Memphis Democrat
September 9, 2004

Alyson here. Well, fall must be coming because our summer work exchange folks are taking their leave of us. Ed left this week, and we're already missing him--but he promises to return for a visit whenever he's seeing friends in Kirksville. He will be remembered for all the work he did on Ironweed's kitchen, the lovely gate he built for their garden, and the music, warmth, and smiles he spread around him here. Thanks, Ed!

We can also tell fall is coming by the way the calendar seems to be filling up with harvest festivals and the like. This past weekend a few Rabbits went over to Gorin for their Fall Festival and had a great time playing softball. I hear Jacque and Abby Klatt sang together for the crowd. Sorry I missed it; I was home canning tomatoes. I'll make sure not to miss the Rutledge Fall Celebration in a couple of weeks, nor the sorghum harvest kick-off over at Sandhill Farm... And you all make sure to come by DR for our annual Open House on Saturday, October 9th. Mark your calendars now!

Rachel and Tony are away for a couple of weeks having a vacation and going to conferences and meetings. Tony's in Virginia right now at the annual Communities Conference, which is a gathering for people interested in "intentional communities". This is a general term describing ecovillages, student co-ops, cohousing groups, communal households, and other groups of people who have chosen to live together cooperatively and usually share some things in common. I look forward to hearing what news Tony brings back from the conference.

Before our old friend Allegra left, we managed to squeeze in a square dance with live DR musicians and calling by Allegra herself. As usual, we mangled the dances nearly beyond recognition, and had a ton of fun. Then a few of us sat for a while playing and singing with her, and she taught us some new songs. It was great to see her again.

A big change in the physical appearance of DR came this week when Ted mowed a section of tall grass in the general area where our town center might be. Immediately we all began discussing whether that was, in fact, the place where we should have our town center. A good way to get a bunch of Rabbits talking is to ask a question about what our village will eventually look like. We all seem to have our own lovely pictures in our heads, and it's fascinating looking for the overlap among them. I think the Land Use Planning committee is wrestling with that question right now. It'll be interesting talking about their ideas whenever that meeting rolls around.

We have some visitors here now who met at Truman State University in Kirksville and now live in Texas. Kim and Corey are interested in living in an ecovillage and wanted to see what one was like. Their friend Travis came with them. They're intrigued by wilderness survival skills, wild edible plants, building primitive structures, and the like. On our tour today I was struck again by the range of lifestyles here at DR; some people have interests similar to those of our visitors, while others are living much less primitively. It's nice to be able to snuggle into a cob wigwam with one friend, and watch a movie on video with another. It takes all kinds to make the world go round.

Sorry, no member spotlights while Rachel is away.

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