Memphis Democrat
July 20, 2009

Welcome to another exciting week at Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage! This week I (Cob) am reporting to you live from my newly screened in porch, made possible by our one-week-wonder-wexer. Thank you George!

>From this new bug-free vantage point, I can see a large crew of rabbits laughing and generally enjoying themselves as they install the new grassy pavers on Main Street from the village entrance up to the common house. Once they've finished filling in the recycled matrix with sand and covered it with soil and grass seeds, Main Street will be closed to all traffic for four to six weeks while the grass gets established. We will also take the unusual step of watering something other than individual garden plants. This may even mark the first time a conventional sprinkler has been used at DR! Watch for pictures from this project on Dancing Rabbit's Facebook group and website.

Work hard, play harder. Dancing Rabbit, in conjunction with Red Earth Farm and Sandhill, fielded a tri-community team at the at the Show-Me State Ultimate Frisbee competition in Columbia, Missouri. The Red Hill Rabbits played competitively, and with such a spirit of fun and good sportsmanship (and a notable lack of uniforms) that they earned a write-up in The Missourian. That article can be found online at http://www.columbiamissourian.com/stories/2009/07/19/members-missouri-eco-villages-compete-smsg/

Dancing Rabbit also appeared in no fewer than 7 new blogs this past week. While this may not seem noteworthy, a current Google search on "Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage" returns over 11,000 search results. DR itself is responsible for some portion of these, but the shear volume of hits demonstrates the viral nature of modern online communications and the level of positive interest in what Dancing Rabbit is trying to accomplish. It certainly makes sharing our various setbacks and successes more fun.

This has certainly been a successful week. From final shaping of the road bed for the grassy paver installation, Ma'ikwe's cement pour, Dan & Mary Beth's bent raising, and the Mercantile's finished floors to our own porch, Ziggy's official move into Gob Cobitron, and the delivery of hundreds of straw bales, additional framework, and roofing installed on countless other projects, it's been a good week by any measure.

Living closer to the land has brought significant changes to the rhythms of my life over the past couple years. I'm currently noticing that my focus is being pulled away from construction-related efforts back toward the gardens as the fruits of our earlier labors are once again demanding attention. The volume of cucumbers has grown to the point where we have to start making decisions about how to store the new bounty. Cucumber-dill soup? Pickles?

The garlic has been braided and hung, but now the early onions and potatoes are ready for harvest...and our planned cool-storage/root cellar isn't ready to receive them yet. Most of the tomatoes are still green, but I know we'll barely be done with the other produce before it will be time for more canning and sauce & ketchup making! Fortunately the winter squash that follows won't be so demanding on our kitchen time. Meanwhile many rabbits have reminded me that it's time to issue our annual plea for new and innovative recipes for zucchini, as we have a decided lack of car seats available for anonymous disposal of the excess.

Individual creativity and artistic expression continues to amaze me here. This past week Charles, one of our visiting wexers, has been collecting the larger pieces of corrugated cardboard from the recycling bin. This is not an unusual activity as rabbits often use plain cardboard as weed-blocking underlayment for gardens and mulched paths. Charles is not gardening however. Rather he is constructing remarkably sturdy and functional furniture for his apartment this fall when he returns to school.

This unusual furniture can be easily redecorated (pen, marker, crayon, paint, etc.), but best of all can be disassembled and stored flat in a single packing box for easy storage and transportation. While this style of furniture is new to me, it was no big deal for Thomas. A number of years ago Thomas constructed a travel case for a guitar out of corrugated cardboard, stitched together with twine. This recycled travel case proved highly durable and lasted for years. Perhaps Charles' furniture will last as long. At least it can still be used as mulch when he's done sitting on it!

If only houses were as easy. Additional folks continue to apply for Residency (most recently Huanani and her daughter "Elle" from Hawai'i) even as new Residents arrive to swell our population. Finding winter quarters for everyone will prove challenging, as we presently have more people than permanent living spaces. And I thought this building season was busy! If you are interested in experiencing Dancing Rabbit for yourself, make a note to check our the work exchanger listings on the DR website next spring...the opportunities continue to grow.

It's been great chatting, but it looks like the road crew is done installing the grassy pavers and I want to go take a look at the results. At least I'll still be able to help shift boxes of eco-groovy goodies into the nearly completed Mercantile later this afternoon. Meanwhile my ripe onions and potatoes are calling.

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