C hatter Box pen swarms with hens, dressed in plumage of various colors and patterns, and a goose that honks when its feathers are ruffled (pun intended). Bunnies are scarce midday but active in the early morning and late afternoon. “We don’t have roosters because we don’t want to upset the neighborhood too much,” Sheri says. For many local families, the alley farm offers a cheap and easy form of entertainment for the kids. The Hultmans don’t mind the spectators, and the animals don’t seem to either. Aside from the chicken eggs, the Willow Lane animals are not raised for food. Sheri, in fact, is a longtime vegetarian. She says that animal rearing is a tradition of sorts in her family, and she enjoys that her children have a connection to animals just like she did growing up. As a kid, Sheri raised a turkey among the other animals on the property. It found its way into the police blotter in an overnight escape, and the bird almost perpetrated a serious crime when, Sheri says, “it tried to hatch my sister.” Sheri’s mother got out of the shower one day and found the turkey, which had figured out how to break into the house, sitting on the face of Sheri’s infant sister. Sheri adds that though the animals won’t end up on a plate, they are not really pets. Her 13-year-old son, Grant, recently watched a hawk swoop down and snatch a bunny from the yard, and though he was surprised, he remained unshaken by the loss. The animal-filled pen helps to define the relaxed and unpretentious character of the neighborhood surrounding it. It has served as a learning tool for the Evans and Hultman children as well as all those Carpinterians who have delighted in its furred and feathered inhabitants. – Lea Boyd
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Shady Business
The greenery that envelopes Carpinteria did not sprout up wildly one day. Sure, Mother Nature had a hand in it. But while trees seem ripe with independence, shedding and blooming in cadence with the seasons, they sometimes need a little support. That’s where the City of Carpinteria’s Tree Advisory Board steps in. Not content to bask in the shade of the behemoth Torrey Pine, the five-member TAB constantly is monitoring the health and safety of all trees in the public parkways.
Comprised of two arborists, two landscape architects, and one representative from the community, the group meets quarterly to field requests and complaints from local residents and business owners. The TAB then makes decisions, in conjunction with the City Council, on how to address sidewalk damage, downed trees, water shortages, and other complex issues that sometimes pit nature against practicality.
JoeL Conroy
“When it comes to trees, people in Carpinteria are black or white in their views; there is no gray,” declares Leland Walmsley, chair of the TAB. “Everybody is invested in the value of the trees and the intrinsic value they give back to the city.” With limited revenue, and even less rainfall, the TAB must consider many factors when adding or subtracting greenery. Replacing one damaged tree with a like-size new tree can cost tens of thousands of dollars. But the board also has to consider safety issues, such as tree limbs dangling precariously over cars or playgrounds, or potential accidents caused by buckling sidewalks. “Many of the big trees you see here existed well before the city was incorporated,” Walmsley explains. “They grew big quickly and may not have been the best choice as the town grew up around them.” Now the TAB has a master plan that outlines procedures for removing trees and lists options for the types of trees that will thrive in a particular location. “Our plan is dynamic; it’s designed to work in stages and not decimate an entire block,” Walmsley says. “We’ll embellish working trees with new varieties and incorporate water-saving native plants where appropriate.” TAB member Kathy Henry feels that most people who
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