Happy May y’all! Katherine here with this week’s renderings of Dancing Rabbit life.
It’s been a great one as well as buuusy! Monday found me in a DR Inc. prep session for Give STL Day, which Dancing Rabbit took part in on Tuesday, May 5th.
Give STL Day is a St. Louis, MO based, 24-hour fundraiser in support of local non-profits. This is our 2nd year participating and from this Rabbit’s perspective, it went great! Thank you to all of the donors who helped raise over $2,000,000 for Missouri non-profits! No, that is not DR’s cut, I just want to appreciate everyone!
As I am a self-proclaimed cheerleader for the non-profit, I was happy to rally the Rabbits and visitors to support this fundraising day by making treats, writing blog posts (see Cameron’s here and Lucas’ here), and basically keeping the energy soaring up, up, and up! Way to go team! We did great!
Wednesday is preschool day at Dancing Rabbit where myself and Brooke entertain youngins from ages two-point-five to seven. Usually this day is marked literally by the face paint we all leave wearing, and this day was no different. We picked the flowering mustards for our hair and munched on the sorrel in my garden.
When planning my garden, I take into account my smaller of stature friends and plant wonderful snacks for entertainment of mind and tummy. Sorrel, onions, and mint are our spring snacks and eventually we will be getting into the strawberries, ground cherries, and cherry tomatoes. My heart soars knowing that our four year olds can identify the edibles on our land and even educate some adults.
Thursday is pizza night at the Milkweed Mercantile! I have been honored to maintain the position of “Pizza Bella” alongside my bestie Mae for the last 4 years. I go in in the morning to make the dough and return in the afternoon ‘til well into the evening slingin’ pies for fellow Rabbits and anyone else that would like to stop by. We serve local and organic ingredients with a smile and a beer. Since word has gotten out the last few years, we have seen many more local faces from Memphis, Kirksville, and then some. Everyone is welcome to pizza night every Thursday from 4p – 9p. Calling the Mercantile ahead for reservations is strongly encouraged!
Friday was filled with committee meetings and a new resident MARC interview. MARC is our Membership and Residency Committee that funnels folks through the “living at DR” process. Cameron is our latest applicant and Ted, Vick, and I had a great time asking questions and learning more about this new potential Rabbit. Some questions include, “why do you want to live at DR?”, “how do you feel about our mission?”, and “if you were to throw a party for the village, what would your theme be?” We usually get some pretty good answers to these questions and this is definitely one part of the job that I love. While there has been no official word on Cameron, I would say his chances are pretty good.
“Happy May Day!” is what was was being called around town on Saturday. Sandhill Farm celebrated 41 years this weekend with a lovely party for friends and family. Flowery face paint graced folks from ear to ear and made the May Pole dance ever so much more colorful.
I found the potluck particularly delightful this year as four potato salads made an appearance! What can I say? Great minds think alike! The pretty chill day ended with a bonfire which I am sure boasted of song and dance, body and soul. Thank you, Sandhill, for sharing your land with us in a most magical way.
Which brings us to Sunday and more meetings! We had our Week in Preview, also known as the WIP, where we schedule our goings-on for the community with a full circle of Rabbits and usually a good deal of laughter. After the WIP is usually a Village Council meeting, where this week we talked about long term planning for the community and what that has/will look like. I super appreciate living in a place where so much care goes into planning our future together.
So there it is folks! My week in a nutshell! Sprinkled amongst the aforementioned activities were walks on the land, cook-shifts over the rocket stove, and many a precious hour in the garden. The weather rained, sunned, and blew along as the Rabbits here built, processed, and just plain lived our lives. Busy is as busy does and I feel pretty darned proud of what we are accomplishing here. ‘Til next time, thanks for readin’!
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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.