This is one of the blessed times of year. After one too-hot day, we’ve settled into a week straight of perfection. When the temperature hovers in that range between about 75 and 82 where the air is neither too warm nor too cool, the breeze tickles bare arms and legs and the most delicious smells of green growing things waft by. Under every footfall lie myriad small sprouts or leaves. I have hardened my heart over the years to the sprouts of various plants and trees I don’t want growing in the immediate vicinity of my house and gardens—the sooner plucked out the better; but in this season, even the numerous honey locust sprouts inspire a joy of life in me.
Ted here with this week’s update. I have set myself up outside on our picnic bench to type, because I can’t bear to be inside. A rabbit is cleaning its paws against a wall of green grass twenty feet away, watching me. Some thunder rumbles in the distance, but for the moment I couldn’t be happier than to sit just here and relate to you all some of our latest news.
My scythe emerged from the shed this past week, as the invasive Reed’s canary grass loomed thigh-high and headed toward seeding just outside the fence on the far edge of our garden. I had a sublime first run, taking advantage of work we did last year in replacing a garden fence to put down a weed barrier (scraps of the rubber waterproof membrane we used for covering the root cellar) in the under-the-fence zone that is such a chore to keep weeded. That means I can start the sweep of my scythe blade at a safe remove from entanglement with the chicken wire, and leave a fine, evenly cut swathe of lawn three feet out from the fence, some of our garlic well-mulched and unmolested by weeds just on the other side. I am appreciating the slow accumulation of wisdom and skill with each passing year that eventually amounts to knowing this place and how to live comfortably within it.
Two weeks ago Justin, soon to be our newest resident (as soon as the comment period for his recommendation passes), started working with me. Sara and I have come to the conclusion that with our house finished, we’d like to continue hosting one or two work-exchangers or apprentices each season to learn the variety of tasks that we engage in, which more or less amounts to homesteading skills. Justin is the first, and I am relishing the release from exclusive focus on the house construction that has occupied our past three years, now working each day on whichever to-do has made it to the top of the list that day.
We have a range of house-finishing tasks to engage in, like the walnut shelving we installed last week, and the cob-and-bottle wall that finishes off Aurelia’s room, but we have also been churning through a steady load of garden work, clearing and preparing beds for planting, putting up tomato trellises, weeding and tending. All the greens and lettuces went in a couple weeks ago, with many singed by the late, light frost and now recovering. Now it is near time for the tomatoes, peppers and eggplant to go in, as they’re reaching the confines of their paper pots. Potatoes are sprouting; peach and pear trees are loaded and will soon need some thinning; our 20-some new fruit trees out in the orchard are all leafed out save one straggler. Sheep and goats bleat in the near distance across quiet evenings. Our chickens laid 277 eggs in April. Feels like this place is coming of age.
Dancing Rabbit’s creative drive comes out this time of year. Everywhere you walk, somebody is working on some new or old project, or out in the garden. Dave and crew have lately put the roof on his new house, and then spent a day installing the siding and polycarbonate greenhouse panels for Skyhouse’s soon-to-be-finished front porch in the Common House courtyard. Thomas and Jacob are finishing the lower sections of wall in a fine earthen plaster. Dan is preparing to significantly expand his vineyard out on the west slope, working out the lines and bringing in manure for fertility.
The Critters, first pioneers out in the newest new neighborhood, have finished their garden shed and are trading us a quart of their goat milk for a quart of our yogurt once a week, which brings the number of different types of locally-procured and in-house-made dairy products in our kitchen to about 23. They’re preparing to plant 250 or so trees from the state nursery out in their new food forest plot of one acre just south of Dead Car Draw. The midwives are entering a period of five expected births (none in the tri-communities at the moment). Bear seems to have grown a new mechanical shell that looks remarkably like a skid steer, and spent the other day setting up the pad for the temporary fabrication shop for the new Common Building out at town center. Toon has spent days at a time on the tractor, mowing all the paths around the village and out on the land. That makes for very pleasant, nearly tick-free walks of varying lengths, and leaves the playing field in fine form for the newly-established regularly weekly playing schedule. Ultimate Frisbee continues to be central to my happiness in the warm season, and we’re gearing up to attend the Ultimate event at the Show-me State Games down in Columbia in July.
The Dancing Rabbit Vehicle Cooperative’s newest vehicle arrived this past week. The group agreed last year to acquire an all-electric Nissan Leaf to take advantage of the abundant solar power we’re now exporting to the public grid, and the sleek black car arrived from Orlando, Florida by truck. Once it gets registered and insured and we set up the charging station, we’ll have an zero-emission vehicle to employ for our numerous local trips to the dairy, our local town of Rutledge, and our county seat, Memphis, which is usually a 26-mile round-trip, and well within the ~75-mile range of the vehicle. Kirksville will be on the edge of its range, depending on loading, wind direction, and driving style. Longer trips will require that we charge the car remotely, which will typically take longer than with the high-volume charging station we’ll have installed here at home, but will put our ride-sharing skills to creative purpose.
New faces present themselves almost daily here, as new residents land and work exchangers and interns arrive to work on the common house project or with various individuals. Lately I have repeatedly had to stop and process for a moment to remember which face goes with which name. I’m still not quite used to that. How the village has grown in ten years!
Before I end, I want to inform readers of our newest tour possibility. Starting May 23, and running through June 27, we’ll be offering Thursday Pizza Night Tours of the village. The tour starts at 6pm right in front of the Milkweed Mercantile and will last about an hour. Folks can come a little earlier, order a pizza at the Mercantile, take the tour while it’s in the oven, and have a meal waiting for them when the tour is finished. Tours are free to residents of Scotland and Knox counties; donations gladly accepted!
Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage is an intentional community of 70 and growing in the rolling hills just outside Rutledge, northeast Missouri. In addition to the new Thursday night tours, we offer regular tours of the village 2nd and 4th Saturdays of the warmer months at 1pm. Tours are free and open to the public, though donations to our non-profit educational efforts are welcome. Sorry, no pizza available Saturdays!
If you’re seeking more information meanwhile, check out our website at www.dancingrabbit.us, our blog at blog.dancingrabbit.us, email us at dancingrabbit@ic.org, or give us a call at (660) 883 5511. Hope to see you here soon!