And Tippi Hedren thought SHE had problems...

Imagine Dancing Rabbit as Bodega Bay, and the birds as ladybugs. You'll have an idea of what's going on today (our lives in 1:40, below)...



Ladybugs. Cute little ladybugs. Unless they're not.

Ugh! We're in the middle of an infestation, a Ladybugapalooza, the ladybug version of a flash mob. And they're not even real ladybugs. They are foreign imposters.

In the 1980's the Department of Agriculture released the Asian strain to help keep aphids off of pecan trees.

Asian lady beetles, a non-native introduced to the United States as beneficial insects, ones that eat pests -- have become a major headache. Hundreds or even thousands of the orange-colored, black-spotted, pea-sized bugs invade homes in fall. Living, crawling clusters form in attics, corners and basements.

Apparently the ladybugs are more active between mid-October and mid-November because they are trying to find protective places for wintering. Which makes sense. Two nights ago we had our first frost, followed by daytime temperatures in the high 60's. I like nature. But euuuuwwwww. They're all over the side of the house, and all over the clothes on hanging on the line. And when you brush them off? They smell. Really, really bad.

The problem seems to be worse in the south (here's a really interesting New York Times article focusing on Kentucky) although I've read blog entries about infestations as far north as Wisconsin. I'm trying to find a way to pin this on George W. Bush. Everything else is his fault...

Tom Cowan just forwarded this info from Ohio State. EVERYTHING you ever wanted to know about these biting, stinky creatures.

Fortunately we don't have very many in the house. While Fionn (the cat), who enjoys stalking and eating spiders and any other bug he had nab, steers clear of them, Kurt handles them with the vacuum; odd, but apparently that is one of the most benign ways to get rid of them.

Hoover on, dude!

First Frost, winter 2008

Late yesterday afternoon our friend Dan S. came around to remind us that a frost was expected; was there anything I needed help with (since Kurt was out of town?). I did a quick check of the Mercantile - all of the paint, wood glue and other liquid (i.e. freezable items) had been thoughtfully moved by Sparky into Kurt's workshop, which has yet to freeze.

Side note: the shop has no wood stove, but has thick recycled denim insulation in the walls (see photo), 12 fablulous inches of blown cellulose insulation - which is simply recyled newspaper torn into teeny tiny pieces and blown, dry, with a low-tech fan into what ever space you want it in - in the ceiling. Additionally, there are two huge glass doors on the south side (see photo). Passive solar was only a theory for me before moving to Dancing Rabbit. But watching how well this building perform in extreme weather is a fantastic demonstration. It is so cool that it really, truly works!.

Recycled Denim insulation. Used in place of fiberglass, it comes in standard industry sizes and rolls out just like conventional insulation. The bonus: it is soft, non-toxic, and won't leave you with asbestos embedded in your lungs!

The day that the crew blew in the cellulose was a scorcher. They started at 5:00 a.m, but things heated up quickly for Kurt, who was manning the hose in the attic. This is a shot of him when he finally came down, covered in sweat and old newspapers. Ewwwww.

You can see the big glass south-facing doors in this shot of the windmill raising. That was a windy, stormy, thunder-and-lightening day. Perfect for putting up a 40' metal pole!

I was grateful for the reminder - I have a turkey fig "tree" (currently 3' tall) that, while it is supposed to be hardy to zone 5 (where we are) it is in a place exposed to wind. So I took a wheelbarrow over to the Mercantile where there is lots of loose straw (very convenient to be building a strawbale building when one needs insulation for one's fig trees!), loaded up, and surrounded the tree with it. I then put a big black plastic bag (left over from my already-gone-four-years Costco-shopping parents) over the whole thing. It seems like a good idea. I'll let you know in the spring how the tree fares.

This morning when I woke up it was 25 chilly degrees outside. Inside our strawbale home it was 60. Yay for good insulation. We still have lots of single pane windows (donated to DR when other folks upgraded to double-pane) which need thermal curtains. The weather outside is certainly motivation to get going on yet another sewing project!

Life in an Ecovillage: the REAL scoop

For the last eight years members of Dancing Rabbit have been writing a column for the local weekly newspaper, The Memphis (MO) Democrat. Started by Rachel in June, 2000 to help increase our visibility and to diffuse rumors about, well, who knows what, the writing rotates among a team of talented writers. Below is a column that originally ran on March 13, 2008, in reaction to questions asked by neighbors It is my attempt to capture DR in a nutshell, never an easy task! (I have updated a few numbers to make it more accurate). Should you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer!

Taken during a break in our week-long 2008 annual retreat

Hi. This is Alline with some interesting news: Everything you think you know about Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage may be wrong.

Dancing Rabbit has just celebrated its 11th anniversary – eleven fabulous years among the gently rolling hills and gracious friendliness of the people of North Eastern Missouri (fondly nicknamed NEMO). We have countless Rutledge Fall Festivals, Dog & Gun auctions, volunteer Fire Department meetings, donuts at Zimmerman’s and Memphis Democrat columns under our collective belts.

And yet inaccuracies about us abound. Here’s some of the real scoop.

Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage is a nonprofit and a residential community that demonstrates ecological sustainability in Rutledge, Missouri. We are a group of individuals who own an old beater farm together in a non-profit entity called a Community Land Trust. No one person is in charge. We make decisions by consensus, which is a step more inclusive than one person, one vote. If everyone does not agree, we go back to the drawing board to find a solution that will work for all.

On this old farm we are crafting a village – we have plans for a town center, roads, and all of the other constructs that go into it. We have dozens of committees, ranging from Land Use Planning to Kid Committee, which help the decision-making process along. Imagine having to start your town from scratch, and you’ll begin to understand what we are doing. From rules around pets (when is barking too much? How many dogs can we have roaming free?), to deciding how much to charge ourselves for use of the Community Building, we’re doing it all ourselves. It is dizzying and time-consuming but ultimately incredibly satisfying.

Our bottom line is ecological. If someone comes to DR and agrees to live by our six ecological covenants (which include using recycled/sustainable materials in building and using renewable energy), can get along with others, and can support his/herself, we welcome you. This provides a wide spectrum of opinions, experience and skills that individuals bring to our village. We are hoping to continue to grow, and have a visitor program throughout the summer and fall where folks come stay for 1-3 weeks to see if they might like to join us. While here they attend workshops on alternative building, consensus decision-making, cooking for a crowd, organic gardening and participate in sing-alongs, Ultimate Frisbee, sewing circle, game night, swimming in the pond and lots of other activities.

We don’t own cars individually. Instead we have a vehicle cooperative, which owns two cars, a Ford truck and a John Deere tractor in. We pay for usage by the mile, which covers fuel, car payment, insurance and maintenance. We feel strongly that if everyone drove a little less the world might be a little better off. Each Sunday we meet, calendars in hand, and figure out ride-sharing for trips to the doctor, the Mexican restaurant, the vet, the Farm & Home…

We are independent financially from one another. Each of us owns our own home. We do not turn our income over to Dancing Rabbit. We tax ourselves 2% of our annual income to help with the infrastructure of the village, much like condo association fees. We grow much of our own food, but are not attempting to be self-sufficient – we’ll never grow rice here, for instance. We believe in supporting our local economy, buying locally grown food and locally produced items. This is for ecological reasons (why use petroleum to transport stuff from California or Vermont when it is available here?) and because we want to see NEMO thrive.

The 45 adults here are very different from one another. Some, like my husband Kurt and me, come from a decidedly middle-class background, and have worked for 30 years before coming here. Some folks arrive right out of college, or come as interns, and have stayed. Most of us vote. We pay taxes. We work really hard – we build our own houses, and grow a lot of our own food. We don’t have televisions, but a few of us subscribe to Netflix. Most of us are not wealthy, although a few are fortunate enough to have a trust fund. We earn our livings a number of ways – carpentry, computer/online businesses, gardening, teaching music, consulting, and many other things. It is often challenging, but we feel that the hard work is worth being able to live our lives as we do. Many of us are vegans or vegetarians, and yes, we eat tofu. Some of these same people love a good pork barbeque (while clearly, others do not). On a sunny day you may find a tie-dye shirt or two around, and not many neckties. Some Rabbits go to church, others do not but consider themselves to be deeply spiritual. We try not to judge one another, and strive to get along respectfully.

It is important to us that we are transparent. There are no secrets here. We are so grateful for the kindness with which residents of NEMO have treated us, and for the many friends we have made. We welcome you to visit us after the mud has dried when we start giving tours again. Once the Milkweed Mercantile is up and running (December 2008, keep your fingers crossed!) you are cordially invited to come have an up-close and personal tour of a strawbale, solar-and-wind powered building, eat delicious homegrown food, and sit on the porch and drink juleps as the sun sets. We look forward to seeing you soon!


http://www.dancingrabbit.org/

Musings, Changes and Things to Come!

Ziggy's Reciprical Roof

Welcome to the new and improved Ecovillage Musings! The focus has now officially changed - from my life and adventures launching a green business here at Dancing Rabbit, to a more general Dancing Rabbit informational site. Click here to view my new blog, A Passion for Green Business.

This morning I had the pleasure of meeting Brian's (aka Ziggy's) dad who is visiting from New Jersey. I now understand Brian's sunny disposition - his dad is a delight! Check out Ziggy's Year of Mud, where he shares his adventures of building a cob house.

That's it for today - I'm way behind in EVERYTHING! More tomorrow!

Midnight Ramblings, in spite of the cat...

Oh sure, he looks innocent enough...

Dear Friends,

It's midnight, and I tried to sleep. Oh, how I tried. But my brain was whirring, churning, spinning so fast that I had no other option but to climb out of bed, put on Kurt's old blue bathrobe, come down to the kitchen where my computer is sitting on the table and pour myself a bowl of Cheerios (just because I live at an Ecovillage doesn't mean that I always do what is best for me!). So here I sit, brainstorming the next steps in my business, plotting tomorrow's photo shoot, and attempting to think of fabulous, verging-on-genius ideas for The Green Mom's Carnival in which the wise and generous Karen Hanrahan has invited me to participate. But the cat (Fionn McCool) is taking turns running up and down the stairs at top speed and clawing at the tablecloth so that the glass water pitcher inches ever closer to the edge of the table ("Mom! Pay attention to ME!!!) while the very patient but not-a-cat-fan dog, Baloo, keeps coming over to let me know just how annoying the cat is. So I am doing my best, but if this is less than coherent, it's all the cat's fault.

Baloo, who in spite of his obsessive compulsive behavior regarding throw toys, is a fine dog...

OMG. Now the cat has rolled himself up, enchilada style, in the throw rug in the living room. Things were much calmer before I turned on the light...

But anyway, it has been an amazing week. Actually, it was last week that was amazing - I'm just now recovering from recovering from it!

The absolute tip top highlight was the opportunity to be on a panel at the West Suburban Women Entrepreneur's (WSWE) Sixth Anniversary Event. Joining me on the panel were the irrepressible and hilarious Jodi Murphy of Murco Recycling Enterprises, and the absolutely delightful Tracey Robertson of Share Wear in Chicago. Wrangling, er, moderating the conversation was the warm and gracious Jenniffer Weigel, who managed to be both down-to-earth and totally "woo woo" at the same time - what stories she had! We spent an hour and a half talking about our businesses - what inspires us, how we came to do what we do, appreciating our bodies, how we deal with the current economic downturn, and much, much more. What pleased me the most was that the four of us were able to have breakfast together in a private dining room before the event, so that we could get to know one another better before being "on stage." As we talked and shared our ideas, we realized that we all shared a belief in gratitude and abundance. Thinking good things (and doing the work) really can make good things happen. It sounds very Pollyanna-ish, but I know from my own experience that when I follow my heart, amazing things happen, doors open, and the right people appear right out of the blue. When I try to force things, to do what I think I should instead of what I feel I should - well, the results just aren't the same.

It was wonderful to be in a room full of 190 business women (and five men), and feel the support and encouragement from each and every one of them. I was so happy to see Maria Moran of Green Home Experts again (if anyone needs information or help with green building or rennovation, Maria is your girl - she's not only creative and knowledgable, but impeccably honest), Falise of 24/8 Book Club (who confessed to eating Cocoa Krispies, giving me the courage to confess my own sugar ceral jones...), Denise of So Tell Me, creator of So Tell Me Medical Organizers (which I can't wait to carry - oh, to have had these when my parents were ill), the aforementioned Karen Hanrahan, and the Revolutionary Muses, Joanne Stone-Geier and Sue Reardon.

I love being in business, at least the way I am choosing to run my business. And the women I am meeting continue to inspire me to do exactly what I have set out to do - create a community-centered, successful, sustainable, ethical, truly green business.

And speaking of how I choose to run my business, this blog has turned in a direction that was unintended. And so I am going to go with the flow (see 4th paragraph, above) and make a change. This blog, Ecovillage Musings, will morph into an unofficial blog for Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage. As I travel and talk about my home and where the Milkweed Mercantile is located, I am told again and again that the DR website is huge and almost incomprehensible. So I will present our little Ecovillage in managable bites, here, with a name that suits it's purpose.

My business and personal blog, will be new. It is almost ready to go, and as soon as I figure out all of the settings, I will launch it, hopefully by tomorrow.


So that's it for tonight. If I can't sleep now, I'll pull out the latest Henning Mankell book - I'm loving his Kurt Wallender series. It is set in Sweden, and so I make up ways to pronounce the names. They are most likely VERY wrong, but it sure is amusing!

more tomorrow!

Good news, holiday plans and getting too big for my britches!

OK. After ten minutes of trying, I'm CLEARLY not bright enough to embed a video for you to watch here. But I DO know how to LINK something, so click here to view a life-changing video, or at least a brief snippet of humor and truth.

I'm also trying to figure out Twitter both the hows and the whys. Do people REALLY have spare time to do this all day? It's a puzzlement. Maybe it's because they're at desk jobs with the computer, cell phone and blackberry in hand?

However, there IS some good news in amongst the stock market crashes and scary VP announcements. We heard from our friends Rick and Jaime in San Diego that they got married in July. Hooray!

I've been "shopping" for the Mercantile's Holiday selection and having a blast. Take a look at some of these fabulous things (included are organic Blueberry Lavender preserves, pendants made from scrabble tiles, organic baby rattles, playground scavenger hunt, and organic fair trade chocolate "puddles":

We should have them all up online by the beginning of next week.

Tomorrow Kurt and I are off to LaGrange, IL for the West Suburban Women Entrepreneur's Anniversary Event: “The Face of the Woman Entrepreneur", featuring a distinguished panel of women entrepreneurs moderated by Emmy-winning broadcaster Jenniffer Weigel.

Guess who is one of the distinguished panelists? Yup. Better brush my teeth!

Ramping up for Sarah's big evening:

For the teetotallers (including moi): Bingo
For the drinkers from MIT's The Tech:

Red Team Rules

• Every time Palin cites Alaska’s proximity to Russia as “foreign policy experience”: Take a shot of vodka
• When Palin claims she said “Thanks but no thanks” to the Bridge to Nowhere: Demand a new drink from your hosts, say “thanks but no thanks,” and then when no one’s looking, take it anyway, then claim you never wanted it.
• When Palin recounts putting the governor’s jet on eBay: Auction off a beer to your friends
• When Palin insists that governing a small town in Alaska is in fact experience: Give your friend a shot glass of beer when he/she asks for a pint and insist it’s the same thing.
• When Palin points out that Biden thought Obama was too inexperienced for the job: Finish your drink and say, “Oh Snap!” If you’re a democrat, follow this by crying.
• When Palin claims that Washington’s problems can be solved by small town know how and common sense: Drink a Labatt Blue as you read up on how to become a Canadian citizen.
• When Palin talks about being the most popular governor in the country: Go to a room by yourself, realize you’re the most popular person in the room, then finish your drink.

The Sarah Palin checklist:
If she mentions all of the following, finish your drinks: Bush Doctrine, Snow Machine, Moose, Lipstick, Hockey Mom, Family Values

Blue Team Rules

• For every mention of Scranton, Pennsylvania: Take a sip.
• When Biden begins the “I take the train home everyday story” being drinking. Don’t stop ’till he finishes.
• When Biden questions Palin’s inexperience: Drink something you’ve never had before
• When Biden makes an obvious gaffe: Spill your neighbor’s drink
• When Biden uses X words when Y will do: Drink X-Y seconds
• When Biden patronizes or self identifies with the working class: Down some brew (Bonus points if you use Miller Highlife)
• When Biden lambastes Washington Insiders: Make a toast to his 35 years of experience in the United States Senate

The Joe Biden checklist:

If he mentions all of the following, finish your drinks: Blue Collar, Golden Parachute, Little Guy, Washington Insider, Working Class, Clean

Enjoy!