The first hints of autumn are in the air this week, with low temps in the 50s and highs in the 70s and steady winds bringing more power… absolutely lovely! But in the context of how our June-stunted peppers and eggplants are only just starting to bear fruit… I feel anxiety about having enough time before cold weather for a good amount of our crop to make it.
Such are the tribulations of homesteaders relying as much as they can on the products of their own (and their neighbors’) labors. Ted here at Dancing Rabbit with this week’s update.
The past few weeks have finally seen summer veggies coming in in abundance, and our dehydrator racks are kept busy with peaches, tomatoes, eggplant, and other goodies being put up for winter. I started two small batches of wine from this year’s fine crop of grapes, the peach tree in front of the kitchen is literally sweeping the ground under the weight of fruit, and Ironweed work exchanger Meggie and I have been making bigger cheeses lately in a new six-gallon vat Sara bought. Sage cheddar and hot pepper gouda this week… storing away lots of yum for the colder months.
Stephen and Erica took on the evening goat co-op milking I’m responsible for during the past week. I miss the goats when I’m not milking, but am also loving the focus on the cheese side of things! The goats are currently grazing the south edge of the food forest zone south of Dead Car Draw, so when I went a-milking again this evening with Meggie (and trail guide Althea leading us), it was a longish walk to a spot I haven’t been familiar with for some years. Paths mowed all through the area and the adjacent woody edge make it a lovely green labyrinth, cooling as the evening wears on toward dusk.
One of my favorite daily experiences in recent weeks has been watching a little polyculture drama play out just outside the door to Ironweed kitchen. After various other spring crops had run their course on the terraced garden beds on our home’s north side, the summer found a combination of volunteer ground cherries (excellent snacking, sprouted in place from seeds of last year’s dropped fruit), planted scarlet runner beans, and transplanted basil, all coexisting there.
As the vibrant but compact basil plants work to maintain access to plentiful sunlight, the ground cherries and red-flowering runner beans seem locked in a duel to expand their respective territories for gathering sunlight, producing an ever-rising sea of green leaves, sweet yellow berries in husks, and bright red flowers. This past week the ground cherries seemed to slow the ripening of their fruit in favor of putting more energy into new growth to keep abreast of the beans’ expansion.
I’m enrolled in the Permaculture Design Course (co-hosted by Dancing Rabbit and Midwest Permaculture taking place here at Dancing Rabbit in September, so I’ve been reading the course materials (primarily Rosemary Morrow’s Earth User’s Guide to Permaculture). Watching these epic dances between plants taking place at my doorstep, I’m feeling into lots of angles I might explore in deeper understanding of this place, my home for 15 years. Given how much focus we already give to the growing ecosystem we inhabit here, I’m excited to dig down to the deeper level of interpretation, to harvest some of the knowledge we’ll have gathered here amongst the course leaders and participants from afar.
If you haven’t heard of it before, permaculture is a concept developed in the past few decades that explores, and attempts to mimic, the complex interrelationships of natural ecosystems. In addition to establishing the rich biodiversity of natural systems to enhance the planet’s health, permaculture systems are built to sustain the system builders as well, providing food, fuel crops, and other essentials, and making us direct inhabitants of the web of life. I think of it as agriculture crossed with wildland crossed with human home zones, making the greatest possible use of all the water, soil, sunlight, biotic life, and other elements available in a given place.
No problem, right? Actually, from what I hear, the learning goes from dawn to dusk during the nine days of the course, so I am trying to mentally prepare for an intense, focused learning experience. I feel fortunate to be able to do it on familiar ground where I’ve already got some accumulated place-based knowledge to work with.
Along with a good dozen or so other villagers, I’m preparing to head out this week to New Mexico for a commitment ceremony villagers Danielle and Hassan are having at the community where they met, Hummingbird. Most are traveling southwest by train, while I’ll be driving out in a rented vehicle with Aurelia and work exchanger (and recent residency applicant!) Avi and a bunch of supplies for the event. A brine bucket containing several pounds of haloumi, that Cypriot frying cheese I mentioned last year, will be along for the ride. Never leave home without some cheese, I say.
Saturday evening a bunch of us got together for a mellow beanbag hangout at La Casa to say our fare-thee-wells to villager Ma’ikwe, who has dwelt among us for eight years and in recent times headed our nonprofit. I always find it hard to let go of long-term members, wishing that we would only gain, not lose, villagers. Still we are left with the memories and very real contributions that each has made in their time here, so a piece stays with us. And in this case, Ma’ikwe’s son Jibran is remaining in residence for the time being, so we have a more tangible connection!
Happy trails, Ma’ikwe, thanks for so many things, and we hope you won’t be a stranger.
Thanks for reading! That’s it for this week, other than to mention two upcoming opportunities:
Dancing Rabbit’s upcoming annual Open House will take place September 10. We open our doors for public tours from 1-4 pm, a Village Fair showcasing some of our local wares, and a chance for villagers and visitors to chat about shared interests and what we’re up to here. We hope you’ll spread the word and come to see us, whether for the first time or the 18th!
There are also a few spots remaining in next month’s Permaculture Design Course, but time is running short. If you’re interested in joining this intensive exploration at Dancing Rabbit, please get in touch right away to let us know. We’d love to include you.
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.