Mud, Muskrats and Merrymaking: A Dancing Rabbit Update

Mud, Muskrats and Merrymaking: A Dancing Rabbit Update

Wow, a lot happened this week, and I think I'm experiencing a bit of whiplash, though that could be from one of the many slips I have taken in the copious mud created by the recent thaw. Ted here, to share the week's update from Dancing Rabbit as we run up to the spring equinox. One of Dancing Rabbit's newest inhabitants, delighted by the end of a baaaad winter. The nightmare of a cold winter, determined to thoroughly outstay its welcome, turned on a dime to the inevitability of spring. The spring birds all showed up at once. Unlike the…read more >
Service for the Soul: A Dancing Rabbit Update

Service for the Soul: A Dancing Rabbit Update

On Thursday mornings I run errands with Uncle Kurt. He’s been doing the Thursday morning errands for quite a while now. (“I’ve been doing it quite a while,” he said, when asked how long he’s been doing it.) “It’s one of my contributions to the community,” he added. “I also like to get to know the locals.” After 18 years living at Dancing Rabbit, Kurt is a local himself, and a trip into town with him proves to me he is a fixture in Rutledge and Memphis. T here, with an update about life at Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage. Why all…read more >
The Rhythms of Life: A Dancing Rabbit Update

The Rhythms of Life: A Dancing Rabbit Update

Sunday morning stillness; a fresh common space (thanks to our Sunday morning clean team that swept, scrubbed, sorted, shined and all sorts of s-words to make our common house a lovely place); our WIP (Week In Preview): these are the forms in which the week seems to say hello, here at Dancing Rabbit. The steady repetition of familiar activities is one of the critical components that propels this village forward into new beginnings and endings. As the winter season leans toward its end (I wistfully say as we receive yet another few inches of snow), new things begin to emerge…read more >
Braving the Weather: A Dancing Rabbit Update

Braving the Weather: A Dancing Rabbit Update

We’re all affected, every day, by the arrest of one of our community members several weeks ago. Liz here, with the difficult and delicate task of writing about life at Dancing Rabbit. While I could use this column to express how it has affected me, it seems pale in comparison with how it has affected some community members more directly, so I’ll take a page from my midwestern neighbors and talk about less tender subjects. Frost glistening on last year's Queen Anne's lace. Since January, I have been commuting to Kirksville twice a week, taking my daughter to classes at…read more >
Mending a Village: A Dancing Rabbit Update

Mending a Village: A Dancing Rabbit Update

Everything is different; and likely some things will never be the same around here again. This column is generally about what’s hard and what’s wonderful about living here, and I guess this week is no exception, but there are also many many moments of normalcy throughout the day — along with moments of extreme emotions and beautifully tender care.   Some of the people of Dancing Rabbit, gathered together to support one another. Christina here. We have finished the first week of our annual retreat and are about to embark on the second. Normally, this is a time when we…read more >
Monsters and Ice: A Dancing Rabbit Update

Monsters and Ice: A Dancing Rabbit Update

Howdy y'all. You know, whenever I have a hard time talking about what's really going on — or worse, no idea what the other party could possibly be thinking — I like to discuss the weather instead. So I think I'll start there. Ben's chickens scrabbling for oats in the snow. Ben here, writing to y'all from the icy physical and emotional purgatory that is Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage, tucked away in the impassibly slippery rolling hills of Northeast Missouri. This has been the hardest winter I've ever experienced, maybe. Then again, I've been through some pretty hard ones. Everything outside…read more >

Difficult News: A Brief Update

It is with shock and sadness that I write this update today. Our community has been rocked by a difficult and traumatizing situation. A member of Dancing Rabbit was arrested on 02/01/2019 on charges of sexual assault of minors.  Like any community would, Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage and the surrounding communities are struggling with this very challenging and sensitive situation. We are currently focused on doing everything we can to support everyone impacted by this issue, surrounding people with as much compassion and care as possible. As you might imagine, this situation is extremely fluid and complicated, and we are still learning…read more >
Tracks in the Snow

Tracks in the Snow

A new baby boy was born to Burl and Troy during the recent full moon eclipse at Dancing Rabbit, before the moon had reemerged from Earth's shadow. I struggle to credit that it was just a week past. Perhaps it is the innumerable snowflakes that have fallen since (seemingly every day) blurring my recall, but a week past seems a very long time ago. Folks from the tri-communities of Dancing Rabbit, Sand Hill and Red Earth Farms gathered to celebrate Alyson's 50th birthday and dance the night away. Ted here with an update from our fair ecovillage in northeast Missouri,…read more >