A Foggy Day at the Farm
My Bedford, New York farm looks incredibly mysterious when covered in a blanket of thick fog.
If you follow this blog regularly, you know that early morning mist and fog are quite common in this area. Fog is essentially made up of condensed water droplets - a result of the air being cooled to the point where it can no longer hold all the water vapor it contains. Fog reduces visibility below one-kilometer, or six-tenths of a mile, making it very difficult for driving or even walking. Yesterday, the fog seemed to get heavier as the day progressed, lasting through the afternoon and into the evening.
Here are some photos - enjoy.
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- Here is the carriage road to my home – with the beautiful bald cypress trees on the left and my long pergola on the right. The fog was thick throughout the New York City region. On my way to work, we could barely make out the George Washington Bridge.
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- The ”Party Lawn” behind my winding pergola is hard to identify – the atmosphere is so thick with fog. The structure on the right is my old corn crib.
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- The fog limits this view between the blueberry pergola and the row of quince trees. It is nearly impossible to see the field beyond.
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- This is the Pin Oak Allee. Again, it is so hard to see past the stand of trees. Fog can form in two ways: either by cooling the air to its dew point or by evaporation and mixing – this happens often when the earth radiates heat at night or in the early morning. I live in an area where there is additional moisture, so when the air is cooled, and the vapor starts to condense, patches of fog emerge.
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- Here is another look between one side of the pin oaks and the Equipment Barn – it looks so eerie.
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- From up close, the three finials above my Equipment Barn are still visible, though the sky appears very gray and ominous.
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- Across the carriage road is my new orchard, planted with a variety of apple trees, plum trees, cherry trees, peach, pear and quince trees. The fog blocks any view of the Boxwood Allee in the distance.
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- This view is from one end of the pool. I placed the pool in this location, so we could see the gorgeous summer vistas, but on this winter fog-filled day, even the tall white pines are hard to see.
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- More fog surrounds the weeping larch, Larix decidua ‘Pendula’, and the American beech tree grove just behind it. Some describe fog to be “as thick as pea soup”. This was originally used to describe the dingy yellow smog from burning soft coal common in Europe. Such fogs occurred in London until the Clean Air Act of 1956.
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- This is one of the most popular vantage points at the farm – the foot of the carriage road leading to the woodlands and hayfields. In this photo, it’s difficult to see where the road leads, making it quite mysterious and even ghostly.
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- Here is a view from one end of the long Boxwood Allee – now covered in burlap for the winter. You cannot see it, but the stable is at the far end.
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- Here is the giant stand of tall white pines.
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- This is a view of my newer linden tree allee, which extends from the old corn crib to my vegetable garden. At the end of this section is the carriage road to my home.
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- And looking to the other side, here is the lower portion of the allee, where we planted more linden trees to complete the extension. On a clear day, the views are beautiful. Dense fog is when visibility is at least one-quarter mile or lower. And, when fog mixes with air pollution, it’s called smog.
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- Look at the fog across the paddock – it is so heavy. The foggiest place in the world is the Grand Banks off the island of Newfoundland, Canada. It gets more than 200-days of fog per year.
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- This view looks up the hill across the donkey paddock to my home in the distance.
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- This is the Boxwood Allee from the other direction toward the hayfields.
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- Here is a view through the grove of old apple trees near my peony gardens. Don’t confuse fog with mist – mist is actually easier to see through. Visibility is at least one-kilometer with mist. Visibility below this is fog.
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- The fog appeared to cover everything. The thicker the fog, the longer it takes to dissipate.
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- And here is the narrow path between the boxwood hedge surrounding the herbaceous peony bed and the antique fencing around the South Paddock. Can you see who is at the end of the burlap covered boxwood? It’s Blackie, who isn’t bothered by the fog at all.
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- Here’s another view down the expansive horse paddocks.
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- The ancient apple trees in this paddock are encircled by the thick fog. It is difficult to see the stable and chicken coops in the distance, but they are there.
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- And here is the clematis pergola. As the fog lifts, or burns off, more and more of the grass, trees and shrubs can be seen. This happens as the sun’s heat warms the ground and air. How much fog do you get where you live? Let me know in the comments section.
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