A Guest Blog from My Summer Intern
I always enjoy working with summer interns. Every year, I try to welcome at least one college student to my Bedford, New York farm. Over several weeks, these interns cover various business tasks, help with special events and then write their own guest post for "The Martha Blog: Up Close and Personal." This season, Maya Mehrara, a rising sophomore at a New York City university, joined us at Cantitoe Corners.
Up until recently, 2020 had been pretty uneventful for me. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, I had been quarantining with my family for months on end. I watched endless amounts of TV, completed schoolwork, read piles of books, and played my guitar. Never in a million years did I suspect I'd end up interning for Martha Stewart - and in a phrase, the experience has been wonderfully surprising. Her property is spectacular, her animals are beautiful and friendly, and Martha herself is so inspiring.
While working at Martha's farm, and keeping safe and socially distant, I learned about Martha’s drive and what she does on a day-to-day basis. Despite the fact that she has been quarantining since March, Martha continues to run her farm and business. In these past few months, she has not only spent time caring for her animals (horses, donkeys, peacocks, canaries, dogs, cats, and more), taking care of her property, and working in her garden, but she also filmed a new television show called "Martha Knows Best" on HGTV. Martha is a hands-on, hardworking businesswoman. She has inspired me to do better and be better and wholeheartedly pursue my passions just like she has. I also found that everyone who works for her is very loyal, kindhearted and bright. I have been fortunate enough to work alongside some of the strong women on Martha’s team - her personal executive assistant, her business manager, her blogger, her housekeepers, her special events director, and her executive manager. These women patiently showed me the ropes and helped me complete several projects. With Women's Studies as a focus in my major, working with this group has been extremely special to me. I witnessed first hand the values of collaboration, flexibility, and drive in real-time and got to practice these skills myself. I completed several business assignments, learned about a working farm, met all of Martha’s animals, walked through her picturesque woodlands, and admired the bright, fragrant flowers in her gardens that I had never even seen before. I am so grateful for this opportunity. Interning with Martha has been an experience I will never forget, and I will carry what I learned with me into my future.
Here are some of my favorite photos I took at the farm.
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- This is a view of one of my favorite places on the farm to visit. The stunning stone stable is home to the horses, pony, and donkeys – some of the sweetest animals I have ever encountered. I will cherish my brief time with them.
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- I love this picturesque view of the farm from Martha’s Winter House terrace. On this very hot summer day, I felt compelled to capture the bright blue skies and endless green fields through my iPhone lens.
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- Martha’s peacocks are not only gorgeous creatures, but also incredibly playful. I watched them chase after each other and laughed as these elegant birds zipped across the field.
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- This beautiful Friesian horse and Fell pony are eating and exploring the paddocks. They are so friendly and sweet, they melt my heart every time I see them.
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- This is the lovely horse, Rinze. He quickly became one of my closest friends here at the farm. Every day, I am greeted by these gentle, huge creatures. They nuzzle my hand and look deep into my eyes, almost staring into my soul. They have touched my heart, and I’ll never forget them.
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- This is my affectionate, playful friend, Billie. Every time I visit her, she comes right up to me and nuzzles my hand. She pushes her companions to get all the attention, but has captured my heart with her funny nature.
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- This is another sweet friend of mine, Rufus. Whenever I come to greet him, he lets his friend Billie get some pats, and then slowly approaches me for a rub also. He is a real sweetheart.
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- This view of the pathway leading up to the Winter House is one of my favorite places to stroll on the farm. With the calm breezes and beautiful view of the orchard, this little pathway is heavenly.
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- These are the tiny pink flowers along the path leading up to the flower garden.
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- This is one of the many ethereal views in the flower garden. It has become another favorite place to visit.
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- This deep purple morning glory flower was a foreign flower to me prior to working here. This beauty is one I hope to plant in my own garden someday.
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- This rudbeckia, or black-eyed Susan, with its orange coloring that blooms out of the center and blends into yellow almost looks like ombre to me.
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- Pale white roses are still blooming in the garden.
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- A lone flower called to me one day as I was walking through the flower garden, and I couldn’t help but capture it. It seemed to be winking at me, saying hello.
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- This unique passion flower by the greenhouse also caught my eye. I have truly never seen anything like it before, and am once again amazed by the variety of life there is on the farm.
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- Before coming to work for Martha, I had never seen tiger lilies before. These beauties caught my eye the first day of my internship.
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- While strolling through the pergola, I saw some the season’s last remaining clematis flowers. These lavender colored flowers climbing up the stone pergola brought me back to past trips to Italy, and other magical European countries with my family.
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- This is the vegetable greenhouse, which only houses a fraction of what Martha grows here on the farm. Outside, she grows tomatoes, onions, string beans, and so much more.
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- When I took this photo, these white lilies were still blooming in front of the Winter House. Despite sad current events, these bright, open lilies remind me of life and growth.
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- This strange fruit that resembles a brain grows on Martha’s osage orange trees, down by the large run-in horse paddock. I learned that these fruits, although considered inedible because of their taste and texture, are good for keeping insects away.
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- These are Martha’s chickens in the chicken yard – they are constantly clucking. They are friendly and fluffy, and lay dozens of eggs each week.
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- These weeping willow trees are located at the edge of a giant field and are by far my favorite trees at the farm. What a great summer internship – thanks, Martha.
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