Wintertime pruning continues at my farm - next on the list, the orchard trees.
If you grow fruit trees, the best time to prune them is now - in winter - or in very early spring before any new growth begins. Pruning not only helps to develop proper shape and form, but also encourages new growth, promotes high fruit yield, and maintains good tree health. I have more than 200 fruit trees in my orchard - peaches, apples, pears, cherries, medlars, and others. This year, I called on the experts from The Arborist, Inc. in nearby Bedford Hills, New York to take on the big job.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
There’s still a lot of snow on the ground, but the orchard trees need pruning to ensure they continue to produce an abundance of fruit. All my fruit trees are extremely healthy, in part because of all the care and maintenance that is done to maintain them.
The tree experts at The Arborist specialize in pruning fruit trees.
Before starting on any tree, foreman Ray assesses the tree and decides where he will start trimming.
With all the snow on the ground, it is also necessary to shovel a path, so the crew can work on each tree and safely set up their ladders.
A bow saw, or pruning saw, cuts on both the fore stroke and back stroke and is designed for cutting thicker, older branches.
I prefer much of the work be done by hand. Cutting by hand gives my trees a more natural appearance and shape.
Pruning cuts should be made fairly flush to the branch from which it grew. The idea is to leave slight stubs. By removing any more, the remaining branch has too much of an opening for disease to enter. Here, one can see where a cut was made. And cuts should be clean – something that can only be done with good, sharp tools.
After cutting the old, thick branches, Ray focuses on the Ds of pruning and removes any dead, diseased, damaged, defective, or deranged branches.
Dead branches, or those without any signs of new growth, are cut, so the energy is directed to the branches with fruiting buds.
Ray cuts branches that are rubbing or crisscrossing each other, preventing any healthy new growth. Basically, the goal is to create a tree with well spaced lateral branches. Any branches which interfere with the tree’s shape or create a dense framework should be removed.
And he prunes the suckers away from the tree trunk to prevent them from taking over.
For slightly larger branches up to two-inches in diameter, they use bypass loppers.
Here, a long handled pole pruner is used to remove harder to reach branches.
Pole pruners can reach high branches and trim multiple branches at once, saving time and effort. It’s important to have all the necessary tools at hand, so these tasks can be done efficiently.
When pruning, it’s always a good idea to pick up branches during the process, so there isn’t a lot of time wasted with clean-up in the end.
Neat and tidy piles are made along the shoveled foot path, so they can be retrieved easily. The branches are either saved for kindling or processed through a wood chipper to make mulch.
Some of my fruit trees have long branches which weigh heavy when laden with fruit. To support them, I use “crutches” with natural “v” notches that could cradle the heavy limbs.
Removing crowded branches helps let in light and promote good air circulation.
A good pruning improves productivity and promotes more fruiting. I like to prune my trees annually to establish and maintain good structure and shape.
I instructed the crew to cut about a third of the new growth including all the suckers. There is still a lot more work to be done, but I am looking forward to many lustrous green trees heavy with fruits come summer.
I'm busy getting ready for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, but there's still time to make something homemade and meaningful to give as gifts for St. Valentine's Day. Every year, I like to bake lots of heart shaped sugar cookies. I prepare the dough and royal icing, cut out the shapes, bake, and decorate them in pink and white using a process I devised that's easy and fun. It's the four Ds - dipping, dripping, decorating, and drying.
Enjoy these photos and video from my Valentine's Day cookie baking process a few years ago.
The first step is to gather all the ingredients – here are all the decorating ingredients and my giant heart-shaped cookie cutters. I have had these cutters for years.
And then make your favorite sugar cookie dough. I have many delicious sugar cookie recipes in my books.
Once it’s ready, I put it on a piece of plastic wrap and roll out the dough in two batches, so it’s easier to manage.
After rolling, they are completely wrapped and chilled for at least 30-minutes – mine were chilled overnight. Chilled dough will help retain the shape of the cookies; soft, warm dough tends to lose its shape when cut and moved.
The next morning, the doughs are perfect. They get really hard, but they roll out so beautifully.
Here they are about to go into the oven. It’s such a treat for me to bake, it’s become an annual tradition. These cookies are baked at 400-degrees Fahrenheit for 10-minutes.
Here are some batches already cooling – all perfectly browned. The cookies are about 1/8-inch thick.
I made large and small cookies – some with decorative edges and some left smooth.
My process for decorating sugar cookies involves the four “Ds” – dipping, dripping, decorating, and drying. Sugar cookies are delicious any time on their own, but they also make ideal holiday cookies when decorated with royal icing. I used royal icing made from confectioner’s sugar, meringue from my own egg whites, food coloring, water, and then hand-dipped each cookie very carefully. I do this instead of damming and flooding, which is a much more precise method.
Carefully dip the cookie into the icing. and let the excess drip.
I dipped just the top of the cookie, so each one looks smooth and perfect. The frosting has to be exactly the right consistency to dip the cookies satisfactorily. And remove them very carefully, letting the excess drip. Once they are flat, the icing will level out into a perfect surface for decorating.
While the white frosting is still wet, I use pink icing on top. I make horizontal lines first across the cookie.
Do this in any direction, making sure the lines are evenly spaced.
Then, using the tip of a bamboo skewer, I just pull the frosting down from the top to the bottom of the cookie making this Napoleonic design. It is called this because the same design is seen on Napoleon pastries.
One can go in both directions to make it more interesting.
After the decorating, let the cookies sit and dry completely.
And here are some of the finished cookies drying on the rack.
Here at the farm, weekend temperatures are expected to be in the 40s Fahrenheit - a brief respite from this year's bitter cold for everyone, including my animals.
Winter enrichment for animals is the practice of providing both physical and mental stimulation to prevent boredom and stress and to support good behavior during these colder months. My stable manager, Helen Peparo, ensures every horse, pony, and donkey has sensory enrichment, food-based enrichment, and creative games to keep them engaged when not outdoors in their pastures.
Enjoy these photos.
My handsome Friesians are given the best of care. These are my newest rescues, three year old Ulysses and eight year old Stewart. They are a bonded pair and love to frolic in the large paddocks.
This is the patriarch of my stable and my trusted mount, Rinze. He is always eager to be outdoors no matter the weather.
I am fortunate my horses get along so well. They can be turned out with their closest friends or grouped together. Here are Stewart and Ulysses having a “conversation.”
Mangers of hay are filled in their pastures. I make all the hay right here at the farm.
My horses are turned out for several hours each day. Horses need this time for physical and mental health, social interaction and overall wellbeing. However, during the harsh winter this time can be shorter.
During the season, they are called in for grooming and feeding in the afternoon and need more indoor enrichment.
Here’s Helen walking the horses through a shoveled path – we’re still buried under feet of snow, but hopefully most of it will melt in the coming days.
Along with their nutritious hay, my horses are given a variety of other supplements with their meals mixed with some of their favorite grains and beat pulp all with warm water to encourage fluid intake. They all love it.
Here’s Bond, who eats ever morsel. Because horses have small stomachs relative to their size, they eat little and often. A horse needs food spread out, preferably in two to three feedings a day.
To help keep eating under control and more fun, Bond uses a hay net specially designed to slow feed times, curb boredom, and simulate grazing. It is filled with a fortified chopped forage with minerals and vitamins.
This is alfalfa. Alfalfa is beneficial for older horses in winter because it is high in protein and calories to help maintain weight and generate more metabolic heat during digestion. Rinze gets this alfalfa.
This Clover Horse Toy from PetKore is for the youngest of my equines, Ulysses. It is designed to provide entertainment, and encourage foraging and interactive play. Ulysses also gets a bit of alfalfa to help him gain weight and stay warm. All the horses get different enrichments based on age, personality, and feed requirements.
And I never forget the donkeys – here’s Truman “TJ” Junior waiting for his meal.
The donkeys get this Luna® Ring Horse Toy also from PetKore, which also holds treats and bunches of hay for interest.
My Friesian, Hylke, likes to remove things from the hooks outside his stall, so I gave him a Jolly Tug ball to play with instead. It’s working.
And my two stable cats – Cinco and Mayo… they have free access to all the great play areas in the stable, such as this pile of hay.
Here’s ‘May-May” watching all the activity and thinking about her next move.
Inside their room, the cats also have lots of enriching toys, trees, and treats to keep them engaged and stimulated.
Scratching behavior helps felines maintain claws, stretch muscles, and relieve stress. Cinco and Mayo love to scratch on their sisal post.
And at the end of the day, all the animals are warm indoors, well-enriched, and ready to take on whatever comes next at Cantitoe Corners. Enriching animals in winter… it’s a very good thing.
And here's a video of "TJ" trying his ring puzzle for the first time...
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