“Look!” says Ąžuolas Titus, who’s just turned seven. He presents a purple newt spattered with mud while his older brothers, Vakaris, twelve, and Vėjas, nine, hold their labradoodle, Blue, at bay. Suddenly, they’re all off—dog in tow—racing along the top of a ridge in the Santa Cruz Mountains. There’s a sense of boundless freedom here, which is exactly what the boys’ parents, Jason Titus and Nerija Sinkevičiūtė-Titus, have been working to cultivate since they purchased their forested 32-acre retreat in 2008. A growing network of trails leads down to a creek and out to sweeping vistas over the woods. Trees and gardens planted years back now bear a bounty of fruits and vegetables, and an old barn hosts a ceramics studio and a workshop for tinkering on odd projects. More…
