Pick your Apocalypse: A Song of Quakes and Fire

“Do you have the patience to wait until the mud settles and the water is clear? Can you remain unmoving until the right action arises by itself?” -Tao Te Ching 

Welcome to Shady Critters Farm (*tentatively named so)

Well, we figured we kept you all waiting long enough. It wasn't for a lack of things happening, relocating to our little slice of heaven has been a long illuminating journey, but we will attempt to catch you up on all that has transpired in the past 7 months.

August 2024

After weeks that felt like months of negotiating and dealing with paperwork, we packed our travel trailer and (like the pioneers) made our way back west, through the flat desert of Nevada and Sierra Nevada’s steep mountain passes.

We arrived at our new home at the end of August with zero furniture and got by with a camping table and chairs, and the obligatory trailer mattress on the floor. Our big new house felt empty, and it would take several trips into town (that is Eureka, a 1:45h drive each way) to get some basic furniture. One of our goals (and a long-time practice of ours) was to buy as little new as possible. Back then we were not even sure who would deliver larger packages to our house, as it is on the other side of…. the somewhat infamous BRIDGE!

People often ask us why we chose this area, of all the places in the world. We have no family ties here, and until May this past year hadn't even heard of Whitethorn. But to put it simply, and to quote the local legend Bob McKee who helped populate this area back in the 1960's by founding Whitethorn Construction and dividing large parcels of land into more bite-sized and affordable plots, sealing the deals with handshakes: We like it here. The area feels private and rural enough, without being too remote from civilization. Whitethorn Construction, besides having building materials, also hosts a campus of small businesses, like a coffee/sandwich shop, a tax firm with art gallery, and the offices of our local non-profit conservation trust Sanctuary Forest. We have a walkable small farmers market on Saturdays and in Shelter Cove, which is only a 22-minute drive towards the coast, you can find a convenience store, several restaurants, and a small brewery.

If you are interested in the general area, Peter Santenello came through last October and interviewed some of our lovely neighbors at Whitethorn Construction (fast forward to the 23:10 mark when he pulls in).

After we had narrowed it down to this specific area (somewhere between Briceland and Whitethorn), only a few options were available in our price range. The house we chose is well built and the 16 acres with river access on the Mattole and our own unnamed creek have lots of potential.

Mostly hilly and populated with a broad mix of oak, Pacific madrone, and Douglas fir (even a handful of redwoods!), there is also grass pasture with more than enough flat areas to go crazy with our agricultural ambitions.

Unlike some houses, which felt more like seasonal Airbnbs, this house feels like a possible homestead, with already fenced-in garden areas and established garden beds, a very useable large shed (maybe for future animals), and a separate ADU that is perfect for Hannah's ceramic studio.

September 2024

The first few weeks were spent tinkering around and learning the lay of the land. And what a steep learning curve it has been. Our only water source, a spring, had not been producing and our one medium-sized water tank was fairly empty. We sought the help of a local contractor and all-around handy person, who helped us dig the spring out, locate a bear bite in the line, and get it primed again.

The digging out of the almost non-existent spring box would become a regular chore, whenever we have a hard rain. A permanent rebuild is on a long list of deferred maintenance and improvement projects.

We desperately needed more power tools, (a hard choice for minimalists planning on living off the grid, surviving with handmade tools, basically 'Alone' and ‘Naked and Afraid' style). Luckily, for any larger equipment needs, we have a brilliant place in Garberville, that rents out anything the aspiring farmer could dream of, from dump trailers to large wood chippers and even small excavators. 

Then there was firewood processing! When we looked at the house back in June, we noticed a few trees that had come down and needed to be chopped up. So, our main chore within the first weeks was chain sawing and chopping wood, getting it all somewhere to dry out. We also hired a local tree-cutting firm to give the massive trees around the house a little safety trim, leaving us with even more wood to process, but also some freshly cut oak, the perfect material for Hannah’s little shiitake mushroom patch.

October & November 2024

Then there was pruning. So much pruning! The old apple trees looked like they had not been properly pruned in years, with mazes of branches growing into and around each other. And then there were 25 blueberry bushes overtaken by our arch nemesis, the thorny pain in the ass blackberry. But those who prune together, stay together, and maybe we’ll be rewarded with a major blueberry harvest this year.

It had become clear that fire safety, which included more water storage and the management of brush and trees around the house would have to be the main priority until we could even think of planting anything. It was also too late and too early (in a cyclic sense) to plant new trees or most vegetables yet. 

However, we revived the old garden beds in the upper garden and planted a few cold-hardy vegetables, only to realize that the area does not get any sun in the winter. Another lesson learned. We were certainly starting to get a better idea of what will be important and what will be an issue in the coming year, and it pretty much (no surprise to the more experienced gardener) will come down to water, sun, and soil.

Our heads danced with the myriad of possibilities before moving here. The hardiness zone of 9b should really be the sweet spot for growing most things. Not too cold for many somewhat tropical things like lemons, limes, and avocados, (when overwintered in a decent greenhouse) and not too hot for many cold hardy things like cherries, almonds, or elderberries. BUT as we might have mentioned, even within these zones there are many different kinds of microclimates, and we had been warned that our area is in fact a cold sink. Great in the summer, a bit of a problem in the winter, especially if you don’t have much sun during the day. The second issue is water. This might sound counterintuitive, as Northern California gets a ton of rain over the year (70 inches this water year Sept. 24- present) and we do border a proper little river. BUT…. most of the rain will come through in the winter, when you don’t really need it, and without proper water storage, all that sweet sweet water will be lost, and everything will run low and dry in the summer (Humboldt can go 5 months in the summer without a drop of rain).  

So, even before we had all the furniture we needed for a somewhat comfortable winter, we invested heavily in more water storage tanks (and met some great people along the way). We decided to cut down some towering trees to help with our sun problem and invested into 12 cubic yards of fancy compost (Cold Creek's Ag blend out of Ukiah, that we were able to buy at Randall's in Garberville) to revive the future garden patch.

December 2024

Our first fall and winter here have certainly not been boring, despite the constant rain (which seems to take a break in January, where we had almost 4 weeks of uninterrupted sunshine). We picked most of the remaining blueberries and apples… so many apples… and learned how to make hard apple cider and apple cider vinegar (because 'Old is new again!'). We went mushroom hunting and found some great chanterelle patches and even one little matsutake. We watched the salmon spawning in Bridge Creek and went to our first fire safety council meeting. The neighbors organized a community potluck and we got to meet a bunch of people who live spread out along the forest roads around here.

Dopamine-addicted brain vs deferred reward

Some people say that gardening is a leap of faith, the belief in a possible future. Gardening, like pottery, is certainly not for the ones who need instant gratification. It is messy, keeps you on your toes, and takes a lot of patience. The mushroom patches we established in late September won’t show any signs of fruiting until spring or even fall. We won't benefit from the sunken Hügelkultur beds that we painfully dug out by hand until months or even years from now. And the fruit trees we are planting this winter won’t bear fruit for another year or two. Also, piles of dirt and branches don’t make the sexiest social media posts.

January 2025

Our first winter here is far from over, but the first few months have already been marked by some major natural events. We experienced our first real earthquake, one of the largest to hit Northern California for decades, registering 7.0 with an epicenter merely 40 miles away. Neither of us was mentally prepared when it happened. Michael happened to be in a Zoom meeting and didn’t know what was happening, and Hannah and the pets made it out of the door, but neither of us really knew what to do. Luckily there was no damage to the house, but it certainly was a wake-up call that these things will happen here on a regular basis. 

Then there were the fires in LA. Even though LA is far away, the aftermath of the damages might affect already sky high fire insurance rates state-wide. It was also a painful reminder that we don’t feel prepared to evacuate within a few minutes. Hurricanes will usually give you a grace period for packing and decision-making, but both wildfires and earthquakes differ in their immediacy. 

To become better prepared and to help the community in a way that seems urgent and necessary, we have decided to start our training for community emergency response soon, and hopefully, once we have settled in, become more actively involved in the volunteer fire department.

We would like to leave you with some visual impressions of Humboldt, the way we have experienced it so far. Maybe this will even inspire a visit or two by you, dear reader.

As always, stay tuned...