Here's a blog post from August 16, 2022 - all about my Guinea Fowl.
So many of you love the updates on the babies at the farm - currently, the youngest are five young Guinea fowl and a peachick incubated and hatched right here. They’re doing very well eating, drinking, and enjoying all the sights and sounds of their surroundings.
If you're not familiar with Guinea fowl, they are members of the Numididae family. These birds originated in Africa, but are now found all over the world. I’ve raised Guinea fowl for years. They are ground-nesting, seed- and-insect-eating birds that love ticks, locusts, flies, maggots, snails, and other pesky bugs. They are also wonderful at patrolling the chicken yard - sounding off loud alarms whenever something unusual enters the enclosure.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
I am so happy I am able to properly incubate and hatch healthy fowl right here at the farm. The eggs are kept in optimal hatching temperatures and are safe from any pecking hens in the coop. Here is an incubator in my kitchen. The incubation period for Guinea eggs is 26 to 28 days, similar to the incubation period for turkeys.
I hatched five beautiful baby Guinea fowl or keets and a peachick. Once hatched, they are kept in a bin for about a week.
Then they’re brought down to our bird “nursery” which is located in the feed room of my stable.
We house them in one of my large indoor bird cages. As each one is put in, it is introduced to the waterer and feeder, so it knows exactly where to eat and drink. They are all familiar with waterers and feeders, but it is still a good practice to show them. They have a suspended feeder filled with medicated turkey starter or wild game bird starter. At six weeks of age, they are switched to turkey or game bird grower.
Here is the peachick. We are not yet sure if it is a male or a female, but it is very healthy and doesn’t mind being the only peachick in the group of Guinea keets.
And here is one of the Guinea keets being put in the cage. This youngster is very alert and curious.
Keets are Guinea fowl offspring that are younger than 12 weeks old.
Guinea fowl are native to Africa, and as such, are very susceptible to dampness during the first two weeks after hatching. After the initial two weeks, Guinea keets are widely considered the hardiest of all domestic fowl.
Here is the peachick in front of the keets. Keets are mostly brown with black stripes and markings with tan underbellies. The head has a wide black stripe down the center with two narrow black stripes on each side, with narrow orange stripes between the black. The beak, legs, and feet are a light orange.
Mature Guinea fowl colors are mostly shades of blue, brown, and white or combinations thereof. In this group we have three traditional colored Guinea fowl and two lighter ones.
These keets have a lot of growing to do – just look how big their feet are.
Here is a lighter colored keet with some tan and dark brown markings.
Here, the same keets are about five weeks of age. The peachick in the lower left may even think it’s also a keet right now. Guinea fowl enjoy being with their own kind and will always maintain their own social groups even when integrated into the coop with the chickens.
And if well cared for, these babies can live up to 15-years.
With all this energy, these keets are already starting to perch and spread their wings. The one in the back is perched on a stuffed toy we placed into the cage.
It is very difficult to sex Guinea fowl. The best way to tell males from females is by their cry. When they’re older, the female Guineas will make a two-syllable call that sounds something like “buckwheat, buckwheat”. Males can only make a one-syllable sound similar to “kickkkkk kickkkkk”. The males also have larger gills or wattles. And do you know what a group of Guinea fowl is called? The collective noun for guinea fowl is “confusion” or “rasp.”
When they are adults, they look like these Guinea fowl in my chicken yard. One Guinea fowl is the size of a large chicken and weighs about four-pounds fully grown.
Notice, the head and neck area of a Guinea is bare, which helps to regulate temperature. These birds are not too fond of the cold weather, but they are very hardy and can live well in nearly every climate.
With short, rounded wings and short tails, these birds look oval-shaped. Their beaks are short but curved and very stout.
Where one goes, they all go. If one gets lost it will call out until the flock comes to find it. And Guinea fowl are very noisy. I can often hear them all the way from my Winter House.
These birds keep my chickens safe – sounding alarms whenever intruders are near. I am so glad they thrive here at Cantitoe Corners.
Enjoy this encore blog posting which originally ran on September 27th, 2022. It features my visit to a wonderful and historic garden.
I love visiting gardens around the country and around the world - especially when they are as enchanting and as beautiful as Wethersfield Estate & Garden in Amenia, New York.
Wethersfield was the country home of philanthropist, conservationist, and banking heir, Chauncey Devereux Stillman. In 1937, he bought two abandoned farms where he designed and developed his estate and eventually expanded the property to its current size of approximately 1,000 acres. Situated at the top of a hill with breathtaking mountain views, the home and land includes a three-acre formal garden, a seven-acre wilderness garden, a working farm, a carriage house and museum, and miles of woodland trails for hiking and horseback riding. Over the weekend, I toured the gardens and attended a lecture on Wethersfield hosted by the Institute of Classical Architecture Art - a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting and preserving the practice, understanding, and appreciation of classical design. Wethersfield Estate & Garden is described as the finest classical garden in the United States built in the second half of the 20th century - I do hope you take the opportunity to visit it someday.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
This is the historic front gate at Wethersfield Estate & Garden. The leaded urns are topped with camels from the Stillman Family crest.
Visitors to Wethersfield Garden are able to view the property map, showing the formal garden near the main house.
Wethersfield’s Director of Horticulture Toshi Yano greets guests and thanks everyone for attending the ICAA’s Bunny Mellon Symposium.
Here, a tall limestone urn in the distance marks the boundary between the working and designed landscape. One can see the Taconic mountain range beyond.
This is the Tempietto at the Belvedere. From here, one can see distant views of the Berkshires and the Catskills. It was important to Chauncey that the design of his stately Georgian-style colonial home include sweeping views of the area.
Here, weeping beech trees are pruned into columns to mark the four corners of the East Garden. Look closely, and one can see Fuchsias overflowing from the leaded urns.
Fuchsias were among Chauncey’s favorite flowering plants. Fuchsia is a genus of tropical perennial plants that produce exotic-looking, two-toned flower blossoms.
Here is another view inside the East Garden with its handsomely manicured hedges.
This statue shows Cupid riding a dolphin in a lovely niche of shale and bluestone. The wall doubles as a rock garden filled with alpine plants.
This is a limestone finial atop a brick column at the Cutting Garden.
This is the “Schooling Field” where Chauncey would train his Hackney horses for four-in-hand carriage driving. A field that also has sweeping mountain views.
This statue is of a panned piper on one side of an arch cut into an arborvitae hedge.
This is a very well-executed ha-ha – a “blind fence,” or a recessed landscape design element that creates a vertical barrier. In the distance one can see the slight change in color toward the end of the lawn marking a four foot drop meant to keep the livestock out of the garden.
The swimming pool at Wethersfield has been converted into a reflecting pool.
The curvature of the oval reflecting pool is echoed in the steps where masses of scented geraniums fill the air with perfume.
I admired the cherub with a finger to his lips. Toshi says it suggests to visitors that “silence is golden.”
This is a living rug in bluestone and turf grass. It marks the entrance to an arborvitae allée. The Naiad fountain at the very end is by Swedish sculptor Carl Milles.
Wethersfield is filled with unusual limestone and lead ornaments – this one also caught my eye.
Urns designed by Stanford White are filled with Artemisia mauiensis, or Maui wormwood – a perennial plant native to the island of Maui with mounding, soft silvery foliage.
It also looks so beautiful in this parterre.
This is the goldfish pool at Wethersfield’s Pine Terrace. The shale retaining walls in the garden are made of stones from the farm’s historic field walls.
Sweet autumn clematis, Clematis terniflora, flows over a fence with its white fragrant blooms. The hills of the Taconic range can be seen in the distance.
This stone step mounting block shows visitors entering or exiting that the owner had horses, and in this case, a collection of riding carriages.
And this is the west side of the main house at Wethersfield, beautifully maintained inside and out. The entire property is now managed by the Wethersfield Foundation. Go to the website at Wethersfield.org to learn more about this fabulous estate and garden.
This encore blog was originally posted on July 29, 2024.
Do you have a favorite classic neighborhood restaurant? One that's known for its delicious homemade dishes and traditional and relaxed décor?
I've been dining at New York City's Elio's for 35-years. In fact, it was where I had my first date after my divorce in 1989. Elio's is a charming old-world Italian establishment on east 84th Street that has been delighting loyal guests for decades since the late Elio Guaitolini and his business partner, Anne Isaak, first opened it in 1981. Recently, I shared a most pleasant and delicious business dinner at Elio's with dear friends - longtime publicist, Susan Magrino, and Kevin Sharkey, EVP Director of Design at Marquee Brands. Among the plates we enjoyed - Lasagne Bolognese, Soft Shell Crabs, and Beef Carpaccio with Salsa Verde.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
On this day, I was the first to arrive and took a seat at a corner table. It was a warm summer evening, so I ordered a refreshing iced tea and a martini. Thankfully, Susan and Kevin came in just a few minutes later – Kevin with his phone camera ready.
Often described as a neighborhood “clubhouse,” Elio’s is a classic old-fashioned Italian restaurant. Elio worked as a waiter at another well-known eatery, Elaine’s, before becoming a restaurateur. He opened Parma in 1977, and then Elio’s in 1981 with Anne, who previously worked as a sous chef at Chez Panisse.
Elio’s shows off a friendly atmosphere with both outdoor and indoor seating.
Here is the entrance to Elio’s, which has looked the same for decades.
Longtime bartender extraordinaire, Brian Drew, and all the staff greet guests with “buono sera” or good evening. Brian makes one of the best icy cold martinis.
The dining room is intimate with tables placed closely together. I took this photo before the busy dinner rush.
Here is my view from the corner table. The classic décor includes dark wood paneling, coffered ceilings, and old-fashioned light fixtures.
Here’s the cozy outdoor dining area as seen from the inside.
We started with mixed green salads and a light vinaigrette dressing. The greens are always so fresh and hand-selected every morning from local farmers.
This is Beef Carpaccio, an Italian appetizer of raw beef that’s thinly sliced and traditionally served with olive oil, lemon juice, capers, and onions. Elio’s serves it with salsa verde.
Waiter Manuel sprinkled just a bit of pepper on the Vitello Tonnato. This is another classic Italian dish of cold, thinly sliced veal covered in a creamy sauce. The dish originated in Piedmont, Italy, and is often served chilled or at room temperature during the summer.
Thanks Manuel. The wait staff is always so friendly – I just had to take a photo.
I had Lasagne Bolognese. It was so delicious, I decided to make my own lasagne a few days later for my crew at the farm.
Susan ordered Soft Shell Crabs Meunière.
And Kevin had Faroe Island Cold Poached Salmon with Cucumber Salad and Mayonnaise. We all cleaned our plates.
And here’s a photo of my perfect martini made by bartender Brian. If you’re ever in New York City and want a special and classic Italian meal, visit Elio’s. You won’t be disappointed. And maybe I’ll see you there.
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