A Late November Farm Tour
Thank you so much for all of your kind Thanksgiving wishes! I was thrilled to see and read so many comments about my pie baking. Everyone loved their pies! I had a very pleasant holiday shared with my wonderful family and terrific friends, for whom I am so grateful. I thought it would be nice to start the week off sharing some late November images of my farm. There is still so much to do before winter sets in.
1 The early mornings at the farm have been very frosty.
2 Walking towards the vegetable garden - The mornings have also been very foggy.
3 It looks so eerily magical!
4 The hoarfrost, also called white frost, was on the surface of everything.
5 Frost upon nepeta - cat mint
6 A frosty oak leaf
7 Frosty bald cypress needles
8 And frosty grass
9 Frost forms when the deposition surface is colder than the surrounding air.
10 Billie, Rufus, and Clive, the Sicilian donkeys huddle together in chilly weather.
11 Sasa trotted closer to say hello.
12 He looks quite comfortable bundled in his winter blanket.
13 Wilmer has been cleaning out the vegetable garden. Here he is cutting back oregano.
14 The beds are nice and clear for a winter's rest.
15 Meanwhile, inside the vegetable greenhouse....
16 The beds are growing nicely.
17 Tomato plants are growing in large pots on this far wall. The string and bamboo will act as supports.
18 The beds are planted with herbs, spinach, lettuce, carrots, beets, chard, and many other wonderful vegetables.
19 My citrus collection is stored in the small hoophouse for the winter.
20 We'll soon be picking Valencia oranges and lemons.
21 The painting crew has finished staining the hay barn and is now working on the equipment shed.
22 Leaf removal continues. The leaves are transported to the composting area.
23 Chipping the hurricane damage also continues.
24 During the hurricane, trees fell all around this greenhouse, but miraculously, no trees fell on it!
25 This is where many large tropical plants spend the cold months.
26 This is an American Kestrel nesting box, North America’s littlest falcon. It is about the size and shape of a morning dove but this bird is an intense hunter. The nesting box has an internal perch so mother and young can keep an eye out for their next meal
27 An owl nesting box is mounted on a nearby sycamore tree and it looks like it has a resident!
28 Zooming in, it looks to be an Eastern Screech Owl - gray morph. These compact raptors are about 7 to 10 inches tall and have a wingspan of about 18 to 24 inches. This was a lucky sighting as screech owls are far more often heard than seen.
29 A winding carriage road through the woods
30 The forest floor is carpeted with Christmas ferns.
31 These ferns are quite popular because they are one of the few ferns that will stay green all winter long.
32 The little woodland folly is also getting a new coat of stain.
33 The field of Christmas trees has a few more years to grow.
34 More storm damage
35 Remember the tall spruce tree that was knocked over by the Tenant House?
36 SavATree came to deal with the giant stump. Last week, all of the shade plants surrounding it were relocated and my farm crew worked on sawing off many of the large roots.
37 This green machine is called a stump grinder.
38 The grinder is driven into position. It has a high-speed disk with teeth that grind the stump and roots into small chips.
39 The disc moves back and forth across the stump eating away. The wooden barricade blocks the wood chips from flying.
40 As the stump gets smaller, the operator adjusts the position of the machine.
41 Grinding continues. I have a feeling this stump grinder has been working overtime after the hurricane.
42 With the stump gone, Wilmer and Phurba remove most of the wood chips.
43 The wood chips were taken to the compost area and the garden was filled with composted soil. Gardening, like life, goes on!
Martha Pins
Martha Tweets
Everything looks beautiful and back on course for you.
Thanks for sharing your farm with all of us.
gloria G!!
Posted by: Gloria | November 26th, 2012 at 1:20 am
Martha,
I never tire of seeing your farm and all the new treats along the way. Today the treats were the owl and the grinder - nice to learn about both. It was as pleasureable to see Billie, Rufus, Clive and the trott of Sasa.
`
I feel closer to you during the holidays and your blog is always on point! This blog has brought me from a mighty long way, if the walls could talk! You know I've been following this blog since P.Diddy's birthday party, that's when I first learned you had a blog. I've been hooked every since.
`
As always, thanks for sharing this blog.
Posted by: KLBrown | November 26th, 2012 at 1:24 am
I LOVE VIEWING ALL OF YOUR PHOTO ...ESPECIALLY THE ONES OF YOUR HOMES AND FARMS!! SUCH BEAUTY AND TRANQUILITY TO ADMIRE!! THANKS FOR SHARING WITH US!!
Posted by: Patti Lyons | November 26th, 2012 at 1:53 am
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, my brother was home for Thanksgiving and I asked him about the Columbia restaurant and he has in fact eaten there several times in Ybor city.
Posted by: KLBrown | November 26th, 2012 at 2:38 am
Thanks for sharing your hard-earned blessings Martha.
Posted by: Just B | November 26th, 2012 at 6:19 am
It's nice to see winter preparations are continuing at your farm Martha. The first few photos are indeed magical looking with the frost and fog, I love the early morning sky! What a treat spotting an Eastern Screetch Owl, and it's always nice seeing Clive, Rufus and Billie!
Very interesting and effective process of removing stumps, I know you'll have plants growing there again!
Thanks for the update Martha, glad you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Posted by: Cindy F | November 26th, 2012 at 7:09 am
What a great way to start the week after Thanksgiving with beautiful pictures
of your farm! So nice to see Sassa and the donkeys. Forgot to mention loved
seeing your cat all curled up while you were making pies. Mine does that all
the time!
Enjoy the beauty of this day,
Kathy
Posted by: kathy peterson | November 26th, 2012 at 7:26 am
Martha it's so nice to share so many natural colors and it's like I can almost smell the fresh air of winter nature through your wonderful pictures. Thanks for giving breath.
Posted by: Despoina K. | November 26th, 2012 at 7:30 am
I got a chill just looking at the frost but then it's kind of cool this morning here in Florida. The tourists would go swimming in this kind of weather, like I used to do as a tourist, but not anymore. I need heat and lots of it! Your donkeys are so cute the way they stand together and peek out through the fence as if posing for you. I bet Jude enjoys visiting with them - she seems curious the way she is always inspecting things, like rocks and Alexis posted a picture of her in the chicken coop collecting eggs I assume. She's getting so big. I have to say I too enjoyed reading all the comments on your pie baking blog. We know you are very busy most of the time so it was a treat to see you in the kitchen making pies. I think you inspired a lot of people with that one demonstration to make their own pies, including me because I don’t usually bake. I remember the first thing I ever watched you do was make a cake and I wanted to taste it. You made it look so easy and back then; I was a real klutz in the kitchen. I do better now though and even made a chocolate cake from a recipe on a Hersey chocolate container.
~
I’m familiar with the stump grinder that makes its rounds around here almost every hurricane. It’s very noisy but it does get the stump down to a big pile of chips. Thanks for today’s tour of your grand farm. I like that you keep the building’s exterior pristine. We need to have our house painted pretty soon which is something I’m dreading. Workers can make such a mess and then I have to clean it up like I did when I had the fascia boards repaired. I’m still picking up nails and pieces of wood. Have a great day! Trish
Posted by: Trish | November 26th, 2012 at 8:47 am
Hi Martha, WOW! This fabulous blog giving us a delightful tour of your beautiful farm is so wonderful and a great way to start the day! These photos are superb and it's so great to see Rufus, Billie, Clive, and Sasa out in their beautiful paddocks even in the cold weather! How nice that Sasa is bundled up and he looks pretty frisky! Wilmer sure was doing a great job clearing your fantastic vegetable garden and it looks great again! OH! How I wish that I had one of those fantastic green houses you have! I would love to be able to grow veggies all winter long, also! I grow tomatoes in big pots like that and they grew at least 6 feet tall last summer and i got lots of yummy ones to eat and still do! The hoop house and the greenhouse are terrific,also! The equipment shed sure looks great and brand new with that great new paint the guys did! Removing the leaves and the clippings is great to add to your compost! How fascinating to see the Eastern Screech Owl-gray morph in it's owl nesting box on that sycamore tree! The woodland folly looks great with the new paint! That stump grinder sure did a great job chipping up the stump and roots for more compost additions! It's so much fun to tour your farm again-thanks! So happy you had such a great holiday and weekend and hope you have another great day! Missed your PBS Cooking Show on Saturday-our PBS had lots of other programs. Hope to see it this week! Jan
Posted by: Jan Erickson | November 26th, 2012 at 10:11 am
Hi Martha,
The photos of the early morning frost is so beautiful. It looks like confectioner sugar springled all over. Your farm looks wonderful in all the seasons, and even after the crazy storms we've had lately. Thanks to your efficient staff, everything gets cleaned up and maintained very well. Love the photo of the owl box...thought, at first, it was a squirrel taking up residence (brave or stupid squirrel, easy meal..). How great that you were able to see an owl. That's pretty rare! The wonders of nature often seen on your farm. Thanks for the update!
Posted by: Judy | November 26th, 2012 at 10:17 am
...I love your animals, too! They all look happy..
Posted by: Judy | November 26th, 2012 at 10:19 am
Trish, I know what you mean about repairs. Loved the photos, especially frost on nepeta leaves. My cat mint is covered with foot of snow for weeks now and my large following of cats have dwindled with cold weather but a few hardy ones still prowl on mild nights here in Dakota. Kathy found a pair of tiger eye owl earings and I tried to give them to her but she said they pinched as we do not have our ears pierced. Jamie said I was not very parsimonious to pay for removal of my 3 large spruce trees in front yard. I love the 3 stumps that make for points of interest in our lawn so did not grind them away. This blog is getting more interesting with so many of us regulars and thank you.
Posted by: ann | November 26th, 2012 at 10:46 am
Thats really nice you put up bird houses for the owls and kestrels. There must be lots of beautiful birds that visit your bird feeders and farm. That screech owl has really good taste in homes. Im glad your greenhouse wasn't damaged as well!
Posted by: David K. | November 26th, 2012 at 12:12 pm
Martha-
The pictures of your farm are gorgeous and I love seeing how things are being winterized. Most of all the pictures of the animals really bring a smile to my face. Thanks for sharing!
Posted by: Laura | November 26th, 2012 at 12:22 pm
Your farm is absolutely glorious. Reminds me that the truest pleasures in life are found in nature. I baked your "New York Cheesecake" for dessert on Thanksgiving (the one with the chocolate cookie crust). It was goggled up (no pun intended), while an entire apple pie stood idly by, and several others had just a piece or two missing. Always a hit, and requested for every special occasion. Thanks for sharing so many treats with us! They've become traditions in our home. ~ Heidi
Posted by: Heidi D. | November 26th, 2012 at 1:21 pm
Martha,
I am restoring my 1899 farmhouse. I use your photos and homes as a guide.
Please keep posting photos of your homes.
Posted by: Scott Frye | November 26th, 2012 at 2:02 pm
Thank you so much Martha for sharing these beautiful photos. You are a very naturally gifted photographer. Your farm is absolutely beautiful, even with storm damage. My dream is to celebrate all my holidays in such a place. In the woods an away from all the craziness. I must say how I miss you and your show on TV, especially this time of year. Your cooking, baking, hints for entertaining and just your personality always made my day. I endeavor to catch you on our local PBS station (Cleveland, Ohio) but there times are somewhat confusing. They say you are on at one time and then when I look for the program at that time, you are not on. Very frustrating indeed. So looking and reading your blog does help. Your pies are beautiful and I have had numerous successes when I follow your recipes. Thank you so much for all you do.
Posted by: antonia R. | November 26th, 2012 at 2:20 pm
I love when the 'donks' make the blog!
Chilly mornings here in New Hampshire. There was thick fog the other morning. Almost sounded the fog horns!
Oh I loved the owl picture! How cute was that. I wonder if Frannie and Sharkey will get a peek at him!
gail
Posted by: gail pierson | November 26th, 2012 at 3:50 pm
I would LOVE the have a winter green house with veggies! Oh my!! But I am sure it will take a lot of $ to get it and keep it going! But, that would be wonderful! And your donkeys are gorgeous! Glad your green houses survived! What wonderful photos Martha!! Thank you and have a Merry Christmas!!!
Posted by: Pam Zirbel | November 26th, 2012 at 8:44 pm
I look forward to photos of your farm.Love this! Thank you!
Posted by: Lucia Jones | November 26th, 2012 at 8:53 pm
You have such a lovely farm. It is wonderful to be able to support so many workers.
Posted by: kay | November 26th, 2012 at 9:00 pm
Wonderful, I love the pretty frost that is on the ground in the morning this time of year. I go walking daily and enjoy the beautiful ice crystals on every leaf.
What the first frost of the season looked like in my area ( the poconos) -
http://www.paintingintrees.blogspot.com/2012/11/first-frost.html
Posted by: Kristina | November 26th, 2012 at 9:11 pm
Thanks for sharing your beautiful farm in the great pictures. I love to see the changing of the seasons, as here in S.California, we don't get much of that. I especially love that you have citrus growing in greenhouses, you must have some Myer Lemon trees in there too. I have made your Myer lemon coffeecake, and loved it. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas with your beautiful grandbabies, it is such fun to see their delight in the lights and decorations.
I miss your tv show !!
Posted by: Kathy Cox | November 26th, 2012 at 9:12 pm
Oh Martha, I'm so glad to hear you had such a lovely Thanksgiving! I did, too. Lots of Pumpkin pie making---my favorite. Don't you just love frosty mornings with a nip in the air? Thanks so much for sharing such a beautiful photo!
Mrs Polly Rogers
Posted by: Mrs Polly Rogers | November 26th, 2012 at 9:28 pm
I really love the pics you post! Oh,Martha i really miss you being on tv during the holidays! you are really missed at my house! i enjoyed looking forward to you being on while i decorate, cook, and wrap gifts as i am learning from you and being amazed at all the new ideas! it is a shame hallmark dropped your show! i enjoy your cooking show on pbs.thanks for all you do and the memories!
Posted by: alice mcdonald | November 26th, 2012 at 9:40 pm
Miss your TV show, and the others affiliated with YOU! Any chance of returning?
Posted by: JoLee Nazworth | November 26th, 2012 at 9:51 pm
Your farm is absolutely glorious. Reminds me that the truest pleasures in life are found in nature. I baked your "New York Cheesecake" for dessert on Thanksgiving (the one with the chocolate cookie crust). It was goggled up (no pun intended), while an entire apple pie stood idly by, and several others had just a piece or two missing. They say you are on at one time and then when I look for the program at that time, you are not on. Very frustrating indeed. So looking and reading your blog does help. Your pies are beautiful and I have had numerous successes when I follow your recipes. Thank you so much for all you do.
From best new android phone
Posted by: Samuncle12 | November 26th, 2012 at 10:04 pm
Hi Martha, Today is my Birthday, it made me happy browsing through your charming farm
Akila
Posted by: Akila | November 26th, 2012 at 10:17 pm
Martha,
What wonderful pictures of your farm this time of year...and I can't wait for the snow pictures this winter. Just love...love those donkeys of yours. Their photos are adorable and the OWL...so much nature on your farm. Just beautiful. Really appreciate how much you are into nature. I love your blog. Read it every morning with coffee.
Posted by: Paula Bennighof | November 27th, 2012 at 6:44 am
Bellisimas fotos,como siempre ,pero la granja con ese toque invernal es aun mas preciosa y lo mas bello los animalitos,gracias por permitir ver algo tan hermoso.
Posted by: Elsa | November 27th, 2012 at 2:08 pm
.
Lady with the Lens
.
.
Another day commences and self doesn't matter,
The time of day that precludes all the clatter.
Our moment of truth when our dignity is intact,
When our fortitude and courage never lack.
.
Strolling along with the Lady as time rolls by,
Many leafless trees and a heavy November sky.
Early mornings a little nippy with the frost,
A scene from famous Harry Potter and images lost.
The frost known as hoar is strewn everywhere,
And clings without favor to all without a care.
Huddling together the donkeys Billie, Rufus and Clive,
Keep a sharp eye for the grub on which they thrive.
A 'top o' the morning' from Sasa, the handsome brute,
Eager and attentive to find out what's afoot.
Veggie garden after summer's spread, is put to rest,
Picking up the slack the greenhouse does its best.
What a hoot in the hoop house all manner of squeeze,
Citrus trees with oranges and lemons ready to please.
Catching up to autumn and laying on the stain,
Rakes at the ready for leaf removal again.
An unscathed greenhouse after the hurricane's rage,
Nest boxes in place, one occupant is a birdland sage.
Scenic carriage road through the woods with many a turn,
Lovely woodland floor covered with green Christmas fern.
The Lens has been busy and finally shows the spruce stump
That a grinder soon will reduce to a pile of chips to dump.
.
.
Posted by: celia stock | November 27th, 2012 at 7:31 pm
Love all the pictures of work on the farm!
Posted by: Arthur in the Garden! | November 27th, 2012 at 8:31 pm
Love the greenhouse that didn't get squashed. I love the way you have multiple projects going. I love Wilber too. Everyone would love to have Wilber lead and help in the garden.
Well done.
Posted by: Valerie Bruce | November 27th, 2012 at 10:02 pm
hi martha, thank you so much for sharing your charming farm with my family.i love viewing all your photos. i enjoy baking banana bread over the hoildays. and i make it a point to use your recipe.it always comes so delicious.i miss you being on tv. but, i look forward every weekend to watch your cooking show on pbs. thanks martha.
Posted by: mary | November 27th, 2012 at 11:25 pm
Wow Martha! I love your farm so much. You are so self sufficient. Is there anything that you do not grow or raise??? Way to go! I wanna be MARTHA STEWART in my next life.
Posted by: Edna | November 28th, 2012 at 11:45 am
Dear Martha,
I love that you share photos of your farm. They are magical and bring new meaning to farms. Thank you for your blog and for sharing the beauty in your life. All my very best, Lisa
Posted by: Lisa Gordon-Miller | November 28th, 2012 at 3:18 pm
I love your photo of the resident owl in it's nesting box! What a good idea!
Posted by: laline | November 28th, 2012 at 5:38 pm
WOW- I'm in awe
I'm in Arizona so our mornings have nothing like this.......it's still rather warm! I am from MN so I miss the cold mornings........I'm in love with the first 2 pictures, how gorgeous to wake up to that beautiful landscape. I love that you share photos of your farm - you truly are blessed!
Posted by: Sheryl | December 1st, 2012 at 1:29 am