Memphis Democrat Column Week of 8/17/09
Welcome to a warm, wet, and wild week at Dancing Rabbit! Cob here, reporting on the unusual condition of our collective cisterns...they're all full, and in mid-August no less! This is usually the time of year when I personally am nervously eying our water level for domestic water, while hauling buckets from the pond to the gardens. Happily the weekend of rain has refreshed our rapidly sprouting fall crops of peas, greens, and brassicas, saving me the awkward busyness of lugging water by hand. The sound of crashing thunder was almost as satisfying as the sight of plumping tomatoes and swelling winter squashes.
It was also nice to get an assist from nature for our grassy paver road project. August is a challenging time to establish a lawn of any sort, much less one perched on top of well drained gravel and sand. Happily rabbits have been tending to the twice daily watering and in a couple more weeks Main Street might even be ready for mowing. Tony (our road project manager) has been very patient with innumerable "is it ready yet?" queries from rabbits eager to resume delivery of building supplies and to begin collection of winter firewood.
It's hard for me to pay too much attention to roads and the many building projects underway throughout the village when our gardens are producing so heavily. As if the bushels of cucumbers and green beans weren't enough, we couldn't resist the lure of fresh local peaches and sweet corn at the Rutledge Farmer's Market this past Saturday. We arrived late (they're open from 9:00am to 12:00 noon on the square across from Zimmerman's Store) so there weren't many vendors left, but we bought all they had left and are now busily canning...hoping to be done with the pickles and corn before the tomatoes take over our lives. Processing a full winter's supply of food is a lot of work, and we're grateful for the help of our friends and neighbors. Now if we could only can some of the heat we're generating and save it for the winter months as well!
Other indicators for the coming change of seasons abound. Many friendly and familiar faces are leaving. Wexers who have been with us since March or April, and who have come to feel like permanent fixtures around the village, are heading back to families and university. Personal friends who are able to visit during the summer have come and gone, and children are preparing to head back to school. While the earlier sunsets may make it easier to get kids to bed on school nights, we're also starting to feel the pressure of the shorter days to come. Meanwhile we hope to share a few more warm, starry nights with our new set of visitors who begin arriving today.
We have a full visitor session planned, and are expecting over a dozen folks who are interested in learning more about living in community, natural building, and living more sustainably in general. Rabbits are preparing once again to put on a full round of educational workshops, work parties, and social activities over the next three weeks, hoping that our encouragement and example will inspire those who pass through to make at least some small change in their living relationship with the environment.
We're also excited that so many have been moved to apply for residency at Dancing Rabbit with the intention of becoming full members. Infrastructure that seemed almost excessive just a few short years ago is now feeling strained and limited. Our surge in growth will doubtless fuel many dynamic discussions about the next new residential neighborhood, additional common facilities, transitional/visitor housing and more.
So with apologies to the many rabbits whose numerous achievements this week did not get listed here, it's time for me to get back to pickling!
Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage is an intentional community in Rutledge, Missouri practicing ecological sustainability. We offer tours 2nd and 4th Saturdays of each month through October - our next tour is scheduled August 22nd at 1:00 p.m (no need to RSVP). For more information, check out our website at www.dancingrabbit.org, or give us a call at (660) 883-5511.
It was also nice to get an assist from nature for our grassy paver road project. August is a challenging time to establish a lawn of any sort, much less one perched on top of well drained gravel and sand. Happily rabbits have been tending to the twice daily watering and in a couple more weeks Main Street might even be ready for mowing. Tony (our road project manager) has been very patient with innumerable "is it ready yet?" queries from rabbits eager to resume delivery of building supplies and to begin collection of winter firewood.
It's hard for me to pay too much attention to roads and the many building projects underway throughout the village when our gardens are producing so heavily. As if the bushels of cucumbers and green beans weren't enough, we couldn't resist the lure of fresh local peaches and sweet corn at the Rutledge Farmer's Market this past Saturday. We arrived late (they're open from 9:00am to 12:00 noon on the square across from Zimmerman's Store) so there weren't many vendors left, but we bought all they had left and are now busily canning...hoping to be done with the pickles and corn before the tomatoes take over our lives. Processing a full winter's supply of food is a lot of work, and we're grateful for the help of our friends and neighbors. Now if we could only can some of the heat we're generating and save it for the winter months as well!
Other indicators for the coming change of seasons abound. Many friendly and familiar faces are leaving. Wexers who have been with us since March or April, and who have come to feel like permanent fixtures around the village, are heading back to families and university. Personal friends who are able to visit during the summer have come and gone, and children are preparing to head back to school. While the earlier sunsets may make it easier to get kids to bed on school nights, we're also starting to feel the pressure of the shorter days to come. Meanwhile we hope to share a few more warm, starry nights with our new set of visitors who begin arriving today.
We have a full visitor session planned, and are expecting over a dozen folks who are interested in learning more about living in community, natural building, and living more sustainably in general. Rabbits are preparing once again to put on a full round of educational workshops, work parties, and social activities over the next three weeks, hoping that our encouragement and example will inspire those who pass through to make at least some small change in their living relationship with the environment.
We're also excited that so many have been moved to apply for residency at Dancing Rabbit with the intention of becoming full members. Infrastructure that seemed almost excessive just a few short years ago is now feeling strained and limited. Our surge in growth will doubtless fuel many dynamic discussions about the next new residential neighborhood, additional common facilities, transitional/visitor housing and more.
So with apologies to the many rabbits whose numerous achievements this week did not get listed here, it's time for me to get back to pickling!
Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage is an intentional community in Rutledge, Missouri practicing ecological sustainability. We offer tours 2nd and 4th Saturdays of each month through October - our next tour is scheduled August 22nd at 1:00 p.m (no need to RSVP). For more information, check out our website at www.dancingrabbit.org, or give us a call at (660) 883-5511.