Walden 2.0

Part One: Doing 

When I first moved to Northern California I didn't have an extended plan for staying. It was just another area to check out on my life of wandering. It seemed like a nice place to rest for a spell.  I had always been interested in building a house so when a friend offered me the space, I figured I should take the opportunity.

After looking through various locations on the acreage, I decided on this beautiful spot tucked away on the top of a hillside and surrounded by mature oaks and madrone trees. It was a little meadow on the top of a ridge with a cliff one side that lead down to a creek and an open sloping meadow to the east. It felt perfect from the beginning. The location afforded great views and a feeling of being surrounded by nature. 

The downfall of the location was the fact that I couldn't drive my car there. I had to haul everything there by hand. The tools, the wood, the windows, the roof. Everything. I ended up carrying the entire house piece by piece. It did give me an intimate understanding of what is involved in building though. Mostly I learned not to do that again. Although if I think about it now, if the spot was perfect, I'd probably do it all over again. There's something really nice about looking out the windows and not seeing a road. 

At the beginning I really didn't know what I was going to do. I've seen houses being built but I never built one myself. So I just started asking a million questions to anyone who I thought might have a clue. Step by step I got tips and directions for what I needed. 

Some days I didn't feel like doing anything. It was pretty physically demanding and occasionally I'd just get exhausted. There were times during the process where I felt like quitting. I didn't even know if I wanted to stay in the area so why build a stupid house here? I didn't know what I was doing. Sometimes it felt like too daunting of a task. 

I didn't know what the future would hold and I had nothing else to do, so I just persevered. On days I felt lazy I'd go sit in the meadow and enjoy the peace. Eventually I'd nail some things together and do little things until the despondency past. Before I realized it, the walls were up, the roof was on and I had a home. There wasn't some celebratory moment of the final nail going in. I just stopped working and started living. 

Part Two: Being

Once I finally had a place where I was comfortable, I was able to enjoy all the hard work.  As the months passed by I was able to appreciate the solemnity of my surroundings. The changes were subtle but for the first time in many years I was able to watch the seasons unfold. The green of spring turned into a golden summer. The grasses grew, bloomed and went to seed. The birds would cycle through at different times of the years. Each season brought new characters to my surroundings. 

Animals like skunks, bears and flying squirrels all wandered around investigating their new neighbor. Some nights I'd hear the barking of a fox or the rambling of an unknown creature by my front door. 

One spring day I had an unfortunate encounter with a bear trying to get into my fridge. He knocked it over while I was out for the afternoon and scampered off with my yogurt. I don't blame him though. Yogurt is delicious. His bravery showed the next day when he came back for seconds. This time while I was home. 

He was a young bear, probably less than two years old and just learning about his boundaries. I chased him away making loud noises and throwing rocks. He didn't come back, but that could be because he broke my fridge and I never got around to getting another. 

One evening I came back after being away for several weeks. I was getting reacquainted with my home when I happened to look outside the window to see a mountain lion. We made eye contact and I tried to get a decent photo but he wasn't interested. Unlike the bear, I didn't feel the need to chase him away with loud noises. 

I've seen many signs in various national parks that warn about wild animals. The general consensus when it comes to mountain lions seems to be "if you get attacked, fight back." What?! Seriously? That's the advice you're giving me? That seems hopelessly ineffective. I've watched enough documentaries to have an idea of what mountain lions can do. They're solid muscle with huge claws. I don't think it'd be a fair fight. 

The big cat wandered away peacefully but I think about him every time I walk home. It's about a three minute walk from where I park my car to the front door. Down a hill, through some trees and across a ridge. There is one tree in particular that always gets my attention. It's a gnarly, old oak with trunk like branches that stretch out over the trail. It'd be the perfect place for a mountain lion to perch and pounce down on unsuspecting prey carrying a few bags of groceries. 

Speaking of groceries, it's amazing how I could carry down the entire house while building, but now that's it's done I whine about having to carry a couple bags of food home."Ugh, this hill is too steep. It's too far. There's no way I'm making multiple trips." 

The winters bring the rains that feed the forests. I've heard that the northwest winters could be dismal. And it did rain a fair amount but my home was cozy, dry and warm. It's a good place to work and write and that was all I needed. Locals told me that in the past it used to rain a lot more than it does these days. But due to climate change many things are changing. 

The foggy mornings, which feed the redwood trees with moisture, aren't as thick as they used to be. The summer days can be hotter than before, but the lack of humidity makes things pleasant enough in the shade. The changes are subtle, but they seem to be happening faster each year. The main issue is the lack of water. 

The largest river in the area, the Eel, is practically dried up in late summer. The algae blooms start earlier and that limits the swimming to spring and early summer. The water diversion at Potterville dam sends a lot of water down to the Russian River Valley to feed the wineries. The cannabis growers complain. But for now more money comes from wine than weed. So the water flows where the money grows. 

After the first spring came and passed I decided to start collecting seeds. The area around the cabin is full of wild flowers. They'd start blooming early in the year and continue until mid summer. I know nature does it's own thing on its own schedule but I figured I'd help out a little bit. I collect local seeds from around the area and save them for the following year. The flowers have been multiplying, exponentially ever since. 

The plethora of blooms bring butterflies and all sorts of insects. They in turn bring lizards of various sizes and colors. In late summer the garden is like a little oasis of green that brings life from all around. The scene makes me realize how much people can do if we put in a little effort.  There are times when it seems hopeless to make any changes in our quickly disintegrating world but that's only cause we don't do enough. It doesn't take much. We are at a stage in our development when it's time to give a little bit more and take a little bit less. A little action and a little positivity can go a long way. 

The views looking east.

This is the start of my sundial/equinox calender. The stripes on the desk represent the shadows cast through the windows on each of the equinoxes and the solstices.

There is a gaggle of wild turkeys that comes around. A neighbors rooster decided he'd hang out with that crew, but he wasn't as saavy or street smart as the turkeys so he probably ended up as fox fodder.

A pair of flying squirrels live near by. The photo on the right is the squirrel flying away.

A deer outside the front window.

Dr Doolittle and a random moth

When I was younger I used to always want to see a scorpion. Now, I've seen them and I don't want to see them anymore. I've found three in my house and two of them bit me. One bit me while I was sitting down reading. The other one climbed into my bed for warmth then stung me at night. What a jerk.


I found a black widows web near my bike. It seemed like it would be a nice subject for a painting. So I gathered her and some of the web, then put them into a jar. I kept on procrastinating on painting this thing. Every so often I'd toss in some food and forget about her. Then one morning I woke up to find scores of these little baby black widows crawling all over the inside of the jar. I don't have a phobia of spiders, but seeing a jar full of black widows was enough to send chills down my spine. I never did paint her, but I did head down to the creek and opened the jar and let them be themselves far away from anywhere I would go. Here is a video of them after they initially hatched.


There is a colony of bees that live in a hole in tree out front. They've been there for several years and a couple times a year, they start to swarm and make a new nest somewhere else.


Wildflowers

I collect California native seeds. These are some of the flowers I have been collecting and cultivating.

 

Blue Eyed Grass

Douglas Iris

Brodieas

Gentian

Blue Dicks

Indian Pink

Shooting Stars

Mules Ears

Columbine

Maiden Bells

Unknown Name - I call them 'white from Mikes'

California Poppy

Elegant Cats Ears

Indian Warrior

Pennyroyal

Sticky Monkey Flower

Firecracker Flower

I started growing oak trees as well. I doubt I'll be around to enjoy them when they're tall, but it'll be interesting to see how fast or slow they grow. Now is the perfect time to start growing things that will out live ourselves. In a world of instant gratification, it gives a different perspective to start growing things for future generations.


The following are some of the trees and flowers located around my home.

    Trees/Shrubs
  • Buckeye: Aesculus californica
  • California Bay: Umbellularia californica
  • Fir: Pseudotsuga menziesii
  • Live Oak: Quercus virginiana
  • Madrone: Arbutus menziesii
  • Manzanita: Arctostaphylos
  • Valley Oak: Quercus lobata

    Flowers/Plants
  • Blackberries: Rubus fruticosus
  • Blue Eyed Grass: Sisyrinchium bellum
  • Blue Dick: dichelostemma capitatum
  • California Buttercup: Ranunculus californicus
  • California Poppy: Eschscholzia californica
  • Calla Lillies: Calla palustris,
  • Charming Centaury: Zeltnera venusta
  • Daffodils: Narcissus
  • Douglas Iris: Iris douglasiana
  • Elegant Brodiea: Brodiaea elegans
  • Forget-me-nots: Myosotis arvensis
  • Elegant Cats Ears: Calochortus elegans
  • Fettid Adders Tongue: Scoliopus bigelovii
  • Milk Maid: Cardamine californica
  • Maidenhair Fern: Adiantum
  • Miners Lettuce: Claytonia perfoliata
  • Mugwort: Artemisia vulgaris,
  • Soap Plant: Chlorogalum pomeridianum
  • Sticky Monkey Flower: Mimulus aurantiacus
  • Sweet Pea: Lathyrus odoratus
  • Sword Fern: Polystichum munitum

Birds
  • Acorn Woodpecker
  • Annas Hummingbird
  • Barred Owl
  • Black Capped Chickadee
  • Black Phoebe
  • California Quail
  • Northern Flicker
  • Northern Pygmy-Owl
  • Pileated Woodpeckers
  • Red Tailed Hawk
  • Robin
  • Turkey Vultures
  • Spotted Towhee
  • Stellar Jay
  • Western Scrub Jays
  • Western Tanager
    Animals
  • Alligator Lizards
  • Bear
  • Deer
  • Fence Lizards
  • Fox
  • Flying Squirrels
  • Mountain Lion
  • Pacific Giant Salamander
  • Pacific Tree Frog
  • Rattlesnake
  • Skilton's Skink
  • Skunk