A March Nor'easter Hits My Farm
Here in the Northeast, we're still digging out from under all the snow left by this week’s nor’easter.
We received about a foot of snow at my Bedford, New York farm that began falling during the early morning hours, and then continued through the day and into the night. This particular snow was very wet and heavy, and came with gusty winds and low visibility. Schools and shops were closed, commuter trains were on limited schedules, and area residents were advised to stay off the roads. The weather system caused a lot of damage - bringing down trees and leaving thousands of homes without power.
Here are some photos taken during and after the storm - enjoy. I hope all of you who were affected are doing okay.
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- This latest nor’easter, named Quinn, started early in the morning with light, wet snow that didn’t stick to the carriage roads right away. Here is Fernando sweeping some of the accumulating snow off the burlap covered boxwood in the allee.
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- Temperatures were in the mid 30s through much of the morning – it doesn’t look too bad yet.
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- By late morning, snow began accumulating on the linden tree branches.
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- Through the woodland, the tops of stones are still visible, but the snow is beginning to fall more furiously.
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- Here is the narrow path in between two of my paddocks lined with linden trees on each side. Now the snow has covered all the grassy areas.
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- The gurgling brooks are filled to capacity – they look so dark against the winter white.
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- Here is a view of my grove of weeping willows – the golden yellow-bronze of the foliage adds a bit of color on this gray stormy day.
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- Two of my hardworking grounds crew, Chhewang and Dawa, drive around checking all the animals to make sure they are well and warm in their various enclosures.
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- Snow is beginning to fall an estimated inch-per-hour in the area. Soon, these green trees in my Christmas tree garden will be hard to see.
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- Here is a view looking down one side of my pin oak allee – all the tree pits are covered, and the storm has just begun.
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- And watching it all from one of the power lines is this hawk – enjoying the winter weather.
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- Charles, a member of my security team, captured this photo as he was making his rounds. It was taken in the late afternoon when the snow was coming down fast and strong.
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- Early the next morning, this is what my allee of lindens looks like – even under snow, these beautiful trees look so majestic.
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- My Friesians always enjoy their time outdoors, especially in the snow.
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- Here is a view of another paddock under a blanket of white. The nor’easter left a lot of damage in the area, but it also left a gorgeous covered landscape.
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- My antique fencing casts wonderful shadows in the snow – this photo was taken in the early morning, which is the best time to photograph outdoors.
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- Here is one of my weeping copper beech trees – the heavy wet snow weighing down its weeping branches even more.
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- Clive, one of my three Sicilian donkeys, doesn’t mind the weather at all – the three amigos can stay outdoors all day with their warm winter coats.
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- And, if they choose, they can always take shelter in their run-in shed located on one side of their paddock.
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- Even the espalier of Malus ‘Gravenstein’ apples looks like an art piece all covered in white. Malus ‘Gravenstein’ is an antique variety that is well known for cooking sauce, cider and eating out of hand. The fruit is large, with crisp white flesh and a distinct, juicy flavor. I always look forward to these delicious fruits in fall.
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- I love how the branches hold onto the snow. While I lost a few large trees, this grove fared very well.
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- Here is a snow covered witch hazel shrub, with its bright yellow foliage peeking through the snow.
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- And, here’s the old corn crib, which is original to the property. I just love this angle – the corn crib and the beautiful antique fencing that surrounds my paddocks.
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- Here is one of the 50-year old apple trees. This tree is also original to the farm and is among the most popular to photograph. I worry about the heavy snow on these delicate old specimen trees, but it looks to be doing okay after the nor’easter.
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- Walking along the winding pergola, here is a cross section leading to my weeping hornbeams on the other side of the Party Lawn. These are such graceful and shapely specimen trees, very densely branched and adaptable to various soil conditions.
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- It’s hard not to notice these towering pines – they stand out so beautifully especially surrounded by all the white below.
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- This American boxwood is protected with plastic netting, keeping branches from splaying under the fallen snow. The smaller English boxwood is covered in burlap.
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- Here is my basket house nestled among my tall bald cypress trees, Taxodium distichum. Bald cypress, Taxodium distichum, are fast growing North American natives. They are deciduous conifers that shed their needle-like leaves in the fall.
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- The snow is breathtaking, but I do worry about all my precious plantings because of the snow’s heavy weight.
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- Here is my gardener, Wilmer, removing the snow from the boxwood surrounding my peony bed. Several inches of snow accumulated on the tops of these burlap covers.
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- The upper terrace parterre outside my Winter House was buried under the snow too – it is impossible to see the steps to the carriage road, but they’re there.
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- And here is my cutting garden – hard to believe my gardeners were just in here last week pruning the roses in preparation for spring.
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- My main greenhouse is also covered in a blanket of white. I am fortunate to have this structure which can protect my vast collection of tropical plants inside.
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- Here is a drone photo taken by my property director, Fred Jacobsen. So beautiful, and yet so dangerous – I hope you did not lose many trees where you live.
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- Once again, the farm is covered with a new layer of glistening snow. Winter is not over yet – we’re watching a possible third nor’easter on Monday – stay safe.
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