San Francisco East Bay House with sunny decks, amazing view, free CSA delivery and no pets!

About this assignment

The ideal candidate would be mindful, communicative, and responsible. We think this home is especially ideal for people who like to cook, as we get the best free produce our region can offer, and we have a very kitted out kitchen. We also think hikers would especially enjoy this location.

What responsibilities are required of the house sitter

There is no pet to take care of. The chores are the following:

* Be visibly home
* Manage food delivery CSA/CSF (fruits, veggies and fish get delivered on different days weekly and the delivery site needs to be monitored and tidied up during the week)
* Water a few outdoor pots as needed (99% of the garden is on a drip irrigation system with a timer and doesn’t need intervention)
* Water house plants once a week
* Bring in mail once a week
* Take trash out once a week or as needed

What are the good features of the property and location

Our home is a 800sq ft house in East Richmond Heights (one bedroom, one office, one bathroom w/tub) with a big garden packed with young fruit trees, berries of all kinds, raised beds and other containers filled with food and flowers. Our house has gas range in the kitchen & a gas furnace in the living room. The entire house will be accessible except for the office which we are currently using to store boxes that are part of our summer move. Our house is located in the hills by Wildcat Canyon (near Alvarado Park entrance), and the neighborhood is diverse and quiet, with lovely neighbors and scenic vistas. It’s a couple blocks from the border with El Cerrito.

There’s a super-stocked little market a stone’s throw away. It has a pharmacy section and fresh organic produce too (Arlington Market).

We’re three and a half blocks from an unmarked trailhead that will connect you to the phenomenal Wildcat Canyon Regional Park / Tilden Park trail system. The short (5 min by foot) access trail is steep, goes across a pretty creek; good wildlife. (Gentler approaches can be had from the Alvarado Park Staging Area parking lot, less than a 5-minute drive away.)

- Easy and convenient access by car to San Francisco, Berkeley, Marin, etc.
- 3 min walk to AC Transit bus line 684 to Richmond Bart.
- 10 min walk to AC Transit bus line 7 that goes to El Cerrito Del Norte Bart & Berkeley.
- 5 min drive to local Catahoula Café (great outdoor space for quiet laptop work) & The Factory bar, across the street, w/indoor & outdoor sitting.
- 5 min drive to San Pablo Ave which has a Safeway, Starbucks, and plenty of local restaurants.
- All major delivery services deliver here (Amazon, Whole Foods, Good Eggs, Grubhub, Doordash, Instacart, etc).

Perks:
* Free Wifi & computer monitor to use with your Roku stick or other streaming device
* Fully equipped kitchen
* Washer/Dryer
* Weekly delivery of free organic veggie CSA box (Riverdog Farm)
* Weekly delivery of free organic fruit CSA box (Frog Hollow Farm)
* Weekly seafood “CSA” (Sea Forager), and the host keeps any fish or shellfish that customers don’t pick up (catch of the week). It varies; we usually get about 2-3 lbs of free fish per month, split across the weeks. All seafood is sashimi-grade.
* On top of your weekly veggie & fruit delivery, you get to keep any of the produce or fruit or fish boxes people forget to pick up.
* Glorious view of the bay and San Francisco every day.
* My favorite feature of the house/garden: South-facing, heat-trapping upper wooden deck attached to the house, plus an equally large wooden deck in the back yard, for year-round sunning
* Homegrown food to harvest in the yard depending on the season
* Easy access to low-traffic hiking trails (3 and ½ blocks away)
* Freely harvest what’s growing in the garden (or let it be—no pressure to harvest).
* Extensive cookbook library

What does the house sitter need to consider before applying for this assignment

This home isn't suitable for anyone with cat allergies because while there will be no pets during your stay, our two cats will have recently departed. You are very welcome to bring up to two indoor cats. No dogs allowed. Please consider that this is an area that is not safe for outdoor cats due to high coyote activity. Our dates are a little flexible. We need the house to remain occupied when we are gone. We are looking for people who are visibly home on a regular basis. Occasional day trips are fine.

We are also looking for someone who will be able to keep the CSA site organized and running well. Because we are so close to the canyon, a lot of wildlife (raccoons, skunks, coyotes, foxes, etc) comes by the pergola where the food is stored during the day. Because of that, any left over fruit boxes have to be brought inside the laundry room on Tuesday nights at 8:30pm and taken back outside on Wednesday mornings by 9am at the latests. Any left over fruit boxes or add-ons from the previous day that haven't been picked up during the grace period have to be brought inside at 8:30pm on Wednesday nights and enjoyed (or donated to the neighbors). Any veggie, egg or add-on box left on Thursday night have to be brought inside at 8:30pm and enjoyed or donated to the neighbors. If the fish cooler(s) still has shares left on Friday night by 8:30pm, bricks have to be added on top of the cooler(s) to prevent raccoons from having a feast (and they will as well as dig all over the yard!).

Can I bring my own pets?

Yes
Restrictions: 2 cats max

Enlarge map