Transience and Mandolins: A Dancing Rabbit Update

Hey all. I’d like to start out by thanking everyone who’s reading this. We write it just for you! This is Brinkley, back from last summer, for another exciting update from Dancing Rabbit. I’m going to try to talk about a few different events and themes in my life lately: music festivals, housewarming parties, and more music.

As some of our loyal readers may remember, last week Stephen wrote that he was going to a music festival. Well, I went with him; and even though it’s not really Dancing Rabbit related, I’d like to tell you all a little about it since it was such a long and memorable part of my week. Let me preface by stating that before Wakarusa (the name of said festival), I could count the number of big bill concerts I’d attended on one hand. I’m fairly certain that I doubled that number instantaneously. There were often four to five live bands performing at once, some within earshot of each other.

Now for anyone who’s never been to a music festival, it’s quite the event. Imagine something like 40,000 people all coming together to dance, socialize, and listen to music. I was a little at odds thinking about all the embodied energy and fossil fuels it took to create and transport everything like stages, speakers, lights, and glow sticks. The logistics of transporting the people there are a little staggering as well, but I think I can safely say 99% of people carpooled, often with a full car. That makes me feel a little better about it, but I’m still not entirely sure how I feel about the environmental impact of such events.

After four nights of living in a tent on a mountain and cooking all my meals on fire, it was nice to come back to Dancing Rabbit to resume my usual lifestyle of living in a tent on a prairie and cooking all my meals on fire. The remainder of the week was business as usual: caring for the animals, tending the garden, preparing the house for finish work, and all the other tasks and chores that go along with living the “simple” life.

There were some additions and some losses in my neck of the woods this week. Sadly, “Friday Sleepyhead”, a chick born from under a duck by switching duck eggs for chicken eggs, is no longer with us. It’s one of the hardest part of working with animals, or I suppose just life in general. But we’re all very excited for a new critter! Someone had heard we were looking for a white barn cat, and, lo and behold, he walk up and delivered one to us.

Another work exchanger has also joined the Critters this week (Critters is the name of our little sub-community here in DR, for those not in the know). It’s nice getting fresh faces and stories, and each person that comes through adds a little bit of themselves to everything they’re involved with. The transient nature of visitors has left me a bit soul-searchy lately. It’s an odd feeling living with and getting to know someone well for anywhere from a few weeks to several months, and then quite possibly never seeing them again. Of course, it’s almost just as likely that they’ll end up returning, or they don’t leave at all, or perhaps you’ll want to leave with them.

On a lighter note, we had a couple of fun social events in the village this week. Rabbit Kassandra had a housewarming party at her new home, Larkspur. There was grilling, chilling, and an absolutely beautiful mural painted on the northern exterior wall of the house. I can personally attest to the tastiness of the food, and would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to everyone who made it possible.

The very next day a band from St. Louis, Acoustics Anonymous, came and played a set for all us rabbits. Let me tell you, after a weekend of seeing such acts as The Flaming Lips, Edward Sharpe, and String Cheese Incident, I think I enjoyed the concert here even more. There’s just something about dancing in the street that makes you feel alive!