membership and Residency Committee, which I've been a member of since moving here in 2003, feels more and more like a full-time job.

Sadly we said goodbye to Ma'ikwe's work exchanger Anika this week. She is off to a program in Costa Rica for the summer, but had talked with some of us about returning for another work exchange in August, and maybe another stint next summer. We look forward to her eventual return, whenever it may be.

Friday night we had a costume party of sorts, with lots of dancing and the inevitable popcorn interlude. Multiple people brought their musical inclinations along in various digital formats, and with our bulked-up population, the dance floor was packed well past my bedtime. With Red Earth Farms' land day coming up on the Solstice and a rash of birthdays meanwhile, I'm looking forward to the continued creativity of the celebrations we kindle.

With our first tomatoes already growing on our vines, scarlet runner beans putting out successive sets of leaves, walking onions growing out their wild aerial blublets, and strawberries ripening daily in the garden, I'm grateful to be alive and part of this place. So much more to come!

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