Prairie Hill, the "E-Harmony of Housing"

Serendipity some might call it. Karma or destiny, maybe? Finding a new way of living and a soul mate in one fell swoop is almost too much good fortune to believe. But it seems to have happened not once but three times here at Prairie Hill. Six individuals looking for a better way to live became three couples finding just that.

The first couple, Barb and Del, met in 2012. Del joined a group that gathered, hoping to create a cohousing community founded on the principles of sustainability and shared resources. As Barb described it, she and Del sort of "danced around each other" for four years, agreeing to not risk jeopardizing the fulfillment of their cohousing dreams to explore their personal relationship. They worked side-by-side through all the ups and downs, frustrations and victories, to develop the plan that would someday be Prairie Hill. Throughout that process, their connection and feelings for each other grew and they recognized their synergy.

The small group of believers began to grow and Prairie Hill began to take shape. In 2016, when the major pieces of planning for Prairie Hill were in place, Del and Barb decided to explore their relationship on a deeper level beyond cohousing and found the loves of their lives, the first couple brought together by Iowa City Cohousing. Now they live here at the top of the hill where they can see what a strong partnership can achieve.

The second pair, Marcia and Craig, came together in the middle of the development stage of Prairie Hill. Marcia had been part of its planning for a year or so when an inquiry came to the membership from a man in Decorah. He had taught social work at the college level and was a Sustainability Coordinator. He was clearly a good fit for Prairie Hill. Craig had found Iowa City Cohousing on the internet and it seemed to fit his desires for an environmentally conscientious, socially responsible community. Little did he know it would answer a desire he wasn't yet aware of. Craig came for a visit and even before there was a road graded or a foundation poured he embraced the dream. He joined committees getting to know the other members, but there was one member in particular who caught his eye.

Marcia's husband had died five years before. She managed a household, ran her landscaping business, volunteered and enjoyed satisfying hobbies. Her life was settled. Then Craig arrived and all that didn't seem enough anymore. She and Craig will marry in April, 2019, and all we Prairie Hillers will help them celebrate.

Jeanette and Dick are the most recent couple to find each other through Prairie Hill. Dick lived in northeast Iowa near Dubuque and Jeanette in south central east Iowa, south of Fairfield. It would seem highly unlikely that they would ever meet but lightning struck once more. Like Marcia, Jeanette had nursed her husband Don through a devastating illness that ended in his death a short time before. Dick had recently divorced and hoped that there was something more out there for him. Through "a miracle" both made their way to the same August 2018 information meeting and open house where they toured homes and met with members of our sociable group. And there they met each other. Each recognized a surprising connection to the other and they shared phone numbers. Their first date was to the Iowa State Fair, where they spent the whole day together. No "red flags" were evident but Jeanette felt it was too soon after Don's death to have a new relationship. She told Dick he should make some lady friends in Dubuque. But he kept calling her "to talk about Prairie Hill," and they saw each other at Prairie Hill events.

Soon Jeanette realized that Dick was very special and it would be a mistake to walk away from the possibility of a real relationship. Now Dick and Jeanette occupy the 515 square foot studio apartment and are very much in love and so happy together. They enjoy playing chess or pool in the Common House living room and both have added richly to the community of Prairie Hill.

Now we can't promise you that lightning will strike again, but it can't hurt to give the Fates a chance. Every person who has become a part of the Prairie Hill community has brought skills, passions, and talents that make all our lives better for having them here. Come visit Prairie Hill and find out what a special place it is.

Donna Rupp

St. Patrick's Day AND Wendy's Birthday!

Our First Spring Equinox Celebration!

We gathered on the west side of the common house,

 where garages will be built soon.

 It was the least muddy and flat place 

we found for the large group of us. 

Dick built a wonderful fire.

Some of us brought drums we had made ourselves,

 and there was a harmonica and a rain stick.

Val read three haiku about spring.

Val and John gave us a strong rhythm, with Buddy looking on.

 We enjoyed the fire for awhile.

Some of us wrote wishes onto paper
and threw them into the flames.

Then before dark,
we all filled two large planters (see supplies on left) 

with topsoil, compost, and flowers - 

tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, and pansies. 

They'll grace our entrances to the common house.

 And then we roasted marshmallows
 around the fire to make some-mores. 

And basked in the light of the super moon, 

which came in and out of the clouds.

We sat for a long time, even though we were cold.

It felt good to sit there together

around the fire

with the moon

overhead.

Happy Spring!

Origami! First Class in the Reorganized Activity Room

Our activity room in the common house has been used for months as an exercise room (see the different machines in the background). But the other side of the room was used for temporary storage until this week, when places were found for everything on the floor and cabinets.  Now we have a large place for all kinds of activities. To celebrate this new space, we had our first craft activity today! Carolyn, standing in photo above, has been doing origami for at least 10 years, and she taught us to make boxes with lids.

 Here is Val, starting on her box.

One of Carolyn's favorite boxes is triangular, as you can see above. Next time maybe we'll learn to make it too. Other activities down the road are painting, weaving, bread-making and spinning. Who knows what else? The sky's the limit (and the dimensions of the room)!

Benefits of Frigid Weather

As I look back on this month, our first February spent in our new home at Prairie Hill Cohousing, I keep thinking of cold. My new friends and neighbors tell me this is an unusually cold and snowy
February. I hope so, because one overnight low earlier this month was minus 26. When I mention this to a neighbor, he says it was the coldest day in these parts in 25 years.

Of course, those are outdoor temperatures and, as my wise partner, Valerie, notes, most of those sub-zero numbers occur at 3 or 4 in the morning, when we are nestled under the down quilt gifted us by our new friend, Jeanette. Fortunately, the "split" heat pump is working well. We heard that at -10, it gets a bit less effective. During that 26-below night, we were a toasty 65 degrees. The split was set at 70.

And there are other benefits to the frigid weather. Like eight eagles posted the next morning like sentinels in the river birth trees across from our studio in the Common House, at the edge of Benton Hill Park. Their white breasts seemed as wide as bed sheets and their stillness made them look like sculptures.

I stepped outside for two minutes to photograph them. Val rapped on the window, summoning me inside. I was reminded that at -5 degrees, any exposed skin is subject to frostbite. Once back inside now, making a cup of coffee, I went on the Internet and discovered it was 51 degrees back in Auburn, where we lived this time a year ago. What's the fun in that?

So, what does one do on a below-zero day at Prairie Hill Cohousing? For one thing, jigsaw puzzles. We have completed a 300-piece, a 500-piece and a 1,008 piece puzzle.  I use the word "we" loosely because my contribution for all three puzzles was probably fewer than two dozen pieces.

Also I have watched one couple play chess, and there is the activity room, where I have logged several hours on the stationery bike and the treadmill.

As I head downstairs in the Common House to ride the bike, it is snowing outside. I grab the book, America, America, by Iowa City author Ethan Canin. I am in the final pages of this novel, and I am hoping Ethan is upstairs in his nearby home, coffee cup handy, working on the next one.

John Bowman

A Day at Prairie Hill - Who Said Winter Was Boring!?

 While our eagle friends calmly perch in a tree above the common house,

 coffee cake made by Carolyn is waiting in the dining room for anyone who is hungry,

 or you can take a few minutes to catch up on reading in the coffee nook.

 In the meantime, Donna has provided us with the internal mailboxes we've been wishing for,

 and the Apex Construction crew is continuing on the new garages

 as well as the new duplex.

 Inside, John takes advantage of the exercise equipment in the activity room,

 and Marcia and Craig have a ping pong match nearby.

 Last night, our Valentine's Date Night Out ended up being at least as fun for Prairie Hill members who got to play with the kids as the parents who got a night out. There was good food,

and good fun.

It's a comforting place to be when the temperatures bottom out and snow covers the landscape. It may be cold outside, but the climate at Prairie Hill Cohousing is definitely warm!

Date Night - A Valentines Day Opportunity for Parents

Our monthly outreach to the wider community this February is something quite different from the norm. We've been talking for a long time about how fun it would be to offer child care to parents who seldom get a chance to go out alone. Though we don't have many children at Prairie Hill yet, we're hoping for more. We have a wonderful Kids' Room in the common house and a spacious area for both quiet and lively activities. And we have an abundance of adults who enjoy hanging out with kids. Put these all together, and it's a recipe for a happy event.

Thursday, February 14th is Valentines Day, and we have scheduled our first date night for parents then. There will be a number of experienced grandparent and parent cohousing members at the common house to host children, starting at 5:30 and ending at 9:00. We'll provide some snacks, but it's also good for parents to bring something they know their children like. We'll provide some beds for the little ones who need to go to sleep before their parents get back. And we'll have activities for different age groups. If you want to take advantage of this opportunity, you can reserve a place by contacting us at iowacitycohousing@gmail.com. We are limiting the number of children to 10-12, any age. Please let us know by Wednesday, Feb. 13th, if you'd like to participate.

Reaching Out to the Wider Community

Change is always risky, and those of us who moved to Prairie Hill in the past year were trusting that we would like living here, even though we wouldn't know until we tried it. The truth is that in general we're finding our community life here more fun and fulfilling than we ever dreamed, despite the full schedule of committee work  that seems to be a necessity at this stage of our development. The concept of  cohousing is working well, with a healthy balance of privacy and community. And in the winter, when we're kept inside more by weather, it's comforting to have others just a few steps away.

Even so, we've felt from the beginning that we want to be closely connected to the wider community rather than becoming insular. To promote this interaction, we've been hosting events once a month that bring a variety of subjects and speakers to Prairie Hill. These events are open to the public, and we love the influx of visitors who come.

Usually we begin with a potluck in our common house dining room. That's a good way to have informal conversations.

Then comes the featured activity or talk. Over the years (even before we began living at Prairie Hill) we've focused on a wide pallet of subjects: edible landscaping, solar collectors, downsizing, getting a loan, raising worms, children's playgrounds, sustainable building design, and a host of other things.

Our most recent friends-of-cohousing evening featured the ecovillage of Findhorn in Scotland. Blair Frank, a frequent visitor to Findhorn, told us of his experiences there, and we were especially interested because many of their themes (community, sustainability, permaculture, attunement to the land) are ones we share. One of the things Blair told us is that during meetings at Findhorn, there is often a candle burning in the center of the group that helps them focus on the things they share, bringing them together. Blair and his wife Mary left us with a gift: a beautiful candle holder and candle made at Findhorn. And often we have been remembering to light the candle when we're having an important meeting.

In the Winter at Prairie Hill

Winter has arrived at Prairie Hill. As I write this, the weekend Iowa City weather forecast calls for temperatures plunging to 1 and 2 degrees below zero. Snow - up to 8 inches of it - is coming tonight.

Meanwhile, at a Friends of Prairie Hill potluck last night in the Common House, there was talk of an outing to the Herbert Hoover Presidential Museum in West Branch, "when the weather gets better." And, we started to plan an April trip to Cedar Rapids to see an Iowa Kernels baseball game.

That led to my friend, Dick, and I musing about our favorite baseball movies. ("Field of Dreams" gets my vote, with "Bull Durham" a close second.)

So, even as the winds howl outside and daytime highs struggle to top 20 degrees, thoughts of sunny Spring dance around a Maypole in our heads. By the same token, this, the day after poet Mary Oliver's death, I am reminded to embrace Winter's relentless cold and icy persona. In her poem "Red Bird," Oliver offers me hope:

...for whatever reason - 
perhaps because winter is so long
and the sky so black-blue,

or perhaps because the heart narrows
as often as it opens - 
I am grateful

that the red bird comes all winter - 
as nothing else can do.

So, I'll bundle up in that poem today as I brace for the rest of this wondrous season.

John Bowman

It's Happening!

From Annie Tucker, whose home (and her husband David's) is on the left of this duplex:

When I was little and would draw a house, I'd draw a square and then a triangle on top for the roof. When a house is being built, the trusses are what make the triangle shape. Today the trusses are being put up on our unit. Now we can see the beginning of the walls AND the roof! Very exciting!!

And on Wednesday, more progress:

Making Astragalus Tincture

I used to raise medicinal and culinary herbs from my farm in Cedar County, sell them at the Iowa City Farmers Market, and give workshops about how to make them into medicines. Just recently a friend of Prairie Hill gave us a valuable gift: a bucket-full of astragalus roots. Astragalus is an important herb, and takes years to grow to harvest time. The most common form of medicine made from astragalus roots is a tincture. And so Jeanette, Val and I made a gallon of astragalus tincture one Sunday afternoon. This will be enough to keep everyone at Prairie Hill healthy for years to come!

First the roots were scrubbed clean, then dried enough so there was no surface water. Then we cut them into small pieces and/or peeled off the bark in strips, whatever we could do to expose the greatest amount of root to the other ingredient, 151 proof Everclear. This is the strongest, most potent alcohol sold here in Iowa City.

Once we cut up the roots, we filled a gallon glass jar to the top with the roots. The few that were left looked like they had some potential to start new plants, so I planted them in my front yard. The ones in the jar were then covered with the Everclear. The three large bottles of the alcohol were exactly enough to get to the top of the jar. That seemed a good sign somehow, and we smiled.

Now the tincture sits on a shelf in our common house pantry, waiting for at least three months for the medicinal part of the roots to leach into the Everclear. Sometime in the spring, we'll decant the tincture, and then anyone who wants some can have a little dropper-bottle of it to put in their medicine cabinet. Since you use only a few drops at a time, this huge quantity should last well into the 2020's.

Here are some of the benefits of astragalus:

• Immune system booster
• Lowers cholesterol
• Antioxidant
• Anti-inflammatory
• Slows or prevents growth of tumors
• Protects cardiovascular system
• Relieves insulin resistance related to diabetes
• Slows the progress of kidney disease.

As with most medicinal herbs, astragalus tends to nourish and support the body in a wider way than the targeted and dramatic action of drugs. So it's effects are gradual. And since you take only a few drops at a time, it is a safe addition to the preventive helpers we all call on.

Nan Fawcett

Surviving the Blizzard

Note: your blog host has gotten too busy this past month, and good posts like this one have been waiting to go up. This post was written by Val Bowman a week ago. But tonight it is snowing again!

Winter storm or 'near blizzard' conditions predicted for today. So far it's just rain. We took Kara to a Days Inn near the airport in Des Moines a day early for her flight home to California tonight. But when I look out my window, I see Jeanette walking Cooper and Sophie, the new tree in Donna's yard decorated with lights, a beacon in the early morning light, and the woods at the top of the hill that shelters any number of small animal friends. Later today I will walk a few steps to Nan's house for a massage and later we'll gather in the Common House kitchen to make a tincture of astragalus with her. And tonight we'll walk carefully up the hill (holding the railing) to Marcia's house to watch Strangers in Good Company.

As I was writing this, John called me to the window to see our Osprey hawk! Posing on Dick's truck and then flying to the top of our light pole which overlooks my bird feeder. No breakfast diners there, thank goodness. Life at Prairie Hill.

Blizzard Tips:

• Stay indoors during the storm. Prolonged exposure to cold can cause hypothermia.
• Walk and drive carefully on icy sidewalks and roads. Many injuries and accidents are caused by slippery conditions.
• Before driving, let someone know your destination, route, and expected time of arrival. If your car gets stuck, it'll be easier to find you
• If you lose feeling and color in your nose, ears, hands or feet, cover the exposed area, avoid rubbing your skin, and seek medical help immediately. You may have frostbite.
• When shoveling snow, take breaks and lift lighter loads. Working too hard can lead to heart attacks.
• Stay dry. Wet clothes make you lose body heat, increasing your risk of hypothermia.

Snow and Pumpkins!

We knew it was coming, and true to forecast the ground was covered with light snow this morning, the first we've had this winter. For some of us, the first we've seen at Prairie Hill.

The Jack-o-lanterns still decorating our land and buildings (see the one on the retaining wall above), have a white cap. But they remind us of our first Halloween just a week ago:

Scary faces lined Prairie Hill Lane, luring trick-or-treaters to the common house.

"Prairie Bill" showed the way.

Here are some of the Halloween Team:

Val, Donna, Marcia, Craig, and

Prairie Bill behind.

Michele easily won the Best Costume award

For our first year in residence on Halloween, our turn-out was small but happy. Three families. Next year we'll hope for more. In the meantime, it was fun for us!

Adventure in Composting - A New Beginning

One of the first things we did here at Prairie Hill, once there were residents living (and eating) here, was to fence off a small compost pile up at the top of our site, near the upper garden. We wanted to keep our "garbage" instead of hauling it away, and let it turn into a fertile supplement for our land.  What we found, over the months, was that access to this compost pile was more difficult than anyone wanted: up a steep hill. It discouraged some of us from using it.

We recently took a field trip to the Iowa City Landfill, where they have a wonderful composting section. Below, you can see a huge pile of partly-done compost being turned by the large machine on the right:

We saw a number of piles, each at a different stage of decomposition:

We learned that air ventilation is important to having a successful compost operation, as well as a mixture of ingredients: some wetter garbage from the kitchen, some drier grasses and yard "waste". Jane Wilch, head of the Iowa City compost program, gave us a tour through the composting grounds, and forwarded us much information to help us with our own smaller composting efforts.

And now, for the past several days, we have been using a new compost bin, built by several members with some plans using pallets, a low-cost and relatively easy construction. This bin is located just northwest of the common house, by the recycling and trash platform.

It has plenty of room for air circulation, a gate that makes turning the compost easier, and sufficient space for our community's kitchen and yard waste. And best of all, it's a short walk from any of our homes, with no steep path to get there.