The last few weeks here have felt marked by a combination of frenzy and fatigue. The program season is rushing toward its conclusion, bringing with it a flurry of activity, while the weather and our energy levels have finally begun to cool. The running joke is “it’s finally fall!”, although we have a ways to go until the equinox.
In some ways, though, it still feels very much like summer. The humidity remains high, flowers are still blooming, and the community garden is flush with beans, cucumbers, eggplants, potatoes, greens, and well, the tomatoes have been notably absent. Victims, we suspect, of the thieving raccoons who have apparently decided that our garden is their personal buffet.
By the way, this is Keith. I’ve lived in the village for two years and just officially became a member of Dancing Rabbit. I live here with my small family unit and do remote work in the behavioral health field on top of my various engagements with the community here. This is my first attempt at writing one of these newsletters.
The last two weekends marked the completion of the Cob Oven Workshop and Singing Rabbit, our community’s singing festival. I had a chance to chat briefly with some of the attendees of the Cob Oven Workshop, who appeared to be having a thoroughly good and very muddy time helping to build the new cob oven for Critter Kitchen. It is very satisfying to watch friends and guests transform simple materials into something tangible that will serve many for years to come.
Next up is our final visitor program of the season and the Ecovillage Weekend Experience (where visitors come for a long weekend and an abbreviated version of the visitor program). From mine and many others’ perspectives, this program season has so far been a success. I’m personally grateful for the opportunity to co-facilitate our Conflict and Communication workshops. It’s always a joy to talk with others about how communication and conflict take shape within the village, and each workshop gives us another opportunity to learn about the challenges people encounter.
As I’ve been planning and writing this newsletter, I’ve found myself reflecting on my perspective and relationship to the community. I have something of a unique situation as a member of Dancing Rabbit. I participate in village life: serving on committees, engaging in social activities, helping with the community garden, doing chores, and attending council meetings. However, I also work a traditional full-time job from my home office.
I have to be mindful of how I spend my time because the hours I have outside of work and caring for my family are limited. I often fear missing out. There is always something happening here, and when I know a gathering, project, conversation, or spontaneous adventure is unfolding just beyond my cob and plaster walls, it can be difficult not to wonder what I’m missing.
However, that limited time has given me a deeper appreciation for the life happening around me. I can often hear laughter, see people coming and going, or know that I’m missing a meeting or shared activity I’d rather be engaged in than doing my work. This makes the opportunities I do have to step away from my desk and engage with the community feel especially meaningful.
Even from my home office I’m noticing that as the season winds down, the rhythm of the village is changing again. The intensity of summer programs is giving way to a quieter season. There is still plenty happening, but there is also the promise of more breathing room with more lingering conversations, slower afternoons, and time to reconnect without quite so much urgency.
I’m particularly looking forward to fall this year: sweaters and flannel, fewer mosquitoes and ticks, and, most importantly, friends and family being a little less busy. There is something lovely about that seasonal shift. The world seems to exhale a little, and we get the opportunity to do the same.
After months of heat, activity, travel, workshops, gardens, meetings, muddy construction projects, and the general whirlwind of village life, I think I’m ready for that exhale.
Keith Wilder has joined our writer’s rotation for this publication. Welcome Keith!