Early Mornings Around My Farm

February 6, 2020

Some of the prettiest photos of my Bedford, New York farm are those taken early in the morning as the sun is rising.

Liz Malone, who you may have seen in previous blogs, is helping me to archive my enormous collection of photos, files, and other media press clippings. A couple times a week, Liz stays at the farm to avoid the long commute to and from New York City. She is also training for her fourth marathon - this time in Los Angeles on March 8th. During her early morning runs around my Cantitoe Corners property, Liz occasionally stops to take pictures of the landscape, the foliage, and the beautiful sky.

It’s always fun to view the familiar through someone else’s lens - enjoy these images.

: Liz loves to run and jogs almost every day no matter where she is. This photo was taken at the beginning of her run before 7am. This is one of the most popular vantage points at the farm – the foot of the carriage road leading to the woods and the hayfields.

: Here is a view of the morning sky as the sun rises over the large lower hayfield. I have four miles of carriage roads at the farm, so Liz does several loops.

: Here is another photo showing the beautiful pink and blue early morning sky through the trees. In the city, Liz’s usual course is along the West Side Highway, so this country jog is a treat. She says she loves the varied terrain, especially the hills.

: In general, Liz runs between six and 10 miles a day during the week and then a longer run during the weekend. Her goal for the upcoming marathon is to run a 7:30 to 7:45 minute mile.

: This photo was taken as Liz circled the upper hayfield. Last summer, I was able to produce more than 2000 bales of hay from my fields. I am so glad to be able to make my own hay for the horses and donkeys.

: On the left is the great sycamore tree – the symbol of my farm. The mighty American sycamore is a wide-canopied, deciduous tree that grows to about 75 to 100 feet tall, with a massive trunk and open crown of huge, crooked branches.

: This carriage road is adjacent to my run-in horse paddock – my tennis court is in the distance.

: I love this view from the carriage road in front of my Winter house. Looking north, one can see my stable on the left and the burlap-covered Boxwood Allee ahead.

: On another loop, Liz takes this photo of the changing sky – it’s getting brighter.

: Here is a babbling stream that runs through the woodland. On the left is the carriage road leading into the lower hayfield.

: If you follow this blog regularly, you may recall this new allee of London planes. It was planted last October and all the trees are doing very well. The London plane, Platanus × acerifolia, is a very large deciduous tree with bark that peels away in irregular patches to show a creamy whitish-green inner bark – this allee will be stunning in a few years.

: This photo is of the back of my Contemporary House garage where we do a lot of smaller woodworking projects for the farm.

: And here, Liz captures another pretty image from the carriage road during another loop. Running comes easy to Liz, but she also gets lots of helpful training tips from marathon expert and contributing editor for “Runner’s World,” Hal Higdon. Liz also gets lots of advice from her mom, Cathy Malone, a registered dietitian, and nutritionist.

: Visitors to my farm often enjoy hikes through the woodlands. Go right at this junction and the hike is four-miles long. Go straight and it is about half that amount. Which would you choose?

: Liz stopped to take this photo of one of my Osage orange trees. The Osage orange fruit, Macular pomifera, is actually not an orange at all and is more commonly known as a hedge apple, bow wood, or bodark. The fruit is wrinkly and bumpy in appearance and considered inedible because of the texture and taste, but they’re very interesting and fun to grow.

: Liz also runs by this grove of beautiful metasequoia down near my chicken coops. Metasequoia, Metasequoia glyptostroboides, or dawn redwood, is a fast-growing deciduous tree, one of three species of conifers known as redwoods, and the sole living species in its genus. It is native to Lichuan county in Hubei province, China. And although it is the shortest of the redwoods, it grows to at least 165-feet in height.

: Another loop around the hayfield she goes.

: This is the allee of lindens – recently pruned. On the left are my peafowl and pigeon coops.

: This part of the carriage road goes uphill toward my Summer House – Liz enjoys the upward climb. The hay bales along the road are there to redirect any heavy rains that may wash out the road gravel.