Page 5 - C.A.L.L. #46 - Summer 2020

around the table playing games, and one night ventured up onto the roof of Osage to see the

village from a higher vantage and greet passers-by from an approved distance. Ultimate
Frisbee has not been happening (sometimes as much for the windy days as the potential for
viral exposure), but some of us have started going out to at least toss a disc each day,
sanitizing afterward. New residents and work exchangers are still arriving, and others
returning from winters away, and spending two weeks isolating before venturing further into
the village.

We don’t know how long all this will last, but it is comforting that amidst all the new and
different, there are plenty of things that don’t change. As spring ripens, the earth greens
up, flowers open, trees bloom, and we prepare garden beds and hundreds of tiny seedlings

with which to populate them. Turns out gardening is a fine activity for people to share at a
slight distance while still providing each other company and contact. Sugar’s milk is
sweetening up as she ventures on to the first green pasture, and now is the time for
making the best cheddars of the year.

The goat kids are growing by the day and soon we’ll be milking the does again and have a
steady supply of chevre. In a time of scarcity on grocery shelves and difficulty getting to
the stores, it is extremely gratifying to have abundance here at home. Thank goodness the
trees are leafing out, because it has become just as hard here as anywhere to procure toilet
paper. Thankfully we tend to buy things by the case when we buy them, and our household
had just bought a case of 60 rolls in early February!

Another thing that doesn’t change is the need for organizations to keep working. At a
time when we would already be hosting our first visitor session of the year alongside
Mercantile programs and other events, the nonprofit is turning its energies to producing
virtual visitor programs. Prairie and I will be filming the making of sauerkraut this coming
week, and those of us who normally offer workshops to visitors have been approached about
recording our usual offerings like mine on land use planning and alternative energy. We are
working on significantly boosting our online offerings all around, and hope you’ll keep checking
in on the latest.

There are many more stories to tell, and perhaps Christina will offer more of them in a

couple weeks, but we’d also love to hear how you’re holding up out there. Despite the massive
economic cost of this epidemic, I’ve been heartened to see the many stories about how
rapidly the polluted skies clear over cities around the world as industry has shut down. Do we
really have to trade economic progress for breathable air? I’m hopeful for the many policy
debates and personal discussions that will inevitably come out of this event, and
hopefully lead us all to thoughtful consideration of what future we want to share.

The best stories, though, are those about individuals like you, stepping up to do your best
and then some amidst unprecedented circumstances that lead us to question all our
assumptions about life. However you are getting through this time, whatever inspiration you
are finding, I applaud you and hope you’ll keep your spirits up and let us know what is keeping
you going. From all of us at Dancing Rabbit, strength! Love! Hope!

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