A few more thoughts on dancing with rabbits
My recent talk on Billy and my visit to Dancing Rabbit Eco-villiage is up on the podcasts page. There’s always more that I want to say than I have time for on Sunday, so below in no particular order are some ideas that I had to cut, FYI. Also, feel free to use the comments section to share any thoughts, feelings, experiences, etc., you may have around alternative living/building/energy.
“One thing I particularly liked about Dancing Rabbit is that it seemed like a place where adults can retain the good things from childhood (creativity, making stuff, connection to nature, fun—some adults dress up on their birthday), and children can take part in useful adult activities (building [esp easy and safe with mud, straw, natural plaster], raising food, community decision-making meetings).”
“I don’t know how many other people have had this association, but when I first saw the words ‘Dancing Rabbit’ I thought of Snoopy—there’s some TV special I remember in which Snoopy, whose best friend already is a bird, dreams of dancing in a ring with rabbits. That’s even better than the lion lying down with the lamb–the dog dancing with rabbits. I think DR choose their name because it’s lighthearted and sounds friendly and they have a lot of rabbits there—I don’t really know—but that image of Snoopy reminds me that trying to change the lifestyle we’ve all grown up with, struggling against all those ingrained values and habits, may be as idealistic as a carnivore trying to dance with rabbits instead of eat them.”
“One of the couples also visiting in our group was originally from the Ukraine. One of them told me that he loved America because here you could accomplish anything you needed to just by standing in the right line long enough—rather than having to figure out whom to bribe, how much to pay them, and hoping no one came after you with a bigger bribe—so next time you’re in line at the DMV, be grateful.”
“Although I love to spend time in the country, being there also reminds me of what I appreciate about cities. I love living in the city—being able to walk, bike, or scoot to Forest Park, libraries, cafes, concerts. If DR grows to a small town it will develop all of those things too; still, I fear I would feel isolated living in the country, though that’s largely psychological thanks to phones, Internet, etc.”
“DR has planted 13,000 trees over 10 years, with help of federal programs. Reclaiming farmland—most of what what we think of as “wild” land is actually impoverished by erosion, over-farming, and nonnative species invasion.”