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The autumn woods welcomed Thanksgiving with cold rain and a warm hearth.  The colorful curtains on the tree house had long since been taken down, and Julie moved back into her little walk-in-closet of a room.  The Rusty Bucket Freezer…

The day finally came for Marty and his sisters to relinquish their freedom and choreograph their daily schedules again.  Julie would be driving her Volkswagen to high school at Drake, after dropping Marty and Susie off at Lagunitas School. Marge…

All summer Marty continued to explore the unique environment around his new home.  The geographically isolated canyon in which their “property” existed offered many opportunities for discovery.  He began to consider the entire canyon his natural home, and scoffed at…

One day, like a relic from a bad dream, a battered old school bus pulled into the driveway.  Naturally, Marty was rather agitated by this as he stared out the window – was the 8th grade coming to get him…

In the early summer Krishna had her second litter of kittens.  She was showing considerable promise in the cat-producing department.  One was black with medium long hair like her.  Another was an orange tabby.  There was a pretty little striped…

Julie’s rebellion was a short-lived experiment in minimalist living.  She moved back in the house in the fall when it got cold and windy.  However, while the trial was at its high point, she lived a dream life that would…

After the Fourth of July festivities, Jimbo and Otter started building a large shed.  They planned to raise it 18 inches off the ground on concrete piers, in case the creek flooded.  It was going to allow the White family…

The next day was Independence Day, and Julie celebrated by announcing, “I’m going to build a tree house in the front yard and live in it.” She was not asking permission, but reporting the news.  Julie was extremely self-assured, as…

When Marty got back to the little cabin in the redwoods, he couldn’t wait to tell someone all that he had seen.  To his delight, Jimbo was back, sitting at the kitchen table and having a cup of coffee with…

When Hillie welcomed Marty and his family to “The Lagunitas Triangle,” it had several meanings.  One referred to the strange, nurturing eeriness of the setting, suggesting a vortex of mysterious forest powers.  It was the kind of place where people…

School came rapidly to a close that year.  After so many new experiences, Marty felt as if the days evaporated, the way mud puddles in their driveway caked and turned to dust.  Suddenly, they were free: faced with a long…

For Marty and his sisters, every day was like a tactical military operation just to get to and from school.  Most of the families they knew had a hectic morning, but theirs was beyond the norm.  Waking up in a…

And so, another day as the “new kid” at school went by quickly, with all the novel sights and faces, and then it was time to go home.  Marty noticed a lot of kids liked to hang around school after…

All Sunday, the White family tried to arrange their many things in the new space as best they could.  Marty rated their decorating skills somewhere between an indoor yard sale and living in a garage.  Marge took possession of the…

When Marty got back, it was late afternoon.  Marge was cooking a big pot of beans and rice on the camp stove.  Jimbo had the grate off the barefoot burner and was underneath the house, disconnecting the oil pipes.  “Well,…

After lunch, Marty went to meet their downstream neighbors, not only because it appeared they had a big, sunny yard, but he also wanted permission to explore the swimming hole.  This must be the China House I’ve heard about, he…