My Farm a Day After the Nor'easter
Today we're expecting partly cloudy skies in the area with temperatures rising to the mid-50s - good conditions for melting the snow from this week's nor'easter.
The day after a snow storm, I always enjoy touring the farm early in the morning to take photos and to see the picturesque winter scenes across the landscape. I did just that yesterday as the sun was rising. Here in Bedford, New York, we got a good amount of snow that stuck to everything. I hope you saw some of my images on my Instagram page @MarthaStewart48.
Here are more, enjoy.
-
- Early in the morning – around 5:30 – I ventured out to see how the farm was doing after the storm. I like to do this before anyone arrives. It was so peaceful and pristine, and there was snow everywhere.
-
- We all know “the sun rises in the east and sets in the west.” But actually, it is only a generalization. The sun only rises due east and sets due west on two days of the year — the spring and fall equinoxes! Here I am looking east toward the gardens behind my Tenant House as I drive down the carriage road. The farm is covered with a new layer of glistening snow.
-
- This weather system left all the tree branches heavily dusted with snow. Thankfully, none broke.
-
- Here’s the entrance to my living maze. All the young trees are intact. All my garden trees are always well-mulched to protect the roots from winter damage.
-
- This is one side of my peony bed – a small pathway leads to my stable in the distance.
-
- The fresh layer of untouched snow looks so pretty atop my herbaceous peony beds. The pattern left on the burlap shows the strong metal frames we used to cover the boxwood. They are the frames of a hoop house. They work perfectly to accommodate the growing plantings.
-
- This area is where I planted my azalea grove – hundreds of colorful azaleas on both sides of this carriage road. One can see the outlines of the still small deciduous shrubs covered in snow.
-
- Snow stuck to nearly every surface. This is the fence of the coop outside my stable.
-
- The snow even stuck to the branches of the climbing hydrangea on this tree trunk.
-
- And yet the majestic eastern white pines still stand tall and bold green in the distance. These trees can be seen towering from nearly every vantage point on this side of the farm.
-
- At one end of the Boxwood Allée is this beautiful weeping copper beech, Fagus sylvatica ‘Purpurea Pendular’, an irregular spreading tree with long, weeping branches that reach the ground.
-
- Here is my expansive soccer lawn, where my grandson Truman loves to practice when he visits. He is a very avid and skilled soccer player who just celebrated his 11th birthday.
-
- Nearby, my boxwood border along the winding pergola is well-protected under burlap. The snow almost covers the entire row.
-
- And here is a view through the pergola – such a different look from what it will be like in just a couple of months when the garden is filled with colorful spring blooms.
-
- Hard to tell when the trees are so bare, but this is my grove of American beech trees, Fagus grandifolia. American beech trees are slow to grow, but can live up to 300-years.
-
- Snow and snow drifts piled on top of the burlap-covered boxwood shrubs in the long allée – and the great pines can still be seen.
-
- As many of you know, I planted a few different allées at the farm. This is the south section of my allée of linden trees leading to my carport. An allée is a walk or passage, especially one between two rows of evenly planted trees.
-
- And looking north, here is the other section just across the carriage road. This allée extends all the way to the chicken coops. The fencing casts wonderful shadows.
-
- These trees are in front of my Winter House – covered in crisp, clean white.
-
- The upper terrace parterre outside my Winter House is also buried under the snow. I am thankful the snow weighed down on the burlap and not on the precious plantings underneath.
-
- And here is the nyssa tree in front of my lower terrace parterre outside my Winter House kitchen – disguised in white. Birds love to perch on the top and watch all the activity around the farm. Nyssa sylvatica is a small, slow-growing, stately, deciduous tree with a dense, pyramidal habit. Were you affected by Winter Storm Sage? How much snow did you get? Share your comments in the section below.
Martha Pins
Martha Tweets
