Abundance!

The Newsletter of Abundant Dawn Community 	                 

Issue 24, Winter-Spring 2004

Long Time Coming Environmental Standards Adopted

Abundant Dawn has adopted environmental standards for our
land and plant life gardens, orchards, pastures,
landscaping, container plants, and even the woods. We agreed
to do our gardening and landscaping organically and
sustainably, so that we may live more lightly on our land.
There are two exceptions: container plants may receive
soluble fertilizers (as the amounts used would be too small
to hurt the environment); and in some circumstances, with
considerable community process, synthetics may be used to
control orchard pests and diseases. We are still working out
the details of just how onerous the process should be. The
standards apply to our entire land, including pod sites and
householder yards. 

The policy document is also full of suggestions, good
advice, and resource listings, and we've carefully font-
coded those sentences out of all that which represent firm
agreements.

To put this in a historical perspective, Abundant Dawn
started 10 years ago, and we moved onto our land seven years
ago. We've spent incalculable numbers of person hours
working on our agreements and structure. We have a large
book full of clear financial and structural agreements;
agreements about pets, noise, lumbering and firewood, and
what to do if the community is falling apart. We've done a
lot of land planning work. We've also done a lot of work
trying to figure out how to address interpersonal issues and
human conflict. (Note: we have not fully solved this one
yet. We'll let you know when we get that resolved in a
special bulletin.) We developed and agreed on environmental
guidelines for building many years ago. We have a lovely
statement of intent with regard to our treatment of our
land.

Environmental standards in areas other than building have
lagged behind. It's exciting to see this area of our concern
finally taking shape. And Mark, who took the initiative on
the gardening/land standards, is sufficiently inspired by
what we've accomplished to take on organizing and drafting
the next set of environmental standards, perhaps on
household chemicals and structural pest control.

January Abundant Dawn Congress
Changing roles, broadening focus

With much of our legal, financial and structural policy work
complete, our congresses are now focusing on topics like
environmental quality issues (from garden standards to
driving/parking on the land), guest and visitor pets, the
potential for horses in our future, and helping one another
get community-related work done. Historically, much of the
preparatory work for congresses has been done by the legal-
finance-policy-agenda-everything committee, composed at
various times of different combinations of Rajal, Joy, and
Velma. In addition to the work of this traditional
committee, Mark and Velma brought proposed environmental
standards for the land (see above), Mark and Joy brought a
proposal regarding local charitable contributions, Rainbow
and Carla brought proposals on guest pets and pet care
standards, and Martha brought a proposal regarding our
burial ground on the land.  We generally have a wide group
taking minutes, and at this congress we also had a wide
group facilitating.  With more folks actively engaged, some
found this congress more bonding and enjoyable than many in
recent years.

As part of our Abundant Dawn Congresses, we conduct a labor
review, discussing the tasks and ongoing community
responsibilities that each of us has taken on, how the work
is going and how we feel about it.  This time, we took extra
time to explore alternatives for those tasks or
responsibilities in which some of us have felt  stuck
because of lack of energy, time or skills.  Often, another
community member felt ready to take on the work, which
seemed appropriate if that person was competent for the
task.  Sometimes a combination of nudging and support helped
re-motivate the person(s) who originally accepted the work. 
So the labor review became a job trading and mutual
encouragement session.

Driving and Parking on Community Land

When we first came to the land, we thought we would all park
near the entrance, and walk internally around our
mountainous land. Step by step we changed our habits, and
sometimes changed our agreements. Recently we found it was
time for a review. Our new clarified agreement is that in
general we park in one of five parking areas, and when
parking in other areas (usually for unloading) we usually
move our cars back to one of the parking areas fairly
quickly. In general we don't drive internally on the land,
except when we have bulky or heavy things to transport, or
illness or infirmity makes walking difficult.  Occasional
exceptions to this occur and are acceptable. We've agreed to
make this information more available to visitors, guests,
and new members. Given this flexibility, we suspect we can
keep these agreements better than prior versions.

Nature and Garden Report

The Earth has treated us to a second winter of abundant
moisture and moderate cold. We had several mornings of
spectacular  winter wonderland  beauty, and endless weeks of
extremely slippery walkways. Several of us bought crampons
or built makeshift ones so we could get around. Mark even
found skid marks where a deer had apparently lost its
footing on our main driveway!

The wildlife is ever present with us, with half-tame deer
prancing across our paths nearly every day, several
sightings (and smellings) of skunks, and an unusual
diversity of winter birds. Martha and Lester saw a red fox
several times from their living room window, as well as
hairy, downy and pileated woodpeckers, a yellow bellied
sapsucker, purple finches, a northern flicker, and red tail
hawks soaring overhead. With warmer March weather, the
spooky rhythmic hoot of the barred owl has returned to our
air waves.

The gardens are just starting to rouse from their winter
sleep.  Sumati is starting seedlings, and Mark recently
turned the compost pile. With a shift in many members' diets
to lower carbohydrate intake, the snap beans have all been
snapped up, while boxes of starchy vegetables remain in the
root cellar.  So the 2004 garden may have more beans and
greens, and less root crops. 

Mark did much of the work in the main garden in 2003, and
received lots of appreciation and support from the rest of
the community. This has made a big difference in his
attitude as he looks ahead to the new season.

Tekiah

Rainbow and Joy are doing well with each other. We have
weathered the intense winter weather, the possibility of Joy
leaving, and the financial stress while staying connected
and supportive of each other. We are grateful to have been
able to do this and for the connections and support of the
other Abundancers.

Joy and Rainbow are addressing the winter cash flow problem
that is part of having only summer businesses. Joy is
working on budgeting and marketing while Rainbow is
exploring doing indexing for winter income.

Tekiah Hemp Co-op is in a hopeful place. We now have three
quality, comfortable products. After last year's scramble
for materials, this is a delight. Marketing is stirring up a
lot of interest both in the hemp and recycled products
areas. This is an encouraging sign as one of our big
wholesalers   Harmony Catalog   recently told us that we
will not be in their summer catalog. We have already started
getting wholesale and retail orders and are hopeful that it
will be a financially stabilizing year.

We are also preparing to do a visioning to help us draw what
Tekiah needs and desires to be stable and vibrant. We
definitely want more people. Because of the possibility of
Joy's leaving, we are discussing the possibility of having
more than one Tekiah site. 

We have already started planning our garden by the community
house. We are expectantly looking forward to spring and
getting our hands in the dirt. The last few days have had a
hint of spring in them. We're ready.

From Joy:  At this year's commitment ceremony, I renewed my
commitment to be here until Jan. 2005 and did not extend it.
I have no certainty that I will actually leave, yet felt the
need to be open to change. It has been an interesting
process because it has encouraged me to look at issues and
tasks that I have let slide thinking that there was plenty
of time to address them. One of the biggest has been
Tekiah's financial situation. I have been focusing on
budgeting, debt reduction or restructuring and marketing for
the hammock business. 

 I am finding that looking at the work in light of my
determination to have Tekiah financially stable allows me to
willingly, and some times even enthusiastically, engage in
activities I have found onerous in the past.

 I have been up to visit Mo at his new place in Asheville.
He has a job doing electrical work for a wonderful man,
Brian. I got to meet Brian and his young family when I went
to visit. Mo had been staying with them until he got his own
rental with three other folks his age. He seems to be
happily settling in. 

 I again spent some time at Twin Oaks this winter. It is
special to me to be there for my, Hawina and Willow's
birthdays (the last falls on Validation Day = Valentine's
Day). I love being part of TO's Validation Day tradition of
taking special time to acknowledge our appreciation for each
other. It's also helpful to gather labor exchange hours so I
can get folks to help finish the yurt or to help make
hammocks this summer. This year I asked to do a post-fear
role play with other co-empowerment organizers. I feel very
blessed to be using these powerful tools in my life, as well
as preparing workshops. 

Rainbow says,  Since last fall's Abundance issue, there have
been a few changes in my life.  The biggest change happened
just after Christmas, when my new feline soulmate arrived on
my doorstep all the way from North Carolina!  As it
happened, a North Carolina angel had read about me and my
Bubba Tom-Tom, whom I had to get put down last summer.  One
day, I received a letter from her (complete with pictures!)
telling me about some of her foster cats, who were looking
for a permanent home.  One of the cats (an enormous, very
handsome, blue-eyed lynx-point Siamese) looked out of the
picture at me with the same kind of wise and soulful eyes
that my Bubba had, and I knew that he was the one.  I called
my angel friend up that very same night and before I knew
it, the two of them showed up on my doorstep, complete with
cat food and accessories.  From then on, my Shadow and I
have become the best of friends and we take great delight in
each other's company.  The only problem I encountered was
Shadow's seemingly chronic diarrhea.  I'm happy to report
that this problem has been remedied by switching him to an
all raw meat diet.  

 Another addition in my life is a little vestibule, which
Martha and Lester built onto the Smokehouse (the little
house I live in).  As well as providing a little extra
space, this new addition allows me to have a solid front
door to keep out the wintry cold.  I only had a storm door
prior to this, which made for a very cold last winter, even
with blankets covering the doorway.  Martha and I installed
a cat door for Shadow into the wall of the vestibule, so now
the cat can come and go as he pleases.

 As dark and dreary as last winter was for me in my little
home, this year's winter is, literally, much brighter thanks
to the installation of a big skylight last fall.  I love
being able to look up from my bed at night and see the stars
and the moonlight shining into my room!  And now in the
wintertime, I love having all this wonderful abundance of
daylight brightening my room. My plants are very happy about
it too!

 I feel very blessed for all of the wonderful things that
have come into my life and all of the support the community
has given me since my beloved Bubba Tom-Tom died.  Life is
looking much brighter for me now & I'm looking forward to
this year with a renewed sense of hope and more joy in my
heart. 

Dayspring Circle

It's been a quiet winter, here in Dayspring Meadow. Between
winter weather and other directions for our time, there were
not many days for work on our Dayspring Circle guest cabin.
We've gotten as far as getting a building permit, breaking
ground, digging the footings, and so far we've poured
several of them. We have come up with some good ideas of how
to make the cabin have aesthetic appeal visually while
keeping the expenses down--one is to make it look like an
old-fashioned train station. Lester got that idea from
watching the movie, The Station Agent.  

We were deeply affected by some tragic personal losses in
the family of ex-members Nina and Rajal, and serious
injuries and illnesses among other friends and neighbors.

About half of us have been seriously involved with The Lord
of the Rings movies, and the other half tagged along and
listened patiently to endless excited conversation. We all
went together to listen to Sweet Honey in the Rock, to a
more unanimous enthusiasm.

Other than our social/meeting/hanging out gathering time
together, there has not been a lot of other active pod
activity over the winter. We'll probably have more to report
by the next newsletter deadline.

Velma says,  This has been a time of major transition. In
mid-December, we moved Mom back to Maryland, to a nursing
home 10 minutes from where she used to live, and back to
Sandy's care (after 39 months with me). And just a few days
ago I ended about nine years on the Fellowship for
Intentional Community FIC admin staff and Communities
Magazine staff.  I'll continue to have a few limited roles,
and one major one I'll continue to manage and develop the
online store at store.ic.org. Each of these changes is so
major for me, it's hard to come to grips with them.

 I continue to drive to my job in Roanoke 5 days a week, so
much of my life is filled with the drive, the work, and the
associated tasks. An office of 30 odd people is not so
different from a community, with its dramas and conflicts
and ups and downs and less willingness to explore deeply
into the meaning of these things, less likelihood of anyone
ever saying of course, I had a part in that conflict. I'm
doing well there. Professionally I'm stimulated and doing
excellent work (and learning a lot). 

 Monthly, I leave straight from work Friday evening for a
weekend with my parents in northern Virginia and Maryland,
coming straight back to work on Monday. It's been great to
see so much more of my Dad.

 I love coming home to Abundant Dawn every night, and
walking up through Dayspring meadow to the car every
morning. I'm planning out a year with 10 vacation days! 3 go
to Abundant Dawn Congress, 2 to hiking with Daniel in Maine,
half a day for Nina's graduation, a day for a retreat at
Yellow Sulphur Springs, a day for baking cookies  

Martha says,  I continue to enjoy playing the piano each
morning and taking piano lessons weekly.  I'm very pleased
that I'm beginning to feel comfortable learning how to read
music and learn songs I like on my own.  This has been a
winter filled with more snow than usual, but I've continued
to get out and walk on this wonderful land most days.  My
most memorable event of this past period was a Caribbean
cruise that I took for a week at the beginning of February
with my sister Mary.  We had a most relaxing week filled
with dancing, swimming in the aqua blue waters, and
snorkeling with rainbow-colored fish and large turtles--and
much more.  I sailed with a small group on St. Thomas before
heading back on our Italian ship filled with over 2000
guests. 

Lester says, "I'm also into music these days. I'm still
taking mandolin lessons and am now playing bass with a newly
formed band. The music style is mostly old-time, as that's
what's popular here. I've just finished making a mandolin-
banjo. This is an instrument you don't see often these days,
but they were very popular in the 1920's. My dad had one and
I used to mess with it as a kid. I don't know what became of
it. Probably my mother sold it at a yard sale. Anyway it was
junk and had a warped neck. This is a nice one and plays
easily. Mike Seegar plays one. I'm enjoying our warm March
weather and looking forward to planting corn. 

Earth Pod

Sumati and Mark continue to work on the Earth Pod vision and
plans, and acknowledge that it will take a larger group than
just the two of us to realize them.  We envision a pod that
lives lightly on the earth; offers a modest but comfortable
lifestyle; produces much of our own food through garden and
dairy; and contributes to both inner and world peace.  Our
selected pod site is a pine-covered southwest-facing slope
above our river field with grassland and community garden.
We expect to fell many of the large pines, and have them
milled as building materials for our pod center and
individual homes.  We hope to find people to join us who
will enjoy living there, working and growing food with us,
and will be able to help with the design, construction and
finances of our off-grid pod.  Prior community living
experience is helpful though not required.  

Mark is very grateful for improving health, and has recently
become more involved in the sustainable agriculture network
in the South.  In addition to the organic no-till research
with Professor Ron Morse at Virginia Tech, he has attended
several conferences and the annual meetings of the National
Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture in Washington, DC. He
had a great visit over Christmas with his elder brother
Niels and family. In January, Niels' wife Heather had a baby
girl Rowineve. 

Sumati continues teaching yoga, and she's enjoying the
company of her son Elijah who is staying here for a while.
A vegetarian of over 30 years, she dreams of having help
with her cows who provide milk for the community and manure
for the gardens.  She welcomes the onset of spring, and is
busy seeding flats of vegetables for the coming season.

Abundant Dawn Community
P.O. Box 433
Floyd, VA 24091