Hi friends! The heck with March coming in like a lion – we’ve got some definite lamb weather happening, and we couldn’t be more pleased. Just when I feel like another cold and snowy day will put me over the edge into a morose pit of crabbiness and despair, the sun comes out. Literally. Hooray!!!!! It’s SUNNY! And WARM!!! (Excuse me for a minute while I jump up and down and do a happy dance…)
OK. Back to business. This is Alline reporting on all the news from Dancing Rabbit, fit to print or not.
For the last few months, Mae and Ted have been working diligently with Mae’s miniature donkey, getting him (the donkey, not Ted) used to a harness and training him to actually pull things. He apparently wasn’t very excited about this idea in the beginning. Frankly, who can blame him? But he’s learned to love it, or at least learned to love making Mae happy, and is often seen pulling a cart around the village.
When Thomas found just the perfect log for his new workshop, it was merely a small inconvenience that it was located half a mile down the road at Red Earth Farms. He just rounded up the donkey and half a dozen of his favorite (strong) Rabbits to bring the 800-pound beast home.
Looking at the photo I can’t help but laugh — it seems highly improbable that little Donkey was making much headway. But after the harness broke and Donkey was relieved of his gazillion-ton duty, the pulling fell to the humans. Brooke reported looking out her window and being surprised to see, strapped into the harness, not Donkey, but Ted. Unfortunately, we do not have a photo of that.
Once the log was here at DR, Thomas brought out his enormous (handmade) maul and a hickory wedge and split the log into quarters. And then, according to Kurt, “he just moseyed up Main Street with the split logs in his cart (also handmade, of two bike tires, scrap wood and a long, long tongue).” Who needs TV when we have Thomas adventures?
This week also marked the annual distribution of Validation Day Cards. Many of us dislike Valentine’s Day — if one isn’t in a romantic relationship, February 14th becomes a glaring, blaring, uber-depressing reminder of that fact. Looking for ways to be more inclusive, we stole, um, I mean, borrowed the idea of Validation Day from the Twin Oaks community in Virginia.
In our version of the holiday, each person in the village has a card made especially for them, reflecting various aspects of his/her personality, interests and talents. And then, everyone (who wants to) signs the cards. All 50 of them. This is why we don’t get around to distributing the cards until the end of February (or even the beginning of March) — it takes a while to write in all of the cards.
The good news is that it is always worth the wait. It is really lovely to have the opportunity to tell one’s friends how much they are appreciated and loved, and being on the receiving end is equally heartening. I keep my Validation cards in my desk drawer and dig them out occasionally for a reminder of many of the good reasons I continue to live here.
As the weather gets springier, so do we — designing our gardens, starting seeds, and making our summer plans. Many Rabbits will again host work exchangers (aka wexers). As the name implies, those participating in a work exchange receive food and education in exchange for their work.
Wexers have the opportunity to learn about aspects of life here at the ecovillage — natural building, organic gardening, cooking for and hosting guests at the Milkweed Mercantile, raising chickens, ducks and goats, and much, much more. Wexers bring an exciting burst of energy and enthusiasm to the village each summer, and we are always grateful for the folks who join us for a few months. And some wexers even decide to stick around and eventually become members. Work exchange is an excellent way to determine if life at Dancing Rabbit will be a good fit for you. If you’re looking for a rewarding way to spend the summer, there are still a few positions open.
In the Shameless Commerce Division of this column, the Milkweed Mercantile Eco Inn will re-open on Thursday, April 2 for the 2015 season. We invite you to come and stay in our super comfortable strawbale, solar & wind-powered B&B and experience what life at DR is all about. We are open Thursday – Sunday for guests. Pizza is always served every Thursday.
And as it gets warmer, tour season gets closer! We offer free tours of the village on the second and fourth Saturdays of the month from April to October — the first of the season starts at 1pm on Saturday, April 11. Donations to help us continue our educational and outreach efforts are gratefully accepted.
We hope to see you all, for one reason or another, here at DR soon! Though if you can’t come to us, maybe you can catch Ma’ikwe on her national speaking tour. After successful talks in the San Francisco Bay Area, Dancing Rabbit Inc.’s Executive Director is on her way (by train) to Oregon and Washington.
She’s presenting her talk “Sustainable is Possible: Creating Low Carbon, High Quality Lives… Together.” It’s an expanded and updated version of her popular TEDxCarleton talk in 2013, and shows how Dancing Rabbit residents are living rich, full lives using only 10% of the resources of the average American. This version includes a new section on climate disruption, and the choices we can all make to address this pressing issue. After Washington state, Ma’ikwe heads to Chicago and Michigan — don’t miss her!
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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.