Winter Sleep: A Dancing Rabbit Update

Winter Sleep: A Dancing Rabbit Update

So, I woke up this glorious Sunday morning to the still toasty, snap, crackle, and pop of logs burning in the custom-built rocket stove of my neighbors’ house. I am house-sitting for them, you see. (Did I mention it is a self-feeding rocket stove? Yeah, that’s right, self-feeding. Simply put, it’s an amazing structure.) Their cat, Grommet, is darting back and forth through the house clawing and kneading, first there on the wood post between rooms, then here on my leg . . . ouch, trying to hint I should let him out. This is when I say, “You know…read more >
Putting Down Roots: A Dancing Rabbit Update

Putting Down Roots: A Dancing Rabbit Update

Across my neighbor’s yard, there is a tree that seems to be watching me. It is so still, so solid, yet always growing. Its trunk and branches may be still, but beneath the soil, its roots reach out to exchange nutrients with the soil. The concept of roots could be applied in an interesting way to my life here at Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage, having just moved for the third time since my mother and sister and I arrived at the village. A dance of musical houses has increased in speed recently with the influx of new residents. My name is…read more >
It Depends: A Dancing Rabbit Update

It Depends: A Dancing Rabbit Update

Grandma Matthews did not like going to the chicken coop when she was a girl. She lived on a small farm just south of Corder, Missouri. “I would go into the chicken coop and those chickens would just fly everywhere, and . . . ughh!I hate chickens.” She loved her milk cow though. “That was the best cow. She was a little Guernsey and she was just the best little cow. We milked a few cows, and the milk truck would come around and pick up the milk to sell. That was part of how we made a living.” I…read more >
The Span of a Year: My Dancing Rabbit Experience

The Span of a Year: My Dancing Rabbit Experience

By Ryan Morris Eleven months after attending the Dancing Rabbit Sustainable Living Visitor Program in May 2017, I finally started my residency at Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage. You may remember my first post about the eye-opening and transformative experience I had at the visitor program. Since then, it has been a winding and sometimes turbulent road with occasional discomfort and fear, yet abundant excitement and joy. I decided to move on from my previous community residency at the neighboring community of Red Earth Farms and begin again here at Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage. Thankfully, I will not lose those friends, as the tri-communities…read more >
Cat Karma: A Dancing Rabbit Update

Cat Karma: A Dancing Rabbit Update

The other night, Highway MM from Rutledge to Memphis and back was two very different experiences. On my way, in the partial light and drizzle, it was a beautiful country drive: hills and curves and cows. I love these kinds of drives. I used to have to leave the city to take a country detour like this. Now, as a new resident at Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage, I get to enjoy these back roads in the natural course of my comings and goings.   While the drive to Memphis was enjoyable, the drive back to Dancing Rabbit later that night was a…read more >
My DR Visit: Blood, Sweat, Tears, Laughter, and Beers

My DR Visit: Blood, Sweat, Tears, Laughter, and Beers

Blood, sweat, tears, laughter, and beers. That’s the conclusion a Rabbit and I came to over coffee one morning. We were having a chat in the Common House, talking about what has gone into creating Dancing Rabbit over the last 21 years. For me, the Visitor Program was a real look into the building of Dancing Rabbit and the people that have done the work, as well as a short immersion into what life at DR would be like for new residents. I arrived for my two-week stay with a strong feeling I would pursue becoming a resident at DR,…read more >
Village Fires and Singing Rabbits

Village Fires and Singing Rabbits

by Alyson Ewald “You went where?” My brother's voice on the phone sounds confused. “Village Fire. It's a kind of song camp. We're hosting one at Dancing Rabbit, too, in September.” “What's a song camp?” I pause. What is a song camp? It's waking up gently at sunrise to a few people singing a morning round as they walk through the campground. It's drifting to sleep in my tent with the sound of faraway voices melding and lifting. It's leaning closer to the person next to me during a song, to hear exactly how our different parts create something tangy…read more >
Collaboration Is the Key: A Dancing Rabbit Update

Collaboration Is the Key: A Dancing Rabbit Update

This week brought the sweet relief of cooler temperatures and less humidity, although still not enough rain to keep my cucumbers happy without supplemental watering. In truth, I don’t really mind watering the garden, as it gives me some precious moments to contemplate the progress of the plants and to think about where and how I will expand the garden next year. Melany here, noting the juxtaposition of wishing for more rain and enjoying the meditative practice of watering and watching plants grow. The truth is, I have done something this year that I don’t usually do when it comes…read more >