Finally a break in the heat! But it was brutal for well over a week, with multiple days of three-digit heat indexes (I looked it up and yes, “indexes” is acceptable, fellow word lovers! “Indices” is also correct, but more common in academic writing…). And with no rain to speak of and none in the forecast, the gardens remain thirsty, the pond is starting to look a little low, and energies were certainly flagging at times. The pond stayed pleasant, however, which was a big plus, and it looks like the temps will be more manageable for the near future.
Tereza here with the latest DR doings, for your edification and amusement.
Here’s a surprise: there were more transitions! A few new work exchangers have joined us, more guests have been coming though, and more wexers have left. After the Q&A session for visitors there was a farewell dance party. I was only able to stop by for hugs goodbye and half a song’s worth of dancing before heading home for an early night, but it sounded like folks had a good time! Hello and farewell to all those coming and going!
As hinted at above, it was also the start of a new visitor session, during which people from all over (including a family of Hungarian speakers) stay for one to three weeks to learn more about what living in our ecovillage is really like. I don’t think I’m the only one who told them it really isn’t always this hot! It’s interesting to me to think about how much one’s impression of a place can change depending on when one is there, who is around, and what kinds of things are happening. Visitors who spend only a week here when the weather is rainy the whole time have such a different experience than those who are here when it’s super hot; sometimes we don’t have as many social events, or the person who usually makes a certain event happen regularly is out of town, so the visitor leaves with the mistaken impression that DR is or isn’t such and such, while the reality is so much more complicated than that. Fascinating, to me anyway, to think about.
Since there were visitors, that meant it was time for another Talent/No Talent Show (as we always say, talent strictly optional)! This one included poetry, song, dance (I really liked the muppet show intro, complete with spotlights scanning the audience), yoga tricks, and a new (to me anyway) puppet person who told truly terrible jokes. This puppet-being performed through the firewood access door in the wall of the Casa de Cultura (aka Casa). Said door is near the floor level of the stage, so that was a humorous element in and of itself. Katherine was a fabulous MC, wearing a feather boa and long skirt and interacting with the curmudgeonly creature. (In case you haven’t figured it out, I can’t recall the puppet’s name. Starkweather? Something like that. I recall it was very fitting given the temps outside. I watched most of the show from the Casa porch; it was just too hot inside for me.)
An appearance by the well-loved “Mrs. Freud” (aka Cob in wig and makeup) had a new twist: instead of just one person talking with her about their troubles, there was live “couples therapy”, with Dee and Hassan bravely (and humorously) taking the stage to discuss their relationship. Luckily Mrs. Freud was able to solve all their issues in a very short time. She also helped Mae with a tricky dream that involved vampires, zombies, and Hassan saving the day with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Takeaway point for those of you who missed it: if Hassan offers you such a sandwich, accept it!
Two very special-to-me guests were here for the weekend, Mark and Megan. Former interns, they met here in the early 2000s, lived here as residents for a few years, and have since moved to Madison where they have their own tree care and vegetable gardening businesses, respectively. Megan is also an accomplished mosaic artist, and she came to help create a mosaic for Tamar’s gravestone. They were close with Tamar, and lived in and worked on her house (before it was hers).
I’d never done mosaic work before, but Megan was very encouraging and it was fun and easy to do, despite the flying glass chips. Nathan and I worked together to make two coneflowers, Mark made a garlic plant, Alline did a monarch butterfly, Sara made a monarch caterpillar and lovely orange tomatoes (I can’t recall the variety name, but it was one Tamar grew) and Dan came later and did some snakeroot flowers, which the monarchs were congregating on the day Tamar died. Megan did the fiddle, and thank goodness for that; that piece intimidated me utterly, and came out really well. I haven’t been out to see the final installation, but what I saw in the early stages looked great.
It was also great to reconnect with Mark and Megan. I spent some time with them a few years ago when I was in Madison and they very kindly hosted me, but time flies and things change and it’s so good to catch up and hear what’s new for all of us. I also love being reminded of how important this place is to so many people. In the day to day roil and ruckus of community life, it’s sometimes easy to forget how many lives have changed as a result of time spent here. For Mark and Megan, not only did they meet a life partner, but this was also the first place Megan did gardening, which is now a way she makes positive change in the world, by teaching other people how to grow food. And it feels good to me that this place played a role in that
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.