Ryan Cafferky

Since I first posted this a few things have happened so I thought I would update my posting.

Who am I? I am a 37 year old male. I am an arborist and it pretty well defines how I spend a lot of my days. Life in the trees is a fun way to live in my opinion though there are many more facets to who I am.

I am someone who follows their heart and is rarely inspired by anything else. If I love someone, something, or somewhere, I will work hard or do anything for them. Most important to me is quality of life and to spend time doing things with and surrounding myself with good people. I have an eight year old Rhodesian Ridgeback who is my constant companion. She is super mellow and most of the time just wants to be next to the wood stove holding down her stack of dog beds. My hobbies are: working on projects around the homestead, hiking, climbing trees, occasional travel, and other outdoor pursuits. I've been living in this off grid paradise for five years now. The last few years I've been working on establishing a small business in a field that I love. I try not to work excessively and to make sure to listen to my body when it tells me to rest. Luckily for me, my career is also my number one passion so the line between work and play is pretty blurry.

The last few years I have gone to Central America during the winter and that has been a welcome respite from the northwest winters and the pace of life here in the US. I plan on going somewhere warm this winter as well.

The farm I live on is east of Portland about 60 miles. It is at 2000 feet of elevation. We experience all the seasons fully here. The property is large and mostly forested with mature Douglas fir, grand fir, golden chinkapin, big leaf maple, and Pacific dogwood. The area of the property where the residences and gardens are is flat or south facing with a stunning view of Mount Hood. The water source is a year round spring. There are 7 full time residents here and a steady stream of interns and Wwofers.

I live in a cabin that was built in the 40's but I've done a lot of updates to make it very comfortable and functional while still keeping the character rustic. Some highlights are: wood fired hot water system in the wood stove, outdoor shower, very functional kitchen, and lots of windows for natural light. I recently hooked up a solar power system to the cabin so now there is electricity! What a concept!

I'm in the process of building a second space for guests. It is a treehouse about 30 feet away from the cabin. The garden space next to the cabin is very securely fenced to keep out deer, has irrigation lines, fertile soil, and a mix of herbs, berries, fruit trees, and beds for veggies. What it really needs is someone who has the touch and inspiration to make it a truly productive garden.

When it comes to food I am an omnivore. I avoid wheat, sugar, and GMO's but not fanatically. Eating food made from food not from prepackaged food is important to me as well as sourcing meat from farmers that I know or other good sources.

I would love to find a partner to share this amazing life with. Someone who wanted to live a simple yet rich life that included: working on projects on the homestead, building community and friendships, gardening, occasional travel, and lots of laughter and good times. If that someone wanted to help run a successful small business that would just be icing on the cake. Most important is finding someone who's heart beats similarly to mine and is walking a similar path. Could we walk our own paths and just realize we would like to walk side by side?

Send me a message on here if you would like to learn more about me.

Here is a link to my company web page or feel free to look me up on Facebook as well. www.alifewithtrees.com

I live on an 85 acre off grid ecovillage near Hood River Oregon. We are in need of more WWOOF type volunteers for the rest of the season. You would primarily be helping with various gardening projects but there will likely be some minor construction projects to help with or some forestry type stuff going on as well. There is a large house for the volunteers to use for cooking and some indoor sleeping/storage space.

Please get in touch if this sounds like a place you might want to check out!

Thanks

Ryan

I am still single and enjoying a beautiful spring here in the northwest. It sure would be a great time to be twiterpated!

As an arborist, one of the things that I see most that is detrimental to trees is grade changes and root impact. What you see in the air on the tree is nothing without the vast network of roots and fungi in the soil. Disturbing that balance can often be the thing that sends a tree into a spiral of decline and an untimely demise. Often times the stress of root impact and grade change is what attracts insects that then attack and kill trees. I would recommend not doing grade changes under the drip line of the tree (the point that a drop falling from the outermost tips of the tree would land) or if you do, make them very minimal and do them incrementally over multiple years. Never backfill around the stem or the root flare at the base of the tree.

Having a consulting arborist look at the tree in question is always a good first step. That might tell you how long lived the variety it is and what kind of stress that variety can typically take in your environment. I am curious what variety it is as well.

Best of luck

Ryan

Who am I? I am a 36 year old male. I am an arborist. Portland is where a lot of my work is so I spend time there playing in the trees with my friends and getting paid to do it. I have a seven year old Rhodesian Ridgeback who is my constant companion. She is super mellow and most of the time just wants to be next to the wood stove holding down her stack of dog beds. My hobbies are: working on projects around the homestead, hiking, climbing trees, occasional travel, and other outdoor pursuits. I've been living in this off grid paradise for five years now.

The farm I live on is east of Portland about 60 miles. It is at 2000 feet of elevation. We experience all the seasons fully here. The property is large and mostly forested with mature Douglas fir, grand fir, golden chinkapin, big leaf maple, and Pacific dogwood. The area of the property where the residences and gardens are is flat or south facing with a stunning view of Mount Hood. The water source is a year round spring. There are 7 full time residents here and a steady stream of interns and Wwofers that at times seem to outnumber the residents.

I live in a cabin that was built in the 40's but I've done a lot of updates to make it very comfortable and functional while still keeping the character rustic. Some highlights are: wood fired hot water system in the wood stove, outdoor shower, very functional kitchen, and lots of windows for natural light. In the next year a solar power system will be hooked up to the cabin so there will be electricity! What a concept!

I'm in the process of building a second space for guests. It is a treehouse about 30 feet away from the cabin. The garden space next to the cabin is very securely fenced to keep out deer, has irrigation lines, fertile soil, and a mix of herbs, berries, fruit trees, and beds for veggies. What it really needs is someone who has the touch and inspiration to make it a truly productive garden.

When it comes to food I am an omnivore. I avoid wheat, sugar, and GMO's but not fanatically. Eating food made from food not from prepackaged food is important to me as well as sourcing meat from farmers that I know or other good sources.

I would love to find a partner to share this amazing life with. Someone who wanted to live a simple yet rich life that included: working on projects on the homestead, building community and friendships, gardening, occasional travel, and lots of laughter and good times. If that someone wanted to help run a successful small business that would just be icing on the cake. Most important is finding someone who's heart beats similarly to mine and is walking a similar path. Could we walk our own paths and just realize we would like to walk side by side?

Send me a message on here if you would like to learn more about me.