Memphis Democrat
October 24, 2002

Hi everyone. This is Alline, filling in for Rachel. She, Tony and Cecil are all in California for a reunion of their college co-op (Stanford's Synergy). This is the place where Dancing Rabbit began as a mere spark of an idea - now the three of them are returning, excited to see old friends and share stories and experiences.

Cecil and Tony are both traveling by train, and Cecil was able to use his Amtrak 'frequent traveler' points to upgrade to a sleeper car on the way home. His friend Jacque will be joining him and they'll have a great time watching the scenery of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, the Great Salt Lake, the Rockies, and the wide open plains. The sleeper cars always make Kurt and me feel like Lucy and Ricky Ricardo - especially when one of us tries to climb into the teeny-tiny top bunk. That, and trying to eat in the dining car - will the bite make it to his mouth? Who knows? So we're thinking fond thoughts of Cecil and Jacque on their trip.

Gare is still visiting Ohio, Susan Brown is still working in Asia (her last email placed her in Osaka, Japan!), Kurt still working during the week in Illinois, and Tom Cowan is still rock-climbing in California. WIth all these folks gone, one would think things would slow down around here - ha!

Alyson returned home with her British friend Toby in tow. It's always fun when guests are here.

Penn and Andra raised the trusses on their house this week, and Susan and Erik finished the roof and began on walls on theirs. Both houses are looking amazing, and warmer by the minute!

Sedge, Tom K. and the rest of the Skyhouse crew (including Bob and Steph) have begun plastering the downstairs of Skyhouse, working on the battery room (to move the batteries that hold the electricity from the solar panels into a warmer space) and getting ready to install a stove for heat. Woooohoooo!

Tamar continues to build coldframes to help coax her garden through the winter, and is getting her 'new' house ready for winter habitation. She purchased what was formerly known as 'Kalen's Casa' from former Dancing Rabbit Kalen this summer. She has yet to rename it - can't wait to see what she comes up with.

Jeffrey is getting ready for his six-month stint in Germany - what began as the opportunity to attend a good friend's wedding has morphed into a short-term job opportunity/adventure. We're excited for Jeffrey, but miss him already!

Don and Bob have been bringing in a bumper crop of Chinese cabbage (great in stir fry!) and gigantic sweet potatoes. Yum yum. Speaking of yummy food, Jillian continues to lead canning crews - this week was carrots, carrots and more carrots. They look so beautiful sparkling in their jars. And while we're on THAT subject, we're out of canning jars AGAIN! Does anyone have to give or sell to us?

After a summer of work in the garden Karly and her partner Andrew, a general intern, left to return to Austin, TX. Bekka, a resident who has been working on Skyhouse also left this week, as did Betsey, Ultimate frisbee fan extraordinaire. We'll miss them all but I'm sure our paths will cross again, somewhere, somehow.

While Kurt is away from home working, he dreams of projects that he wants to do here at Dancing Rabbit. This weekend was hot tub weekend. With a stock tank, some plumbing, a chimney, a few concrete blocks and a lot of cob (an ancient building material made of sand, soil, water and straw) he was up and running. Soon the hot tub will be too. Saturday Kristen, Stephanie and Jillian pitched in, Alline stomped the cob mixture, and Penn wandered by to supervise. Big enough for two, the hot tub should be a great star-watching venue. Bring your own firewood!

Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage is a nonprofit and a residential community that demonstrates ecological sustainability in Rutledge, MO. We have a tour each Saturday at 1:00, by reservation only. Please call 883-5511 if you'd like to come by.

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