A Late February Snow at My Farm
Today, the temperature is expected to hit 44-degrees Fahrenheit at my Bedford, New York farm with clouds and possible showers in the afternoon - melting and washing away most of the recent snow.
Over the years, I've shared many photos of the white fluff across my farm's landscape, but the most beautiful are those images which capture the snow stuck to all the trees, shrubs, fences, and other surfaces. This happens when the temperature is slightly warmer than freezing, which is 32-degrees Fahrenheit or zero-degrees Celsius. The snowflakes melt around the edges and stick together to become big, heavy flakes.
Yesterday's snow was picture perfect. I shared some photos on my Instagram page @MarthaStewart48. Here are some more, enjoy.
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- Whenever it snows, it’s a rush to get photos before everyone starts arriving at the farm for work. On this morning, the farm was covered with about seven inches of beautiful white snow. Here is an image taken of the driveway in front of my Hay Barn. (Photo by Patrick Tierney)
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- Across the carriage road are six of these weeping hornbeams with my pavilion on the right. We prune these rare hornbeams regularly to keep the beautiful shape. (Photo by Chhiring Serpa)
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- This was not a strong storm, but it did drop heavy wet snow, which stuck to all the branches. Fortunately, there was no damage to any of the trees. These are some of the evergreens in my pinetum, an area I developed behind my Equipment Barn and near one of my weeping willow groves. The pinetum collection has grown so well over the years. It includes pines, spruces and firs, as well as other evergreens. (Photo by Phurba Sherpa)
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- Here is a view in between the stable and my carriage house looking north. The outbuilding on the opposite end is my stable office, where my business manager, property manager and operations manager work. (Photo by Fernando Ferrari)
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- Fernando also took this photo – down the allée of linden trees near my stable. The road is still so clean and white.
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- My outdoor grounds crew foreman, Chhiring Sherpa, took this photo just before sweeping the snow off the burlap-covered boxwood along my pergola. I am happy all the boxwood shrubs and hedges are still protected with burlap. This snow came very late in the season. (Photo by Chhiring Sherpa)
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- The frames under this burlap are made of steel and are regularly used to frame hoop houses. I knew the same materials would be great for covering the giant shrubs along the Boxwood Allée. (Photo by Fernando Ferrari)
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- Here is my studio building just below my carport. The snow seems to outline every branch of the Sargent crabapple trees. Malus sargentii, occasionally called Sargent’s apple or Sargent crabapple, is a species of crabapple in the genus Malus. This photo was taken before 8am. By late afternoon, much of it was washed away by rain showers. (Photo by Chhiring Sherpa)
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- Here is another photo showing the boxwood covered in front of my Winter House and around the herbaceous peony bed. (Photo by Elvira Rojas)
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- The snow was so wet that it stuck to the upright bark of these majestic pin oak trees.
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- Here is a view looking into the orchard – such a different scene than summer, when these trees are laden with colorful peaches.
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- The streams that meander through the farm’s woodland show the reflections of the snow covered trees above.
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- In this area of the woods, it is so quiet, one can just hear the snow falling in clumps from the trees.
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- This tree is barely visible covered in snow.
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- This carriage road is still clear of any tire marks. The untouched snow is so pretty early in the morning.
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- These trees are part of my “Christmas Tree” garden. I planted hundreds of evergreens here more than 10-years ago and they have all grown so beautifully – White Pine, Frasier Fir, Canaan Fir, Norway Spruce, and Blue Spruce.
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- These apple trees are original to the farm. They produce lots of delicious fruits every year.
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- Venturing further to the back hayfield, one comes across this stand of trees along one edge of the carriage road. I’ve planted thousands of trees here at the farm.
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- Do you recognize this? It is one of many catch basins around the property. They are all marked with black tipped stakes, so they are easy to find under the snow. They are all checked during the inclement weather to be sure the drainage holes are all clear. This one is in good working order.
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- This is my newest tropical hoop house – one of six greenhouses here at the farm. Because of the shape of this structure, snow just rolls off it – accumulating on the hay bales surrounding the base.
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- Here is a view across the paddock with the great Eastern White Pines standing strong and bold green.
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- Just outside my Winter House are four rows of espaliered apple trees. Birds love to congregate here after dining on the hanging bird feeders nearby.
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- Across from the dwarf espaliers are these espaliered “Gravenstein” apples.
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- The grove of bald cypress, Taxodium distichum, looks stately even without any foliage. The small structure nestled within the trees is my basket house – filled with beautiful antique and vintage wicker baskets.
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- This snow even covered every surface of my long and winding pergola. One can see snow on the granite uprights as well as the wooden cross beams and rafters.
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- Here’s a stand of dawn redwoods, Metasequoia, with their straight trunks – impressive trees by any standard, and beautiful in any season. One can sometimes tell the direction of the wind by the way the snow collects on the trees – it creates such interesting patterns on the tree trunks.
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- Here’s a view of the 100-year old white spruce fencing from Canada. It has newer cedar uprights to support it. I love how the snow collects on the fence rails.
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- One of the first tasks after a snow storm is to shovel all the snow leading to the bird enclosures and areas within the fenced in yards. The chickens are happy to venture out and enjoy the newly fallen snow. By afternoon, temperatures had already risen into the upper 30s.
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- This photo was taken in the late afternoon – the snow has already fallen off these linden trees. We’re expecting another storm end of this week, with possibly more snow – winter is definitely not over yet.
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