Lately at Dancing Rabbit, it feels as though everybody has exhaled one deeply-held breath at once—a collective exhale that could blow out every candle in Northern Missouri. It was not only the ending of another visitor session and a timber frame building workshop, but there were also bittersweet goodbyes for many summer workers and interns who have since headed back into the world, indelibly changed.
As for myself, Nik (making his debut post here), my time had been consumed catering the timber frame workshop alongside Alline in the Milkweed Mercantile. Three nutritious meals a day for a large group is humbling in its execution—my hat goes off to anyone who pulls it off for a large family everyday with a smile. Furthermore, to conform menus to suit restrictive diets as well was a complete study in the boundaries of what can be done without grains, legumes, dairy, tomatoes, or potatoes, a small, sustainable amount of meat, and all of it in the confines of what is seasonably available. A great challenge it was…but a rewarding one due to the shower of thank-yous and the happy faces that left each meal on their way to tackle more chiseling and sawing on Rae and Aaron’s soon-to-be timber framed house. The fact that we were inadvertently helping put up a new home for a couple in our midst was a very happy motivator for the long days and dealing with frustrating dietary challenges. That alone made every day feel worthwhile.
That said, I even have a few annoying dietary challenges myself, and it always feels like a great inconvenience to have others conform their meals to me. I have an unrequited love with tomatoes and peppers—one bite and I feel like I’m on Death’s doormat for half a day. When the workshop commenced, I had a few cherished days of cooking whatever I wanted again. And then an impromptu invitation to a pizza night in front of Ziggy and April’s spanking-new cob oven made me hesitate, for pizza and its tomatoey sauce is my long-lost love. I felt embarrassed that they even made me an unsauced pesto pizza (delicious), but I quickly got over it due to an amazing creation: the blueberry, goat cheese, and lime cream pizza. Unforgettable…happy, wistful exhale.
On a related note, outdoor cob oven workshops will be put on numerous weekends in the coming months (check the website for more details, folks.)
Well, as we know (almost) every exhale is followed by another inhale. Dancing Rabbit’s bi-yearly land clean day hit the village recently, orchestrated by her majesty, The Queen of Clean, from her well-scrubbed ivory tower. Jungles of ragweed and burdock were scythed, errant wood was chopped and sorted, trellises built, “lawns” were “manicured” and signs were spiffed with new coats of paint. This is all in preparation for the upcoming Open House on September 21st from 1–4 pm where the public from near and far are invited to see the village that strives to sustain itself with power, food, water, growth, and community, and to meet the people that are living it. There will be a village fair full of crafts, art, food, homemade goods, and most likely a whittled item or two. Informative tours will be given every half hour by various charming and good-looking folks that live here. It will be a proud day for the village to share in its accomplishments and talk about what is happening down the road. Plus there will be snacks. Everyone loves snacks.
One last inhale before the quiet(er) season descends upon the village, the end of summer approaches, though this last heat spell ravaging the green from the gardens begs to differ. The last of those enticing tomatoes are dangling by a filament on the vine. Squash are getting fat, begging to be roasted. Everything is shriveling and ripening early in the heat. Delicious, if not a little disappointing. Again, it’s bittersweet.
We’ll see how it goes. Deep breathes.
Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage is an intentional community and educational nonprofit in northeast Missouri, focused on sustainable living. Don’t miss our annual Open House and Village Fair, Saturday September 21st, 2013 from 1-4 pm! FREE tours begin every half hour between 1:00 and 4:00 p.m. See our website for more info. We’ll also have our regular village tour, on the second and fourth Saturdays of the month: the next one will be September 14th, beginning at 1:00 pm. Tours usually last one and a half to two hours, and you don’t need a reservation. If you need directions, please call the DR office at 660-883-5511 or email us at dancingrabbit@ic.org. Find out more at on our website www.dancingrabbit.org, or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/DancingRabbitEcovillage.