The March Hare: Spring '00
Issue 24

Come see our past issues for lots of Dancing Rabbit information.

With a little help from our friends

The varied calls of red-winged blackbirds, robins and meadowlarks herald the beginning of spring this year as they do every year. Here at Dancing Rabbit, spring brings long-awaited opportunities to spend more time outside, feel the breeze on a sunny day or gather food from the fields (see our new wild edibles column below). It also means that we start really picking up the pace for our work over the summer season. Construction on our five strawbale houses continues in earnest, and Don, our able new gardener, is expanding our gardens radically. Our weekly meetings and a group commitment to talk things over with each other have helped the group gel. We've felt ever closer as we moved through winter's good times and hard times, together.

Every year as we tackle the next season's work, we are thankful and aware of all the help and support that we provide each other and that we receive from everyone who is following Dancing Rabbit's progress. One of the big advantages of trying to live sustainably in the context of an ecologically-aware community is that we are all able to share knowledge with each other. It takes off the pressure for everyone to know everything, since collectively our knowledge base is much wider than any individual's. In that spirit, we've decided to start asking March Hare readers for knowledge they may have on pressing issues we face, just as we try to share what we've learned.

Of course, you don't have to live in an ecovillage to find this kind of support. If you're interested in sustainable living, find friends with a similar interest to share the trials and joys of changing one's lifestyle. It'll make life much easier for you and them both. Maybe you will inadvertently start an ecovillage in your own town. Let us know how you do!

We did our first large (8 acre) burn this Spring as part of our restoration work.