Some of What's Happening Around my Farm
The weather here in the northeast continues to baffle. October brought us horrendous Hurricane Sandy followed by a heavy snowfall. It looked and felt a lot like winter, even though winter doesn't officially begin until December 21st, the day of the year when the Sun is farthest south, also known as the Winter Solstice. And then today felt like springtime with temperatures around 60-degrees with tomorrow, more of the same! My farm crew doesn't mind this reprieve one bit as they ready the farm for when winter finally arrives
1 As winter approaches, many areas and objects at the farm are being cozied up with burlap.
2 I am the proud owner of two very large Kenneth Lynch cast stone planters. Several years ago, one of them cracked during winter. I had it successfully repaired and since then, I'm insistent that they are well-protected from harsh winter elements.
3 Wilmer covered each urn with thick plastic sheeting.
4 Using heavy twine, the plastic was tied securely.
5 He then draped the urn with a length of burlap.
6 Next, Wilmer threaded a large-eye over-size needle.
7 The hand-sewing is done with natural jute twine.
8 The burlap is folded and tucked and stitched together.
9 The finished product all neatly stitched
10 The boxwood hedges are also covered with burlap. First, the bamboo framework was erected.
11 The burlap was unrolled and draped over the bamboo.
12 To secure it to the bottom of the frame, the fabric was sandwiched between wooden strips and secured with screws.
13 It was then hand-stitched along the top and sides.
14 In addition to protecting the shrubbery from frigid winds, the burlap also keeps heavy snow from accumulating on the branches, which can misshape and harm the shrub.
15 With their piecing and sewing skills, my crew can cover anything in burlap!
16 A dome structure of plastic tubing was built around this standard lilac and the burlap was stitched to it.
17 Snow on the field of Christmas trees
18 This border of weeping willows was aglow.
19 The little pond had a skin of ice.
20 Needles and leaves beneath the ice
21 The beech trees hold their leaves well into the winter.
22 Gyurme was using the Hi-Lo to put all of the drained and coiled hoses in this loft space for winter storage. We have about 50 hoses all around the farm
23 The vegetable greenhouse is growing well. There are assorted herbs, spinach, kale, carrots, and a variety of leaf lettuce.
24 Sharkey and Francesca love driving around the farm with their Uncle Carlos. They even made sure their wardrobe matched with his!
25 Mt. Kisco Farm, one of our local markets, saves their discarded vegetable scraps for me.
26 Carlos scattered the greens throughout the chicken yard.
27 The chickens are always happy when new food arrives.
28 A beautiful Silkie Bantam
29 This Partridge Wyandotte was strutting along a branch perch.
30 The pair of Pomeranian geese are the natural protectors of the flock.
31 Carlos softened some stale bread in warm water.
32 The bread was offered to the geese.
33 The cautious Guinea fowl kept their distance.
34 On yesterday's blog, I showed you that my Friesian horses were getting their winter shoes. The farrier also trims the donkey's hooves on a regular basis. Linda first cleans the bottom of the hoof.
35 Like a horse, the hooves of donkeys continue to grow and they can get very tall, causing great discomfort.
36 Linda uses her rasp to shorten the length and smooth out uneveness.
37 Quite a bit of hoof is removed.
38 Neat, healthy, and happy
Martha Pins
Martha Tweets
That is a lot of hard work, but your crew is up to it. It seems they have a lot of projects to take care of, but when you have storm damage, it increases their work-load, so how in the world do they manage to keep on top of everything?
The chickens look happy with their fresh veggies.
Gloria G!!
Posted by: Gloria | December 4th, 2012 at 12:35 am
Martha, I never saw a needle so BIG and the geese are so gorgeous! I always enjoy seeing the burlaping each year, your skilled crew does it so neatly!
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Also, I'm enjoying the conversations your having on twitter to get folks to comment on the blog. It's making my day seeing you make their day. The interaction is a good thing!
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Thanks for sharing this blog, it's truly a blessing.
Posted by: KLBrown | December 4th, 2012 at 12:43 am
I dont mind saying every time: I love Martha farm.
And I had no idea that hooves of donkeys need to be trimmed, too!
The urns were stitched really nice, your staff is doing a great job, Martha. I wonder how they do with clothes
And plz: More pics from little pond asap. It's enchanting!
Posted by: Chris | December 4th, 2012 at 2:35 am
Even though you never show the grandkids faces, I'd love to see more pic. of Truman!
Posted by: suemare | December 4th, 2012 at 6:40 am
Good morning,
The burlap is in place! We have new boxwood & I have taken a lesson from your book and wrapped them up, too. Betsy did a great job on the donk hooves, too. Does she get all those done in one day? Let's see, 20 horse hoofs & 12 donkey hoofs. Wow, Betsy......
Have a great day,
Sharon
Posted by: Sharon | December 4th, 2012 at 6:45 am
What an amazing life you live, Martha! I have never seen stitched burlap structures before. Now, I HAVE to try that on my Boxwood hedges. They look so tidy and neat in the garden. Makes me wonder what else I could cover with burlap. Time to cozy up for Winter! Thanks again.
Posted by: Mrs Polly Rogers | December 4th, 2012 at 7:46 am
Martha, your Kenneth Lynch planters are lovely, I don't blame you for wanting to protect them. I have long admired your crew's ability to burlap and sew so expertly, amazing job they do evey year.
Enjoyed seeing pictures of your chickens, the silkie bantam is beautiful and unusul looking. I bet you have the best tasting eggs with all the yummy vegetable scraps the chickens get to eat!
Love the picture of Francesca, Sharkey and Uncle Carlos, they all look so handsome in their matching outfits!
Enjoy this warm weather respite, here in South Texas it feels like summer!
Posted by: Cindy F | December 4th, 2012 at 7:56 am
Hi Martha, Thanks so much for another delightful tour of your beautiful farm! You have the best farm crew I have ever seen! Did you teach them all of the great jobs that they do because all of their results look fabulous and I'll bet Ryan is a good teacher, too! These photos are superb and it is so great to see Wilmer, Gyurme, Carlos, and Linda doing such fantastic jobs! Uncle Carlos sure is a great guy who takes such great care of F,S,&GK and all of the chickens, Pomeranian geese, and the Guinea fowl! How great to see Linda again fixing the hoofs of Clive, Rufus, and Billie!!! F,S,&GK sure look happy riding with Uncle Carlos and their outfits sure do match his!!!! Sure hope your weather stay good until winter starts so that your super crew can get all of the area ready for winter! It's nice that you're having fair weather right now! We are having lots of rain and wind with just short sunny times right now! Sure hope you are feeling a lot better and have gotten rid of that darn flu! It has been fun to read your tweets and you sound wonderful! Sure hope you have a great day! Off to see The Daily Wag about "Wearing Orange!" Jan
Posted by: Jan Erickson | December 4th, 2012 at 9:37 am
Hi Martha,
I've never imagined that having a farm could give such a hard work. Your staff is really good with the details to prevent the damages snow brings. Sharkey and Francesca seem to like all of this.
Posted by: Maria Lúcia | December 4th, 2012 at 10:18 am
I smile when Northerners call 60 degrees 'like springtime' because that's like 'wintertime' in South Florida. Time to turn on the heat and hunt down the ear muffs! Wimps! I guess you haven't started a trend yet with your tented burlap to protect bushes and planters or we might be seeing aerial views online somewhere of Bedford in Burlap. Coming soon maybe. The guard geese are something else the way they stand together so tall over the flock. I'd like to see and hear them in action if a little fox should happen to wander by. Actually, I’d love to spend a day with all of your animals. It would be like heaven. I never get tired of seeing your farm either and every time you show us the pond, I think of ice skating. It’s a little small but still skate-able I think. I agree with KLBrown re: your Twitter activity of late has been enjoyable and it seems to be working to get more people to comment on the blog. I sometimes visit other blogs but never comment and I’m not sure what would get me to comment. I have always liked what you do and I’ve been following you forever it seems and maybe that is why I feel comfortable with making regular comments. I don’t talk as much as I do in emails and that’s probably a good thing! With all the social sites available though, it takes time to keep up with them because of our other daily activities. I always make time to visit your blog though because it is my favorite and I often come back to read any new comments. (I read yours the other day KLBrown – very good ideas!) Anyway, I especially liked it when you blogged about baking pies. Maybe you could do a Christmas craft next. ? I really miss not seeing your show and subsequently, I’m not in the holiday spirit. I really miss the television set with all the decorations and I liked seeing the audience get nice gifts. You might not be on TV anymore but you’re still our fearless leader and wherever you go is where I want to be. You always give the best so I don’t want the rest! Trish (sorry, I get sappy sometimes!) http://pinterest.com/trishellenc/
Posted by: Trish | December 4th, 2012 at 11:08 am
Always excited when your chickens are included in the blogs. Martha your pens are exceptionally clean. But would we expect anything less? I myself have chickens that live in my "Martha" chicken coop. The coop is painted with coordinating colours from your Home Depot line that all work beautifully together. I have to mention this because you make it so easy with the symbol chart, the following colours are all in the sun family. Bedford Grey, the trim is Mushroom and the windows are painted Wrought Iron. I used a contrasting colour on the doors, Ohio Buckeye. Very fitting considering the door colour is named after a breed of chickens. Martha when I was finished painting my neighbours thought I had built a guest house. I simply explained, "not a guest house, but a "Martha Stewart" chicken coop. lol
Posted by: Glen Nyhus | December 4th, 2012 at 11:55 am
Such a lovely place! I'm learning lots of interesting things with your blog and web. Best wishes from Spain and thank you so much!!
Posted by: Luisa | December 4th, 2012 at 1:52 pm
you are very blessed to have such beautiful farm, i love nature and all it has to offer. looks like a lot of winter work but i am sure its all worth it. beautiful pictures. Many blessings to your farm.
Posted by: omaira | December 4th, 2012 at 2:18 pm
Martha...this is not a comment......more of a question. Where do I find the recipe for Alexis' Brown Sugar Chocolate Chip Cookie? Everything I find is giving me a video which I do not want.....I just want to print the recipe. Can you help me??
Happy Holidays!
Rosanne Kratoska
Waterloo, Iowa
Posted by: Rosanne | December 4th, 2012 at 2:45 pm
Hi Rosanne,
You can find the recipe for Alexis's Chocolate Cookies here - http://www.marthastewart.com/350439/alexiss-brown-sugar-chocolate-chip-cookies
Posted by: Martha Stewart | December 4th, 2012 at 4:09 pm
A beautifully trimmed little donkey hoof
Posted by: Yolanda Seguro | December 4th, 2012 at 5:19 pm
I miss your daily show so much. I always looked forward to coming home from work on my lunch break to see your show, plus I always recorder your show in case I was late getting home.You have been such an inspiration.
Thanks for all the good years I got to watch your show.
Posted by: Donna Van Lent | December 4th, 2012 at 8:32 pm
Martha, Thank you for showing us all the things that has to be done around the farm/house...I enjoy reading your blog daily, and learn so much from you and your staff....enjoy your springtime..winter will be there shortly!
Posted by: Patricia Zemp | December 4th, 2012 at 8:35 pm
Do you worry shrubs with burlap wrap will get too warm in the sunshine?
Posted by: Char | December 4th, 2012 at 9:24 pm
What happened to the Martha Stewart show?.
Posted by: Debbe Sepulveda | December 4th, 2012 at 10:11 pm
I love your farm-- so beautiful, even when covered in burlap.
Posted by: Eve Cardero | December 4th, 2012 at 10:25 pm
You are indeed correct, Martha, that snow and ice can damage and misshape boxwood and arborvitae or any evergreen I suppose. A couple years ago we had a massive storm here in the Mid-Atlantic and my arborvitae suffered greatly from the effects of this storm. It was only this year that I saw some improvement in their upright growth. And some of them are still not standing perfectly straight and tall. I have covered my exotics with Freeze-Proteck bags this year and plan on getting the boxwood and arborvitae covered with burlap in the next week or so. I also need to thin my bamboo garden with stalks that are dead, many of which were damaged during the snow and ice storms from two years ago.
Posted by: John Newman | December 5th, 2012 at 11:24 am
Greetings from London. Very interesting updates from your farm Martha, so neat and so organized, love it
Best wishes.
Rowaida
PS Dear Trish I enjoy reading your comments, you are so sweet. Best wishes to you too
Posted by: Rowaida Flayhan | December 5th, 2012 at 4:05 pm
I must say, Martha, your land and animals are well cared for. It warms my heart to see the gifts you've been given being taken care of with such love and devotion.
I can see from the comments you are an inspiration to many. It's important to do what we can for others. You are - in this area also - a welcome gift.
I miss your show, but hopefully I can catch your new one on PBS. I just have to remember to turn on the TV!
Please have a blessed and merry Christmas.
Posted by: Lynn | December 7th, 2012 at 9:54 am
Always thoroughly enjoy your updates and ideas. I saw your chickens with 2 of
what you call Pomeranian geese. You mentioned natural protectors of the flock.
Do they actually look out for your chickens?
Thank you. Jeanne Brinkman
Posted by: Jeanne Brinkman | December 8th, 2012 at 3:01 pm
I am so disappointed to find out that The Martha Stewart Show is no longer on the air!! I was without the premium channels for awhile and recently got them back again and was astounded when I put on the Hallmark Channel to watch Martha and she was not on!!! Martha's show brought me so much information and craft ideas for the holidays, I am really upset. This just is not right. I need my Martha fix and was so excited to be able to watch her show and now the heart break. First they take away the soaps and now this!! Martha is way too young to retire she has so much to give us. My chickens in the back yard are because of Martha, what are the girls to do????
Posted by: Diane Pfeiffer | December 8th, 2012 at 11:02 pm
Love your blogs, and I admire your genuine care for the plants and the animals on your farm. But I don't get the concept of wrapping your boxwood hedges in burlap. The whole point of having boxwoods is to have something interesting to look at during the long winter months ... If you fear your boxwood branches will crack during winter it means (1) you have the wrong boxwood hybrid for your climate zone and/or (2) they haven't been clipped properly for your climate conditions. I am sorry to say this, but those burlaps need to go.
Posted by: Christopher | December 11th, 2012 at 12:32 pm
I love everything you do and think you are beyond amazing keep up the amazing work. <3
Posted by: Monica Monroe | December 11th, 2012 at 10:12 pm
Hi Martha, it was a pleasure meeting you @ Pierre"s in islamorada, fl. keys. hope you enjoyed your stay. Come back soon, maybe will see you in Hopetown abacos some day. Tom the jeweler.
Posted by: Tom Conroy | January 14th, 2013 at 10:38 am