Sometimes the sun rises and it’s different than other days. Likely it has nothing to do with the sun; the sun is (mostly) always the same – it’s we who spin differently. I don’t just mean we, I mean me. Each day is different and each day I look (I hope) at that sun with different eyes.
Stephen here and today is my birthday. I’m 29: the same age as my mom when I was born; things are very different now. It’s also Scout’s birthday. He is the only other person I know, have ever known, to share my birthday. And there is something to that.
I took this week’s photo after waking up too early, feeling slaggy, and taking a walk. The sky was light, but the sun was still a ways out. The birds were loud, louder than I’ve heard in a long time and two wild ducks were frolicking in the morning fog (contender for photo of the week). The fog sat in the valleys and lifted off the grass and when the sun was hinting, the fog swept away; and when the sun finally came the fog was gone. And I felt foggy. I felt groggy. But when the sun brought its light and with it the air, the fresh air, the beginning of a new day stirred. And with it spring: a new year.
What happened this week?
Visitors came. That was big. First visitor session of the year and Rabbits stepped in to take part. After the long winter and few guests, it felt nice to open the doors and welcome people in. Their first night coincided with a full moon fire circle hosted by Dee and Hassan. The next night coincided with Coz’s birthday celebration, a regular Tuesday tri-community potluck transformed into a spicy food contest.
The winner was Mexican Hot Chocolate Snickerdoodle cookies, made by Sam. So good. Interestingly, these cookies were brought to us back in 2010 by then-wexer (work exchanger) Munzi, who, by coincidence (if there is such a thing), has come back for this first visitor session of 2014. It’s a rare occurrence for a wexer to come back for a visitor session, but Munzi did it, bringing friends, which has been great for us.
Often a visitor will stay on to become a wexer to gain a deeper/longer sense of what it’s like to be here, but it rarely happens in the other direction. The two paths are very different ways to sink in here, each with their own…thangs.
I’ve heard it said that “a hen is an egg’s way of making another egg”. (Dang, those eggs are smart!) An egg knows how to make a hen, that knows how to find the tiniest of tiniest of grains, and how to find a cozy spot to make another egg. Whoa. We often find eggs tucked away in the most unlikely (code: inconvenient) places—to eat. But I guess the chicken doesn’t make the eggs for us to eat, anyway.
This week, visitor Vick got top seat for unlikely egg find when he came back to his large yellow tent and unzipped the fly to find a chicken nesting her egg on his camping chair. Surprise! (slightly inconvenient).
Not-so-surprising for the young ones (expectation had been building for weeks), on Sunday our village once again experienced the tear in the fabric of space-time through which came and always comes the creature forever known as Ostrichtron. Yes, Ostrichtron.
The portal opened again, and this year we had not one, but two Ostrichtron! Leaping through the shimmering light, they brought treats to kids who were kind enough to have gathered rocks for the old beings (there is a serious dearth of rocks right now in their homeland-space-time-spirit-continuum-rainbow). They gave out melon, carrots, other stuff, and one slightly dirty egg that may or may not be the beginnings of a future baby Ostrichtron, if one lucky human-hen-child-rainbow has the gumption to sit on that egg for the next few years. (We’ll let you know in future columns what happens with that.)
The day continued with a raucous game of bucket-lid frisbee golf, a rooftop view of the Moo (and the village) from Critterville, rainbows, and a feast the likes of which I haven’t seen in a long time. Rabbit and duck, cooked perfectly, that lived their entire lives on these fine and shapely acres. And did I say rainbows?
One of the (many) best parts of my week was planting raspberries. I have never planted anything of my own or planned for any sort of future in that way, and it satisfied on so many levels. This year I’ll be moving into a new house, built by Hassan, and now I’ll have a whole smattering of berry bushes to sparkle up the season. Rainbows!
And hey! Check out these upcoming events! DR is hosting an educational workshop on seed starting by Rabbit Dan Durica on Saturday April 26th, right after the Village tour in the Community Building courtyard. The 45-minute workshop starts at 3:30 pm and will cost $8. Dan will demonstrate how to start seeds using soil blocks, how to use various kinds of lighting for germinating seeds, and how to create a mini-greenhouse environment for young plants using a cold frame.
Then on Sunday April 27th Rabbits will be at two different Earth Day events in Missouri: the St. Louis Earth Day Festival and the Columbia Area Earth Day Festival. If you plan to attend, make sure to stop by our booths and say hi!
Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage is an intentional community and nonprofit outside Rutledge, in northeast Missouri, focused on demonstrating sustainable living possibilities. Find out more about us by visiting our website, reading our blog, or emailing us.