Memphis Democrat
June 21, 2009

Hello from Dancing Rabbit. Ted here again. With Alline and Cob both gone this weekend, I'm jumping ahead in the rotation to fill in.

Happy Solstice, and here's to the start of Summer with a nice hot weather streak! Feels like we've been babied till now with the mild, moist weather, but it wasn't going to stay away forever.

Happy Father's Day to all you dads out there, too.

Last week got off to a fun start with a collective birthday party for at least five people between Dancing Rabbit, Sandhill, and Red Earth. It took place at one of the summer cabins at Dandelion's homestead at Red Earth, with a dock peaking out into the pond between low willow branches growing on either side right off the porch. The table was full of fresh fruit and veggies, spreads, and at least four kinds of home made crackers, as well as lots of cool drinks. It was a beautiful evening, and various activities kept everyone going well past dinner time.

I had to rush back from the event to help run a training for those thinking of being a liaison for a new resident this year. We need them, with all the interest in joining Dancing Rabbit at the moment. A liaison is your contact before you arrive at Dancing Rabbit for your residency, and they'll also be your go-to reference as you settle in to living here. We make sure everybody understands what the job involves, so we can offer as uniform a level of information and support to new folks as possible.

Sara and Aurelia returned from their week out East Tuesday. It was great to have them home again, though I had thoroughly enjoyed my freedom of time management during their absence, getting lots done. It made me keenly aware of how long it has been since Sara had the same opportunity!

Alline, Liat, Tom, Brandon and Rachel all left for the Midwest Renewable Energy Fair up in Wisconsin mid-week. This is an annual event some Rabbits have attended before, and it was great to send such a good team this time around to talk about Dancing Rabbit and what we're doing, and connect with others in the Midwest who share some of our pursuits. We'll hopefully hear more next week about how it went.

The new farmer's markets in Memphis (Tuesday 4-7pm) and Rutledge (Saturday 9am-12pm) got started this week. A number of folks from the three local communities have been working on this project since Winter, and it was exciting to see it come to fruition. We went into Rutledge Saturday morning to hang out and support the project, and found a vibrant scene with music, chatting, and frisbee on the lawn while a string of folks came to check it out. The two vendor tables had local baked goods and veggies available, and with vendor tables free through June, Sara and I thought we might bring some of our own produce next weekend, maybe running our table with Sara's parents, who'll be visiting for Aurelia's birthday. Go local foods!

Despite the heat, the Ultimate Frisbee crew made three games this week, thankful that our pond isn't far from the field. I was excited to see the proposal for the new playing field go out this week, so we're on track to migrate away from the field that has served us so well for 10+ years, onto one just a little north and east that will hopefully last us for many more years once it gets mowed and established.

Jennifer hosted a stomping party at the Timberframe addition Friday night, with a music play list that helped get everyone's stomping boots kicking. Saturday and Sunday we said goodbye to Ma'ikwe (headed to Seattle) and Jibran (off to Kansas City and points west), and Sunday Tamar and Ashley departed for a road trip to the northeast. Tamar will return in a couple weeks with a friend, but Ashley is headed for an internship at Yestermorrow Institute in Vermont. I so enjoyed his stay here, and hope we'll be seeing his return sooner rather than later.

This afternoon Red Earth closes the week as it opened it, with a party, this one to celebrate its Land Day. It will be good to have the pond close at hand again on what promises to be a toasty afternoon.

Stay cool this week!

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