Thursday, February 23, 2017

Finally! Infrastructure Work Has Begun!

Both yesterday and today, land is being moved around on the lower part of our property, the area where our buildings are going to be. 


Guided by the stakes our engineers carefully placed weeks ago, a small bulldozer is pushing dirt into a high pile.

The large and small pipes are waiting at the east side of the land.




Trip by trip


Up to the top

And back down again.


Monday, February 13, 2017

Field Trip to Arboretum Cohousing in Madison - This Coming Weekend!

photo of front of Erin House looking east

Again members and prospective members of Prairie Hill Cohousing are making the trip to Madison, Wisconsin, to visit what we call our sister cohousing community there. Arboretum Cohousing has relatively recently gone through the development stages that we are experiencing now, and it has been heartening to hear their stories and see how they have achieved a thriving community in just a few years. Our commonhouse committee will be especially interested in how "Arbco" has planned and used its common spaces. We'll also be able to see the variety of housing units, hear about their daily way of life, how they get the community tasks done, how they make decisions, and all manner of other topics that come up when thinking about how this particular cohousing community works.

This field trip is still open for interested participants. We will leave at 8:00 a.m. this coming Saturday, 2/18, and carpool to Madison. Our meeting place is the OLD Hy-Vee parking lot on Dodge Street (not the new and thriving store about a block further south). We'll make this a day trip, getting back by mid-evening. If you are interested in joining us, email Nan Fawcett at nanjfawcett@gmail.com.

Sunday, February 12, 2017

Fun at the Worm Talk

 Gummy worms in a cookie-crumb soil


 Partaking of the gummies


More worms for dessert

Monday, February 6, 2017

Find Out All About Composting with Worms! - Sunday, 2/12, 4:00


The unseen miracle-workers in the soil (and in your compost pile) will be the subject of this month's friends-of-cohousing meeting. As we look toward our future engagement with the dirt under our feet and in our gardens at Prairie Hill, this program will help get us started. And everyone is welcome, not just our members!

Scott Roser has been composting with worms (vermicomposting) for five years and has found it to be an amazingly simple and rewarding hobby. He has made his fair share of mistakes, but the worms have always been tolerant and forgiving of his errors. Vermicomposting is a great way to continue composting kitchen scraps throughout the winter. It is also a great method for those without space for a compost pile or those who do not produce enough kitchen scraps for outdoor composting. When managed well, a worm box produces very little odor and can even be kept indoors. Scott will give a presentation on the basics of vermicomposting and will teach you everything you need to know to get started.

This worm presentation will start at 4:00 on Sunday afternoon, February 12th at the County Extension Building at the Johnson County Fairgrounds, 3109 Old Highway 218 S. Come and hear about Scott's experience, then stay for an update on the Prairie Hill Cohousing project, and finally share a potluck dinner with us. Dessert will include our traditional Valentine's Day chocolate fondue (you can bring something to dip).  It's been awhile since we had a friends-of-cohousing meeting. They are great times to meet our members and have a chance to hang out with us over a meal. If you're considering cohousing, think about joining us on the 12th!