Memphis Democrat Column from July 10, 2005

Hi everyone! I had to take a respite from the column last week due to my glass frames breaking on Sunday morning. All I have as a back up pair are my sunglasses, which are my old prescription. Of course, this happened just before a Monday holiday and I couldn't do anything about the problem until Tuesday. I felt like I was walking around in a dark haze for a couple of days. On Tuesday, my optician in Kirksville sent me over to Jim's Gems on the square and Jim did a very nice job of soldering my frames back together. I have a cousin who has problems with low vision, and this experience really made me appreciate what it must be like for her.

In spite of this little setback, I still went to see the fireworks out at the Catfish Place that Sunday evening. Michael, our intern Aaron and I had supper at the restaurant before the display. Another one of our interns, Joanne, and our friend Zach from Dancing Rabbit also came out just for the fireworks.

We have had our share of celebrations the past few weeks. Renay's ninth birthday was on June 20.

Rowan from DR came over to spend the afternoon and his parents and siblings joined us for supper, along with Renay's dad French and Zach. The party included swimming at the pond and other fun activities, along with cake and some really neat presents.

On June 28, Aaron celebrated his birthday. It coincided with our weekly potluck with Dancing Rabbit and Joanne made two wacky cakes for the whole group to enjoy.

Two Dancing Rabbit visitors who came over with the group that evening turned out to be members of Vine and Fig Tree Community in Alabama with whom I had contact during my years at East Wind. It was interesting to finally get to meet them in person after all this time.

Laird was here long enough last week for us to have coffee with him in the morning for three days before he had to take off again, this time to attend the North American Bioregional Congress at Earthaven Ecovillage near Asheville, North Carolina. He and Tony from DR are representing the Fellowship for Intentional Community at this conference. They will be back this coming Thursday and then Laird will be home at Sandhill for a month.

Stan headed out west again on the 25th for another farm inspection trip, this time to western Nebraska. He also did one inspection just over the state border in Wyoming. The situation out there this year is quite different from that of the past several years, with rain being more plentiful in that area. Stan came back home on July 1.

Gigi and Renay took the train to New York City on June 28 for a vacation with Gigi's family. Gigi has checked in a few times while they have been gone. They are staying with her brother and have also been spending time with Gigi's parents and her sister and her family. Renay has been enjoying trips to the beach and Gigi enjoyed her afternoon at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Kirk and Chifumi went down to St. Louis for a family reunion on July 2. They also did deliveries for us in Columbia, St. Louis and over on the Illinois side of the river during this trip. They returned to the farm on the 5th.

We have had some more visitors. Alexis from Woodfolk House Community in Charlottesville, Virginia arrived on July 3. He had been out on the West Coast and got off Amtrak in Ottumwa and rode his bike the rest of the way here. He has been a friend for many years and lived at Sandhill for a time a few years back. While he was here, he installed some new guttering on our biggest residence, which was much appreciated. He continued his trip east with Laird and Tony when they left on the 8th.

Sarah arrived last Wednesday and left Sunday morning. She is a graduate student at Coiorado State University in Fort Collins, majoring in sociology. She just finished an apprenticeship at the Ecovillage Training Center in Tennessee and was an intern last year at the Shambhala Mountain Center in Red Feather Lakes, Colorado.

Two friends of Joanne's from New Hampshire, Mark and Jess, arrived this Thursday and are still here. They have been helping us out a lot with the sorghum and garden weeding. Joanne has also shown them the local sights, including Zimmerman's and Dog and Gun. I gave Mark, Jess and Sarah a tour of Sandhill Saturday morning and then Mark and Jess went to DR in the afternoon for the public tour. Tamar had already shown Sarah around the ecovillage on Thursday.

We have also had some informal visiting time with friends from Dancing Rabbit and Red Earth Farms. Zach and Andrew have spent some time with us on weekends. Andrew visited again this weekend and helped us out with our ongoing weeding in the sorghum fields and other projects. Renay had some fun play dates with the Johnson children before her vacation, both here and at Dancing Rabbit. The folks who come over to work at the FIC office during the week from DR and Red Earth are also part of our ongoing social scene. This is one of the benefits of living in our neighborhood.