We have little babies at my farm -- this time, baby turkeys, or chicks, or poults.
It's always exciting when baby fowl hatch successfully. I have been raising chickens, turkeys, geese, peafowl, and other birds for many years. Many of them are incubated and hatched in the feed room of my stable where they can be kept warm, safe, and closely monitored. Right now, we have six poults - all healthy, alert, and very cute.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
Down at the stable, we set up our incubating and hatching equipment from GQF Manufacturing, Inc. in Savannah, Georgia – a company that specializes in game bird and poultry supplies. There are several crucial conditions needed for proper embryo development in all birds. These factors include: proper temperature, controlled humidity, and sufficient air circulation.
Meanwhile, the brooder is prepared for when the chicks hatch and can be moved. A heat lamp is placed into the cage to keep it warm. Early on, it should be about 14-18 inches from the floor, but as they grow, it needs to be raised appropriately. The temperature starts at 95-degrees Fahrenheit and then decreased by five degrees every week until the turkeys are fully feathered at around six to eight weeks of age.
Fresh, clean water is always provided. In fact, every chick is personally shown where their food and water sources are, so they know where to find it.
We also keep soft toys in the brooder, so the chicks can perch on them.
And here are two of our babies, now a couple weeks old. The reddish tint is from the heat lamp.
In all, we have six. Raising baby turkeys is a lot like raising chickens. Both birds need good quality feed, fresh water, safe living spaces, clean bedding, adequate roosting areas, and nesting boxes.
These chicks are very healthy. And by nature, turkeys are docile, regal, and intelligent creatures.
They are also cleaner than chickens, in part because they don’t scratch the ground as much. This one is already perching on the toy.
Turkeys are also quite gentle – with each other and with all who visit. These babies love to play with each other and are not shy when visitors enter the room.
And do you know… turkeys can actually make more than 20 different noises. And, only adult male turkeys can gobble.
When young, poults should have a free-choice starter feed that is at least 28-percent protein. These poults are given a special starter food for the first several weeks.
At this stage, these baby turkeys are called chicks, or poults. When a chick grows up, it will be called a tom or gobbler if it is male, and a hen if it is female. Adolescent males are also called jakes.
It is still a bit difficult to determine the gender of each of our turkey chicks. At around three to four weeks of age the males may begin to strut or fan their tail feathers, drop their wings and hold out all of their contour feathers to make their bodies appear larger.
Here, one can see their feathers starting to come in. On males, these feathers have black tips. The feather tips are brown on females. This one may be a male turkey.
And, looking closely, this one could be a female.
Healthy turkey chick eyes are bright, wide open, and free of discharge or swelling. I am so glad all these chicks are doing so well.
They are also very curious and are always watching all the activity around their cage.
These two came up to the door of their brooder to say hello.
I’ll be sure to share more photos of our flock as they grow and move into the outdoor enclosure with all our other adolescent fowl. Stay tuned…
After more than three years of renovation, New York City's iconic Tiffany & Co. Fifth Avenue flagship store, named "The Landmark," is open.
A spectacular star-studded celebration at the newly transformed space marked the official opening last week. Guests had the opportunity to walk around the boutique and see its redesigned interior by architect Peter Marino - now totaling 100,000 square feet. This was the first time the 10-floor store had been renovated since opening in 1940. There was also LIVE DJ music and performances by the Radio City Rockettes and singer-songwriter, Katy Perry. The next time you're in Manhattan, stop by and visit "The Landmark" - maybe you'll even walk out with a special "blue box."
Here are some photos from the event, enjoy.
Tiffany & Co. was founded in New York City in 1837 by Charles Lewis Tiffany. This Fifth Avenue building has served as Tiffany & Co.’s sixth flagship store since 1940. The building contains a facade of granite and limestone.
I attended the reopening with my friends Susan Magrino, Andy Yu, Stephen Sills, and Kevin Sharkey, who took this photo.
The arched windows were brightly lit with shades of blue. When turned on, they transform into video wall installations projecting views of Central Park and the Manhattan Skyline. They are actually mirrors when turned off.
Guests entered through the front door to a completely transformed space. Wait staff stood at one side to welcome guests with glasses of champagne. (Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images for Tiffany & Co.)
Guests were able to view many jewelry displays including these precious High Jewelry pieces by Jean Schlumberger.
Here, an archive display of jewelry is surrounded by ice cream cones.
I stopped for this photo with Wes Gordon, Carolina Herrera Creative Director, and glassblower, Paul Arnhold.
This is Julian Schnabel’s Table and Plates – in iconic “Tiffany blue.”
Here is a Tiffany Wisteria collection. It draws from wisteria-inspired masterpieces from The Tiffany Archives.
And this luxurious and timeless Valse Bleue design showcases an elegant floral motif. The unique pattern is an ode to the 1960s tableware from The Tiffany Archives.
This display includes Elsa Peretti’s Bone candlesticks and thumbprint bowls.
And this is a Tiffany & Co. Classic Square Decanter.
On the sixth floor, visitors can view products in the Lifestyle, Home, and Tiffany Baby collections and dine at the Blue Box Café featuring breakfast and tea menus from Daniel Boulud.
Also on the same floor, lots of Tiny Tiffany Piggy Banks – this one in green earthenware.
Here is a view from one of the upper floor windows looking down over 57th street.
The event also included a performance by the Radio City Rockettes. If you’re unfamiliar with this dance company, it is an American precision group founded in 1925 in St. Louis, Missouri. The group has performed at Radio City Music Hall in New York City since 1932. (Photo by BFA/Sansho Scott)
Katy Perry performed a few of her hits including her very first single, “I Kissed a Girl.” (Photo by BFA/Sansho Scott)
Here is the original “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” script. Did you see the movie?
And here I am at the center of the boutique standing on a sweeping curvilinear staircase crafted in cerused oak, with transparent balustrades and angled infinity mirrors inspired by Elsa Peretti’s organic forms.
The evening was so much fun and a wonderful way to welcome everyone back to Tiffany & Co. I hope you get a chance to visit the next time you’re in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Tiffany & Co.)
The lilac hedges at my Bedford, New York farm are starting to explode with big, gorgeous and fragrant clusters.
I love lilacs, and have enjoyed growing them for many years. In fact, the common lilac, Syringa vulgaris, has been part of the American landscape for centuries. Lilacs planted in 1650 on Michigan’s Mackinac Island are some of the country's oldest known specimens. If you don't already have lilacs in your garden, I strongly encourage you to grow one, or two, or even three shrubs - they will give you years of beautiful blooms.
Here are photos of the first picked lilacs of the season and the arrangements we made with them - enjoy.
Here is just one of the beautiful lilacs blooming here at my farm. I planted an allée of lilacs about 17-years ago and it has thrived ever since. It is located behind my chicken coops not far from my tennis court. Lilacs are low maintenance, easy to grow, and can reach from five to 20-feet tall or more depending on their variety.
The lilac, Syringa vulgaris, is a species of flowering plant in the olive family Oleaceae. Syringa is a genus of up to 30-cultivated species with more than one-thousand varieties. And look at the beautiful lilac color.
Lilacs come in seven colors: pink, violet, blue, lilac, red, purple, and white. The purple lilacs have the strongest scent compared to other colors.
The bold lilac colors look pretty against the vibrant green foliage. Lilac leaves are simple, opposite, ovate, about two to four inches long, and usually shaped like elongated hearts.
Lilacs have pyramidal clusters of blossoms with both single and double varieties – all with the same glossy green leaves.
‘Sensation’, first known in 1938, is unique for its bicolor deep-purple petals edged in white on eight to 12-foot-tall shrubs.
Lilacs were introduced into Europe at the end of the 16th century from Ottoman gardens and arrived in American colonies a century later. To this day, it remains a popular ornamental plant in gardens, parks, and homes because of its attractive, sweet-smelling blooms.
Here, one can see how prolific my lilacs are – so many sweet-smelling flowers grow along both sides of the allée – the fragrance is intoxicating.
Here’s Enma picking some of the first lilacs of the season. I asked Enma and Elvira to pick enough for a few arrangements – they will all fill my home with sweet fragrance. Lilacs grow best in full sun and moist, well-drained, humus-rich soil. It must drain well as lilacs cannot tolerate “wet feet” or wet roots. Soil that is average to poor with a neutral-to-alkaline pH is preferred. Established plants will tolerate dry soil, but newly planted shrubs need to be kept moist for the first year until their roots are set.
Once the flowers were picked, Enma and Elvira placd them gently on this towel. Most lilacs thrive in hardiness zones 3 through 7, in cooler climates with chilling periods. Lilacs are typically clump forming, producing new shoots from the base of the trunk, which can be used for propagating.
The next step was to get them to my Winter House. Enma and Elvira placed them on the stone ledge just outside my home to prepare them for water and arranging.
Elvira makes a small quarter-inch slit at the bottom of each stem so water can enter easily.
It’s a good idea to use very sharp, clean pruning shears to cut slits in the stems, then immediately plunge them into a bucket of cool water.
The process does not take that long, but each stem must be done. Here, Elvira quickly puts them in a bucket of water.
Lilacs typically appear from mid-spring to early summer just before many of the other summer flowers blossom. Young lilacs can take up to three-years to reach maturity and bear flowers – be patient.
By planting an assortment, bloom time will be staggered and can last for up to two-months. I am looking forward to picking lilacs for several more weeks.
Enma arranges the flowers by color.
Here she makes a light pink arrangement.
Once finished, water is carefully poured into the vase as quickly as possible.
This arrangement is placed in my sitting room where I can see it every day.
These lilacs are on my kitchen counter, the hub of my home, where I often have meetings – everyone smells them as soon as they see them.
And here is an all white lilac arrangement in my servery. These flowers are so pretty. Lilacs have been well-loved by gardeners for so many years. They are tough, reliable, and ever so fragrant. I hope this inspires you to grow lilac, the “Queen of shrubs.” It will quickly become one of your favorites in the garden.
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