Memphis Democrat
July 6, 2009

Hello again from Ted at Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage, on the short writing rotation!

It was a lovely week, weather-wise, after that hot soupy weather finally let go. July days in the low 80's and nice, cool nights definitely work for me. I see we're headed for some more heat, but with the pond cooled off a bit in the past week, I'll be alright.

Significant visible change was one of the themes this past week as we at long last installed our new roads. Zimmerman's Excavating seemed to have brought every large yellow machine they owned, to rip out trees and our enormous old elm stump in the intended road bed, doze the roadbeds, mix and spread loads of sand and gravel, and generally make things a lot smoother than they've typically been around here. With an inch or so of rain over the weekend, it all got watered in and settled.

Tony, who had done the vast majority of the preparation and planning for the project, was ever-present throughout the four full days or so of work, and looked tired but satisfied by the weekend. This Monday morning he also led a work party of grass seeding and mulching the drainage swales alongside the roads. We are all grateful for his time and energy, not to mention that of the folks at Zimmerman's, the phone company, and the four or so trucking companies that brought material out for the project.

I thought it was then time for us to settle into our new setting. Sitting in my now-somewhat-smaller front yard on Holler Way, I looked around and realized how nearly every spot that we've designated for residential use in sight of my house is filled in with either a finished house or new construction, and especially with the roads, it truly looks like a village. I remember camping in what was then a grassy field as an intern in 2001... so much change in a seemingly short period of time.

Just so I don't get too accustomed to a new plateau of settlement, though, the folks at Horst came out Monday morning to trench in and install a thousand feet or so of drainage line and a lagoon for the Milkweed Mercantile's greywater discharge. The lagoon may also serve other users along the way, but now clears the way for the Mercantile, rapidly approaching completion, to open for business.

The 4th of July seemed a disappointment, weather-wise. Steady, heavy rain accompanied us throughout the Rutledge Farmer's Market Saturday morning, and attendance was light. We were glad to see those who did stop in, and know it can take a while for people to start thinking of it as a regular opportunity to buy local foods and products.

Jennifer, who'd organized an ambitious party for the day, decided to move the venue from our swimming pond to the outdoor kitchen so we could be under cover from the rain but still outdoors. Aside from the mud around the freshly packed soil contours in the courtyard, it turned out to be a fine affair, with no more than a bit of drizzle once we got going. A number of folks wrapped up the party with fireworks, and we also enjoyed some large ones visible on the horizons in various directions from the high point of the village.

This weekend Skyhouse also hosted a reunion, attended by the likes of Cecil, one of DR's founding members, as well as Jeffrey and Jacob, who attended with his kids Indigo and Ansel and planned to stay through the week to attend the annual Dancing Rabbit, Inc. board meeting. It was great to see them around these parts again.

Ma'ikwe, Alyssa, Bear, Zane, and Tamar all returned from travels with stories to tell, and the Carletons and others were expected back at the time of writing. In addition we start our third visitor session this week, with a dozen or so people attending for one to three weeks, so we've gone from a light population back to chock-full almost overnight. A village indeed.

My daughter Aurelia turned three Tuesday, a day which was bracketed by visits from her two sets of grandparents. With Sara's folks we spent some time on a boat at Thousand Hills in Kirksville, while with mine we went to Hannibal. In both cases Aurelia seemed to enjoy herself lots (and didn't mind having a few presents to open!). We were glad to reconnect with our families.

Now for another overscheduled week... the busy season continues.

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