Early Season Chores
We've been lucky this week - the weather has been mild, pleasant, and perfect for doing outdoor work and pre-spring chores around my farm.
The crew is busy with many projects, including raking and cleaning the garden beds, restoring my long pergola, cutting down dead trees in the woodland and chipping all the fallen branches. Down at my stable, outbuilding windows are getting cleaned inside and out, while walls are being retouched with fresh paint. It’s a strong start to a refreshing season ahead.
Enjoy these photos.
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- This time of year is always busy. Once the weather starts to warm up, everyone is outside working on spring season tasks. There’s a lot to do on a working farm.
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- Here’s Pasang, my resident tree expert, tending to his chainsaw in between cutting trees. Lubricating the chain and bar cools the engine while flushing out saw dust and other debris. Maintaining the equipment properly is paramount.
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- The crew has removed lot of dead, damaged, and diseased trees. Many of them are ash trees infested and killed by the emerald ash borer.
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- Once the trees are down in one area, manageable tree limbs and branches are put through the chipper.
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- The chipper is pointed back toward the woodland, so chips can top dress the remaining healthy trees.
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- Here’s Adan picking up smaller branches around the field.
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- Up by my wood shop, Pete works on painting the last of the wooden beams for the pergola restoration project. What’s the color? My signature “Bedford Gray” of course.
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- And I hope you’ve seen glimpses of my pond on my Instagram page @marthastewart48. This project is nearly complete. I’ll be sharing lots of photos showing how it was all done in an upcoming blog.
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- Here’s Matt from my gardening team – he’s raking carefully around the daffodils down near my allée of lindens.
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- Nearby, Ryan trims the dead foliage around the growing hellebores.
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- These hellebores are just starting to wake up after the long winter. Sometimes known as Lenten rose or Christmas rose, these plants are long-lived, easy-to-grow and thrive in shady locations. I’ve had hellebores in my gardens for many years, and I find it so rewarding to have blooms that start in March, and continue through spring until the end of May.
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- Cesar is removing the industrial weed cloth from my old vegetable garden. Last year I used the area as a flower cutting garden. It’s an excellent growing space that’s filled with nutrient rich soil.
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- At my stable, Carlos “II” is cleaning the windows inside and out. During the year, debris and film can build-up on windows, sills and tracks. Windows should be dusted and washed regularly to keep them sparkling clean. For my windows, I like to use a white vinegar and water solution. Vinegar safely kills germs and is much more economical than chemical cleaners.
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- Fernando is inside the stable, retouching areas with paint. Everything looks so much better with a good coat of fresh paint.
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- Here’s Jimmy mucking out one of the donkey stalls. Mucking refers to the process of removing soiled bedding. It’s an important part of daily stable management to keep the stable clean and its equine residents comfortable and healthy.
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- Elvira is at my vegetable greenhouse picking fresh spinach from one of the beds. I use spinach from my garden every day for my green juice.
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- This is carpentry master Dmitri Logvinski of Logvinski Construction LLC rebuilding my pergola. He’s measuring and carefully cutting the beams that will run the length of the pergola and support the rafters.
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- Each of these cedar beams is carefully measured, and trimmed as needed on site. I’ll be posting an entire blog on the project soon.
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- And down in my Winter House basement, lots of organizing is going on to get all my glasses, plates, platters, etc. ready for the season’s gatherings. This year, Easter is on April 20th.
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- Spring cleaning is underway and everyone at the farm is doing their part. I’m looking forward to a very productive spring season. What’s on your spring cleaning to-do list?
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