Memphis Democrat Column Week of 1/4/10
Happy New Year to all of our readers! This is Alline checking in with all of the news that’s fit to print from Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage.
As often happens around here, the big news is the weather. In a nutshell: it is COLD! It has been -9 and -11 (that is 9 and 11 degrees BELOW zero) in the mornings when we wake up…Brrrrr! People reading this in Northeastern Missouri are thinking “well, duh!” but this column also goes out electronically to all sorts of climates, and we’d like our friends in, say, Florida (hi to families of Liat, Mary Beth and Cecil!) to feel the full weight of our stoicism. Have I mentioned just how cold it is?
And still we bravely soldier on. As we run all of our appliances on renewable energy (solar panels and wind turbines) we choose not have clothes dryers - we have clothes lines. One of the most entertaining aspects of my winter is hanging clothes out to dry. Depending on just how bitterly cold it is, the clothes freeze solid within minutes - one can hold them up much like a board, which makes me laugh every time. (Clearly we do not have TV here, and are very easily entertained).
Just yesterday Nani, a native of tropical, sunny Hawaii, came by to borrow still more blankets. We are hoping that she survives the winter. The good news is that because it is so cold (at noon we are experiencing a daily high of 9 degrees F), the snow that fell on the ground over Christmas is still with us, and crunches delightfully as we walk around the village - it really is beautiful, at least to this Californian. There have been (brief but exciting) sledding runs down the hill across the road, exuberant games of broom ball and a group of Rabbits went over to Sandhill to play a game of ice hockey. I’m pleased to report that all came home with all of their teeth. The rest of us are staying home by the fire and reading seed catalogs, dreaming of warm sunshine and fresh tomatoes.
I’d like to use this space to give a special thanks to Dennis, who has been unflagging in his commitment to keep our vehicles running (even getting up at 4:00 a.m. on numerous mornings to make sure we can get to the train station on time), and to Bob who fires the boiler in the Community Building, keeping us warm and providing plentiful hot water.
As many Rabbits are away for the holidays, the rest of us have been pinch-hitting in the animal care department. Dennis has been doing double-duty, taking care of Dan’s chickens (he gets paid in eggs) and Sparky’s kitten Huckleberry. Many of us worried about little Huck (who has entranced us with his little pink nose and tufts of hair growing out of his ears - why is it that what is goofy on an old man is fabulous on a cat?) and so unbeknownst to one another up to five visitors went to see him each day; each of us soaking up joy from the purring ball of fluff. Sheila, who professes to “not being an animal person,” played Florence Nightingale to Amy and Juan’s cats, for which everyone is grateful, especially Nemo and Dweezil. Boone and Danielle did a noble job of chasing Maikwe’s cat hither and yon, trying to make sure she was warm and fed. And the dogs have all become tremendously lovey-dovey, since they’re not quite sure which human is feeding them each day, and want to hedge their bets.
The traveling Rabbits are slowly returning - Maikwe came back from her holiday in the Southwest; on Saturday Amtrak delivered Dave, Rachel, Tony and Sparky. On Sunday Ted, Sara and Aurelia returned, as did Amy, Juan and Joly. Bear, Alyssa and Zane went to Quincy for a New Year’s celebration with Bear’s parents, but only stayed a few days. Toren and Rowan came for two lightening-fast weeks (while Cynder went to Oklahoma to visit her father) and have now headed back. Sharon, who is part-owner of a cacao farm in Ecuador left on Christmas day for a two month stay, and will be joined there by MaryBeth, who will be helping with the farming and harvesting. We are looking forward to the their return, as in their suitcases will be bars of organic, single origin 100% cacao - it is a joy to bake with!
New Year’s Eve found most of us gathered in Skyhouse for an all-night pajama party. Games began after dinner, along with snacks - it is fun that all of the kids and adults can hang out together and have a good time. I especially enjoyed Tom and Tereza’s flannel jammies! Beginning at 9:30 p.m. we began to ring in the New Year - at 9:30 our time it is midnight in Newfoundland. After that I went to bed, but I heard that the party continued on into the wee hours.
We have received the wonderful news that Tamar is feeling much better. After two rounds of chemo and lots of acupuncture, tong ren, tuina, and loads and loads of positive energy from people around the world, the results from the CT scan show a significant reduction in pancreatic and liver masses. We are looking forward to her visit next month!
Also on the books for next month is our annual retreat. Additionally, we hope to have details of the Work Exchange opportunities for the summer of 2010 up online soon. We’re already gearing up for a busy, exciting summer!
Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage is an intentional community in Rutledge, Missouri practicing ecological sustainability. Tours are over for the season, but will be offered again starting next April. For more information, please see our website at www.dancingrabbit.org
As often happens around here, the big news is the weather. In a nutshell: it is COLD! It has been -9 and -11 (that is 9 and 11 degrees BELOW zero) in the mornings when we wake up…Brrrrr! People reading this in Northeastern Missouri are thinking “well, duh!” but this column also goes out electronically to all sorts of climates, and we’d like our friends in, say, Florida (hi to families of Liat, Mary Beth and Cecil!) to feel the full weight of our stoicism. Have I mentioned just how cold it is?
And still we bravely soldier on. As we run all of our appliances on renewable energy (solar panels and wind turbines) we choose not have clothes dryers - we have clothes lines. One of the most entertaining aspects of my winter is hanging clothes out to dry. Depending on just how bitterly cold it is, the clothes freeze solid within minutes - one can hold them up much like a board, which makes me laugh every time. (Clearly we do not have TV here, and are very easily entertained).
Just yesterday Nani, a native of tropical, sunny Hawaii, came by to borrow still more blankets. We are hoping that she survives the winter. The good news is that because it is so cold (at noon we are experiencing a daily high of 9 degrees F), the snow that fell on the ground over Christmas is still with us, and crunches delightfully as we walk around the village - it really is beautiful, at least to this Californian. There have been (brief but exciting) sledding runs down the hill across the road, exuberant games of broom ball and a group of Rabbits went over to Sandhill to play a game of ice hockey. I’m pleased to report that all came home with all of their teeth. The rest of us are staying home by the fire and reading seed catalogs, dreaming of warm sunshine and fresh tomatoes.
I’d like to use this space to give a special thanks to Dennis, who has been unflagging in his commitment to keep our vehicles running (even getting up at 4:00 a.m. on numerous mornings to make sure we can get to the train station on time), and to Bob who fires the boiler in the Community Building, keeping us warm and providing plentiful hot water.
As many Rabbits are away for the holidays, the rest of us have been pinch-hitting in the animal care department. Dennis has been doing double-duty, taking care of Dan’s chickens (he gets paid in eggs) and Sparky’s kitten Huckleberry. Many of us worried about little Huck (who has entranced us with his little pink nose and tufts of hair growing out of his ears - why is it that what is goofy on an old man is fabulous on a cat?) and so unbeknownst to one another up to five visitors went to see him each day; each of us soaking up joy from the purring ball of fluff. Sheila, who professes to “not being an animal person,” played Florence Nightingale to Amy and Juan’s cats, for which everyone is grateful, especially Nemo and Dweezil. Boone and Danielle did a noble job of chasing Maikwe’s cat hither and yon, trying to make sure she was warm and fed. And the dogs have all become tremendously lovey-dovey, since they’re not quite sure which human is feeding them each day, and want to hedge their bets.
The traveling Rabbits are slowly returning - Maikwe came back from her holiday in the Southwest; on Saturday Amtrak delivered Dave, Rachel, Tony and Sparky. On Sunday Ted, Sara and Aurelia returned, as did Amy, Juan and Joly. Bear, Alyssa and Zane went to Quincy for a New Year’s celebration with Bear’s parents, but only stayed a few days. Toren and Rowan came for two lightening-fast weeks (while Cynder went to Oklahoma to visit her father) and have now headed back. Sharon, who is part-owner of a cacao farm in Ecuador left on Christmas day for a two month stay, and will be joined there by MaryBeth, who will be helping with the farming and harvesting. We are looking forward to the their return, as in their suitcases will be bars of organic, single origin 100% cacao - it is a joy to bake with!
New Year’s Eve found most of us gathered in Skyhouse for an all-night pajama party. Games began after dinner, along with snacks - it is fun that all of the kids and adults can hang out together and have a good time. I especially enjoyed Tom and Tereza’s flannel jammies! Beginning at 9:30 p.m. we began to ring in the New Year - at 9:30 our time it is midnight in Newfoundland. After that I went to bed, but I heard that the party continued on into the wee hours.
We have received the wonderful news that Tamar is feeling much better. After two rounds of chemo and lots of acupuncture, tong ren, tuina, and loads and loads of positive energy from people around the world, the results from the CT scan show a significant reduction in pancreatic and liver masses. We are looking forward to her visit next month!
Also on the books for next month is our annual retreat. Additionally, we hope to have details of the Work Exchange opportunities for the summer of 2010 up online soon. We’re already gearing up for a busy, exciting summer!
Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage is an intentional community in Rutledge, Missouri practicing ecological sustainability. Tours are over for the season, but will be offered again starting next April. For more information, please see our website at www.dancingrabbit.org