Memphis Democrat
July 20, 2008

Ted here with all the news from Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage this week.

The first thing I have to report is the most recent: Saturday night around midnight, the edge of a thunderstorm blew through here out of the northwest, which turned out to be just what it took to cause one of the ground anchors of Ironweed's 82' wind turbine tower to give way. That sent the tower crashing down in the opposite direction, falling directly onto Ironweed kitchen with a crash that awoke most folks in the neighborhood and was variously described as sounding like a car crash, a house falling over, or a tool box falling off a high shelf at close range. The kitchen sustained dramatic but largely cosmetic damage (see attached photos); the turbine itself shattered its blades and bent its tailpipe in the fall, while some sections of the tower pipe were significantly bent out of shape. A look at the uprooted ground anchor showed that in about three years in the ground, the thick steel rod and anchor blade had rusted and corroded away to very little, though the degradation was not apparent from a look at the above-ground portion.

We'll be sending the turbine head back to the manufacturer to see if it is still functional, but whether it ends up repaired or replaced, we'll be upgrading to more significant anchors of concrete and heavy steel anchors (stainless if we can find them) for any future re-erection of the turbine. Tamar, Sara and I were deeply grateful that nobody was injured, and took solace in the support of all our friends and neighbors here at Dancing Rabbit. We are also pleased to have our friendly and capable new work exchanger Travis on hand, though under the circumstances it seems he'll be learning some sides of eco-living and natural building we'd just as soon avoid having to demonstrate...

The tree planting crews report that all but 225 of the 1600 trees designated for our new CRP (Conservation Reserve Program) project down in the bottomland next to the creek have been planted, in an effort significantly delayed by this Spring's heavy rains and flooding. This week we also bought 30+ round bales of straw from our neighbors at Red Earth to mulch all those trees with (moved down the road to our site with Dale Heaton's help). This brings the number of trees planted on our land over the past ten years to 13,000 or more, and we look forward to roaming the mixed stands of pecan, hickory, black walnut, silver maple, and oak in years to come. Thanks to all who've pitched in to help, and keep up the good work!

Filming by the Food Network for a segment on food at Dancing Rabbit, scheduled to air in the Fall, concluded this week, allowing everybody to get back to work without running into a camera and miced subjects around every corner. We hope Dancing Rabbit's gardens, cooks, and food will make a good show and help our outreach and education efforts. We'll pass on the word when the segment is scheduled to air.

A handful of folks turned out Tuesday afternoon to attack a rogue patch of poison ivy living on a few remnant fenceline trees in the middle of the village. A couple of hours' work extracted ten or more trunks of poison ivy the size of small trees along with numerous smaller piles. All were banished to the outer realm of the village to degrade far from human activity. Meadow and her family were grateful for the effort (they've had a steady run of dermatitis from the nasty plant much of this season and last), and organized a repeat performance for this week to finish the task. Alline offered to wash contaminated clothes, and I heard of no rushed trips to the hospital for cortisone shots, though I've had a few minor itchy spots myself.

Our newest resident Ma'ikwe and her husband Laird (a Sandhill member) hosted a happy hour Saturday afternoon with such a spread of snacks and treats laid out in our common building that I saw very few people eating their regularly scheduled evening meals an hour later. Conversation continued into the evening until we hosted a residency forum for a visitor from our most recent visitor session who is interested in moving to DR. Our population is steadily approaching 50 people, including children, which will be a significant milestone for a community that began with six members and once dipped as low as three members.

Amy celebrated her birthday Wednesday with lots of flowers and cards and a trip to Kirksville with her husband Juan. Foundation work on the Timberframe made more progress, with tons of gravel filled into the trench atop some drainage tile. Tamar finished reframing Pondview (Sparky's house), and will soon move on to insulating the walls with lite clay-straw. Bear, Tom, and Jason from Red Earth left for an overnight trip to Kirksville Friday to retrieve materials recovered from a house they're deconstructing there, returning exhausted but satisfied. Tony and Rachel left for a ten day journey to Michigan's Upper Peninsula with both sets of their parents; we're looking forward to seeing pictures.

On a final note, if you have any old roofing or barn metal you're willing to part with, Thomas would love to hear from you. He began a new house for himself a couple years ago, erecting a sturdy pole structure on his warren before turning to other projects (including a string of essential tasks that benefit the whole village, like honchoing the tree planting project). This week he, Ali, and Chad from Red Earth returned to the project, digging the start of a foundation, and he is looking to gather the roofing material he'll need for the roof. If you have any to offer, please give him a call at 660-883-5511. Thanks!

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