The House of Wormwood

08/26/2026

We’ll see you all next year!

The 2026 San Francisco Historium Spotlight is now in the history books! 📖 We're so grateful for everyone who made this event possible, from our production team, incredible artists, memorable entertainers, dedicated artisans, fabulous catering partners, and you, our guests. We hope you can join us next year.

If you haven't already, make sure to sign up for our mailing list to get all the details for August 2027! Sign up at https://mailchi.mp/redbarnproductions.com/sf-historium-2026

07/09/2026

Boosting an important signal

You took the trash out in the dark and I was near the edge of the driveway. I arched my back. I growled and hissed loudly. Then I stood straight up on my hind legs.

You dropped the bag and ran inside.

I'm a raccoon. I've been living under your deck for a year. I move by touch and sound more than sight at night, and the performance you just watched wasn't aggression — it was me trying to convince you I wasn't worth the trouble so you'd leave me alone.

🦝 The growl, the arch, and the stand-up are designed to give you every chance to leave.

I do this because bluffing costs me. That dramatic display takes energy and can leave me exposed if it turns into a real fight. Every time I stand up for something that wasn't a real threat is energy I could have spent foraging safely. I don't want to waste it on you.

Here's what most people don't know. While you sleep, I dig up grubs and beetle larvae that ruin your lawn. I raid ground-nesting yellowjacket colonies. I eat the insects and mice working their way toward your foundation. I clean up fallen fruit and carrion that could attract other pests.

By midsummer, you might see a mother leading a group of young raccoons through the grass at dusk. They're learning to forage and hunt grubs. They already know how to arch their tiny backs and stand up tall.

🌿 If you see me:

- Stop moving and speak softly — I rely on my hearing and sense of touch at night. Let me know you're a person and I'll amble the other way
- Back away slowly — the bluff ends the moment I feel you retreating
- Don't trap and relocate me — you'd lose the only thing in the yard actively cleaning up grubs, yellowjackets, and mice before they become problems

I've been working your property line for a year, eating the things that sting and the things that chew your turf. You only noticed me the night I asked for space.

That's because I'm good at my job 🌱

07/05/2026

Happy Independence Day!
Please be safe and considerate.

07/03/2026

We really can not emphasize it enough, fireworks cause more harm than good!

07/01/2026

Rabbit, Rabbit, Rabbit!

Here's what July is about to bring to your yard.

You feel like summer just settled in, but the wild calendar is already turning the page. Here's the forecast for the next few weeks — what to watch for, and what to leave be.

The nights get loud. As the heat builds, katydids and crickets take over the dark and the annual cicadas crank up their afternoon drone. By month's end the yard is a wall of sound — all of it courtship, none of it a threat.

The second shift of babies arrives. Many chipmunks and groundhogs are raising a second litter, fox pups are trailing their parents on hunts, and this year's young squirrels are out learning the yard. Half-grown and clumsy is the look of July — and most of what looks "abandoned" right now isn't. The parents are close; the kindest move is to watch and step back.

The insects own it. With the spring flowers spent, dragonflies hawk the evening yard, fireflies wind down, and the ambush hunters — assassin bugs, robber flies, mantises — hit their stride. Peak bug, in the best way.

The fruit comes in. Elderberry and mulberry ripen along the fence lines, with pokeweed close behind (that one's for the birds, not you — it's toxic to people). The birds start shifting from your feeder to the wild larder.

🌿 And the first leg of fall begins. The earliest shorebirds are already trickling south, even as the longest days slip behind us.

One job for you this month: water and shade. In real heat, a shallow dish with a few stones and a damp, shady corner matter more than anything you can buy in a bag.

The season's quietly turning. Now you know where to look. 🐾

06/09/2026

Wilamina Wormwood will be a part of this event!
Check it out!
H I S T O R I U M

The new interactive experience San Francisco Historium Spotlight is set to take place at the city’s Pier 35 for only two days this summer.

06/09/2026

The lion’s share of orders are in the post! The rest will be out by Wednesday!

06/06/2026

Finally off crutches and can now carry things and drive. Orders start going out on Monday!
Thank you
for your patience!

06/01/2026

July 4th is five weeks away. What's nesting in the yard right now will still be there when the fireworks start.

Second-clutch robins, cardinals, and catbirds will have eggs or young chicks in early July. Fledglings from May and June will still be in the neighborhood learning to navigate. Fox and raccoon kits are still near den sites with their mothers.

Sustained percussive noise — especially at night — can cause brooding birds to flush from nests and recently independent fledglings to panic-fly into fences and windows.

🌿 Five weeks is enough time to plan:

- Note where active nests are now — hedge, porch beam, nest box — and aim fireworks away from those spots
- Keep pets indoors the evening of the 4th — panicked dogs and cats are a secondary risk to ground-nesting wildlife
- Quieter alternatives exist — LED sparklers and light displays produce no concussive impact
- If neighbors are setting off fireworks near a known nest, a calm heads-up usually works
- Close garage doors and cap window wells — panicked fledglings and small mammals seek shelter in open structures

The planning window is now. The nesting calendar doesn't move for the holiday 🐾

05/31/2026

Topic: Practical hummingbird feeding—how to attract a healthy backyard population and avoid common mistakes. This article is a hands-on guide for both new and seasoned observers, showing that a few well-known habits can derail hummingbird success. It debunks myths (no need for red dye), stresses c...