We just got back from a month-long trip away from home, and while I loved our time away, I’m happy to be here. Arriving back in our corner of Northeast Missouri after being away is always a good time to realize what I love about living at Dancing Rabbit and what I’ve taken for granted in the past.

Christina, here, writing about what it’s like to live in a rural ecovillage in midwinter.

For better or for worse, this Gen X-er thinks in top-ten lists (too much time spent watching Letterman in my teen years when I should have been asleep, I guess). So here are my top 10 things I appreciate about Dancing Rabbit after being away for a month—winter version.
 

1. Big skies and lots and lots of stars. It never ceases to amaze me how GOOD the stars are here. On a cold, clear night, they are just so bright and there are so many of them. It’s something that I take for granted for sure. Walking home after song circle or potluck in the dark, I can really appreciate the lack of light pollution. It makes me feel sort of ancient, like I’m out there in the field with the shepherds, naming my own constellations.
2. Working on alternative forms of governance. As a member of the Village Council as well as the IAAHC (Integrity and Agreements Ad Hoc Committee), I can put a lot of hours in each week towards work that can at times seem kind of monotonous and never-ending. Filling out another task spreadsheet or writing up an email in preparation for yet another meeting can feel like so much work. However, I really care about finding different ways of making decisions together (which is essentially what governance is, in my opinion) and so I appreciate that I get the opportunity to walk the walk. Consensus based decision making with my friends and neighbors isn’t always easy, but it’s worth it.
3. Seeing friends when I go about my day. To be honest, sometimes I feel like I don’t have enough time to take a shower or get my mail. Not because it takes so long to do those individual actions, but because I end up getting, as my kids like to say, “caught up in conversation.” A 15-minute trip to the Common House can take 45 minutes depending on who is on the path and how long it’s been since we’ve last caught up. But also, oh my gosh, how much do I love living somewhere where I know everyone! It’s truly strange for me to travel places and be surrounded by strangers everywhere I go. So it feels good to be back in my home where I know all of my neighbors.

4. Wood stoves and warm fires. Yeah, the ashes and dust get everywhere, and yes, I’m kind of annoyed by having to bring in firewood over and over, but geez I really love the coziness of a wood fire. After spending a month in places where if you’re cold, you just turn up the thermostat, it can feel like a lot of work to heat our house with wood, but the coziness of the warm glow is just unbeatable. Soon enough I’ll be out until 9:00 at night hanging out after potluck, cooling off in the pond, or watering the garden, but for now, sitting on the couch in the evening with a fire in the wood burning stove is just where I want to be.
5. Eating food that was grown (or raised) here. I came home to two boxes on the floor, still full of potatoes, sweet potatoes, and garlic as well as a freezer with bags of dried tomatoes and squash. Add to that the dairy co-op meat in the freezer and the pork I bought from Ben before we left, and even though we didn’t have any groceries when we got back, we had so much good food! Eating this way feels better—more ethical than the packaged and convenience food we so often buy when traveling—but for me, it’s also so much about the taste. Nothing quite beats a warm bowl of soup full of ingredients that were grown right here.
6. Rural life. Living on a rural gravel road means that it has been difficult (or at times impossible) to go anywhere in the past two weeks, and I do miss having train stations and grocery stores and cappuccinos within walking distance of wherever I am. Still, I so love living out here in the middle of nowhere. I just walk out the door and cross the “road” behind our house and I’m walking on 200 plus acres of prairie. At night all I can hear are the trains in the distance and the melting snow dripping from the roof. We’ve got birds and squirrels and rolling hills covered with snow. Winter can be really beautiful around here.

7. The hibernation vibe in winter. Potlucks have small turnouts, there isn’t so much going on at night, and I’m likely to be in bed with a book by 7:30. While I love the big crazy summer days around here with parties at the pond and circle-ups that use the whole courtyard to hold all of the guests, visitors, wexers, and Rabbits, it’s also nice to have a more cyclical life that slows down in the cold season.
8. The sauna. When Daniel finished the sauna late in the fall, the quality of life here took a serious turn for the better. Though the actual time I spend sweating in the sauna and then freezing in the pond is not always pleasant, I always feel so refreshed and relaxed after a sauna. And it’s often yet another time to get caught up with friends and neighbors. There are few things as bonding as jumping in an ice-cold pond with a friend.
9. Wearing the same grubby (and comfortable!) clothes day after day. It was fun to dress up for a few weeks (um, and by dress up I mean wear jeans and a sweater) but I sure do love to live somewhere where what I wear and what I look like doesn’t matter at all. The only mirrors in our house are out of the way, and so I can easily leave the house without a clue of my actual appearance. And I know that no one here cares a bit about what I look like! That is something rare and precious for sure.
10. Haggis, poetry, and good friends. And finally, I’m so so glad that we came home in time for Daniel’s now annual Night of the Poet! We gathered together to eat haggis, mashed potatoes, fresh bread made by Cat, “neeps” (mashed turnips), and a delicious homemade pudding from Alline. Throughout the night, we took turns reading original poetry or some of our favorite verses. The dress was black tie “interpreted through a Tri Com lens.” Highlights for me included Jed’s ode to his grandmother, Alyson’s dramatic recitation, and Cob’s kilt. It’s just that kind of weird, fun, low-key celebration that makes life here so special.

Yeah, I wish that we could have a dishwasher and buy fresh baked bread every day for two euros, but I’m also glad to be back.
 

Christina Lovdal brings us news of the world through her travels at least several times a year. She is my gym buddy (along with Cole) and always manages to put a cheerful spin on things, sometimes in the same breath as acknowledging how hard something is, like getting back in the gym after two weeks of not being able to make it there because of the snow.

P.S. Are you a woman who understands how important self-love is, yet you're rarely able to dedicate time for yourself? Join Danielle from Dancing Rabbit THIS SATURDAY for a completely FREE online event that will fill up your cup and bring receiving and giving back into balance.