It’s a very special time of year for the peafowl at my Bedford, New York farm - it's the beginning of breeding season.
From now until early August, the peacocks display their stunning and iridescent tail feathers, strut back and forth shaking their hindquarters to produce a rattling sound, and make loud calls to the females. The peahens tend to choose males with the longest, most colorful tails. It’s always very interesting to watch these mating rituals up close - the "tail show" can be quite amazing. Many of you comment on how much you enjoy the posts on the animals at my farm, so I thought it was a good time to share this update on my gorgeous birds.
Enjoy these photos.
As many of you know, I share my farm with an ostentation of beautiful peafowl – peacocks as well as peahens. Their pen is outside my stable, completely enclosed to keep them safe from predators. Here is a beautiful “blue boy” perched just outside the coop. Peafowls are very hardy birds, and even though they are native to warm climates, they do very well in cold weather as long as they have access to dry areas away from strong winds. These birds will spend most of their days outdoors, and nights in their coop where it is warm and cozy.
Peafowl are members of the pheasant family. There are two Asiatic species – the blue or Indian peafowl native to India and Sri Lanka, and the green peafowl originally from Java and Burma, and one African species, the Congo peafowl from African rain forests. All my peafowl are Indian.
Both male and female peafowls have the fancy crest atop their heads called a corona. Male peacock feather crests are blue or green in color, while female crests are a more neutral shade of brown or cream. This is a female – a peahen. All my birds are friendly and come up quite close to visitors.
During the mating season, the peacocks will do their ritualistic dance to attract the hens. Here, one of the youngest peacocks is fanning its tail in competition for the females. Although his tail is still very short, he does his best.
The stiff rear feathers underlie the front feathers and provide support when the whole tail is raised. At this stage, this bird’s tail is not very heavy, but it will grow longer and more showy as he ages.
During the dance, the peacock turns in circles showing off his tail. This display is known as “train-rattling.”
Another young peacock fans his tail nearby. He is also doing the ritualistic dance. These males start practicing their dances when very young.
Peacocks are polygamous by nature, often having several partners during the season, and after courtship, and mating.
Here is a white peahen, who doesn’t seem so interested in these young peacocks. Notice, the females are less iridescent with more muted colors and markings, and no long tails. She continues to forage for food on the ground. The birds get a healthy mix of cornmeal, soybean, and wheat. I also feed the birds spinach, cabbage, and squash. In the wild, peacocks are omnivores – they eat insects, plants, and small creatures. They do most of their foraging in the early morning and evening.
This hen is watching the activity from her perch. While these birds are ground feeders and ground nesters, they still enjoy roosting at higher levels. In the wild, this keeps them safe from predators at night. My outdoor birds all have access to natural perches made from old felled trees here at the farm.
Here’s a young peacock opening his tail inside the coop.
All peacocks and peahens will look you in the eye, but if you stare at them or seem aggressive in body movements, they will feel threatened. I love how friendly all my peacocks and peahens are with people.
And here is a mature male with his gorgeous tail feathers hanging behind him. After breeding season ends in August, the males lose their long tail feathers and then grow them back before the next breeding season begins. The train gets longer and more elaborate until five or six years old when it reaches maximum splendor.
Peacocks and peahens are very smart, docile and adaptable birds. They are also quite clever and very curious. This is a mature peahen.
The beautiful feathers of the peacock grow to five feet long when mature – that’s longer than the bird’s body.
And, a mature peacock can have up to 200 feathers in his tail, which can weigh about a half pound during mating season. Peahens usually choose males that have bigger, healthier plumage with an abundance of eyespots.
Here is one of my adult peacocks turning his body as he starts lifting his tail. Researchers found that the longer the train feathers, the faster the males would shake them during true courtship displays, perhaps to demonstrate muscular strength.
And here is a peahen watching with some interest – maybe.
Once a peafowl pair has bred, the peahen will usually lay about three to eight brown eggs. It then takes about 28 to 30 days for the eggs to incubate before hatching.
No matter the species, these male creatures boast impressively sized and patterned plumage as part of the courtship ritual – it’s so interesting to watch.
As beautiful as peafowls are, they don’t make very melodious sounds. Peafowls have 11 different calls, with most of the vocalizing made by the peacocks. Look at this bird’s train. One can see this “tail show” several times a day from each male in the enclosure during the season.
Here’s a closer look at the gorgeous eyespots on this mature male’s lower portion tail feathers.
Peafowls are stunning to look at, but do not underestimate their power. These birds are extremely strong with very sharp spurs – just look at the legs and feet of this peacock. Full-grown, peacocks can weigh up to 13-pounds. Females can weigh up to just under nine-pounds. I wonder if we’ll have any peachicks this year, stay tuned…
Skylands, my well-loved home in Maine, is under a blanket of snow.
The recent snowstorm, which covered my Bedford, New York farm with about six to seven inches of snow also hit Seal Harbor, Maine - it was the most significant snow we've had in the region this season. As you know, I don't get to visit my home in Maine as much as I would like during the winter months. Fortunately, Cheryl DuLong, who works at Skylands, is a wonderful photographer, and always keeps me updated by sending images of the property whenever she can. The weather there was a bit colder than here - in the high 20s, so the snow was light and fluffy and beautiful.
Enjoy these photos.
As soon as Cheryl arrived at Skylands, she went out to start taking photos. The snow was so pretty and still untouched.
Here is a clump of young spruce covered in white. Up in Maine, the snow was lighter and more powdery. The light fluffy snow forms when all layers of the atmosphere are below freezing. Because the air is cold, all the way down to the surface, snowflakes don’t melt, and that allows the individual flakes to stay light and fluffy.
The snow stuck to many surfaces including this ledge going from the back driveway to the front of Skylands.
Can you see the fir trees covered in snow? A little snow cover is actually good for the gardens, trees and plants. Snow cover helps keep the soil from freezing deeper in the ground preventing root damage. For small evergreen and non-deciduous shrubs such as rhododendrons, snow also helps to lessen the impact of desiccation or loss of water in the plants.
Cheryl captured this photo of the snow stuck to the trunks of the trees. Sometimes one can tell the direction of the wind by looking at how the snow accumulates on the bark of trees.
Here is a faux bois bench up at the lost pools, which are located just above the front circle.
This is the smaller of two lost pools at Skylands. It has no water now, of course, but during summer when my grandchildren were much smaller, they enjoyed wading and playing here and searching for frogs.
This is the larger of the two Jens Jensen–designed lost pools with its natural stone formation – now all covered with snow.
This is a view looking down from pools into the woodland.
Along one of the footpaths, this little light looked almost like a snow covered mushroom.
This image looks down toward the driveway of Skylands. Everything was covered in white, but weather forecasts expected temperatures to rise again into the high 30s, so this winter wonderland was not expected to last long.
This young spruce tree’s branches were completely disguised by the snow. Thankfully, the snow was light, so there was no damage to any trees or shrubs. When possible, the crew will also sweep some of the snow off the nearby trees and shrubs, especially if they are weighed down.
This photo shows the sunlight shining onto the snow covered rocks and trees. In the upper left corner is a gray box protecting one of the many garden urns at Skylands.
Here’s a mature spruce with all its snow covered branches. Spruce trees are pyramidal in shape with needles that are sharply pointed and square. I have many spruce trees as well as fir trees at Skylands.
Buried beneath this light layer of snow are the new buds of the wild blueberries growing at the edge of the driveway. These wild berries are so sweet – we harvest many during the summer.
Outside the front of my home is a circle garden planted with hay-scented ferns, purple smoke bushes, and spruce trees, Picea orientalis ‘Skylands’. When I found these trees, I got many to plant here in Maine.
Here is the back door and porch surrounded by spruce trees, maple trees, and hemlocks.
One of our favorite photos is the one taken of this dining room double pane window which faces south. One can see the beautiful and clear reflection of Seal Harbor and Sutton Island in the glass.
This is my favorite spruce tree, which can also be seen outside the dining room window. It is very tall and very old. Unfortunately, it may be nearing the end of its life – it loses a few branches every year.
Here is a view looking through the branches of the same tree out to the bright blue ocean beyond. Skylands is paradisiacal in any season – I can’t wait to return. Cheryl took all these photos just in time. Like us here in New York, Maine is also expecting another storm tomorrow, with perhaps more rain than snow.
Today, the temperature is expected to hit 44-degrees Fahrenheit at my Bedford, New York farm with clouds and possible showers in the afternoon - melting and washing away most of the recent snow.
Over the years, I've shared many photos of the white fluff across my farm's landscape, but the most beautiful are those images which capture the snow stuck to all the trees, shrubs, fences, and other surfaces. This happens when the temperature is slightly warmer than freezing, which is 32-degrees Fahrenheit or zero-degrees Celsius. The snowflakes melt around the edges and stick together to become big, heavy flakes.
Yesterday's snow was picture perfect. I shared some photos on my Instagram page @MarthaStewart48. Here are some more, enjoy.
Whenever it snows, it’s a rush to get photos before everyone starts arriving at the farm for work. On this morning, the farm was covered with about seven inches of beautiful white snow. Here is an image taken of the driveway in front of my Hay Barn. (Photo by Patrick Tierney)
Across the carriage road are six of these weeping hornbeams with my pavilion on the right. We prune these rare hornbeams regularly to keep the beautiful shape. (Photo by Chhiring Serpa)
This was not a strong storm, but it did drop heavy wet snow, which stuck to all the branches. Fortunately, there was no damage to any of the trees. These are some of the evergreens in my pinetum, an area I developed behind my Equipment Barn and near one of my weeping willow groves. The pinetum collection has grown so well over the years. It includes pines, spruces and firs, as well as other evergreens. (Photo by Phurba Sherpa)
Here is a view in between the stable and my carriage house looking north. The outbuilding on the opposite end is my stable office, where my business manager, property manager and operations manager work. (Photo by Fernando Ferrari)
Fernando also took this photo – down the allée of linden trees near my stable. The road is still so clean and white.
My outdoor grounds crew foreman, Chhiring Sherpa, took this photo just before sweeping the snow off the burlap-covered boxwood along my pergola. I am happy all the boxwood shrubs and hedges are still protected with burlap. This snow came very late in the season. (Photo by Chhiring Sherpa)
The frames under this burlap are made of steel and are regularly used to frame hoop houses. I knew the same materials would be great for covering the giant shrubs along the Boxwood Allée. (Photo by Fernando Ferrari)
Here is my studio building just below my carport. The snow seems to outline every branch of the Sargent crabapple trees. Malus sargentii, occasionally called Sargent’s apple or Sargent crabapple, is a species of crabapple in the genus Malus. This photo was taken before 8am. By late afternoon, much of it was washed away by rain showers. (Photo by Chhiring Sherpa)
Here is another photo showing the boxwood covered in front of my Winter House and around the herbaceous peony bed. (Photo by Elvira Rojas)
The snow was so wet that it stuck to the upright bark of these majestic pin oak trees.
Here is a view looking into the orchard – such a different scene than summer, when these trees are laden with colorful peaches.
The streams that meander through the farm’s woodland show the reflections of the snow covered trees above.
In this area of the woods, it is so quiet, one can just hear the snow falling in clumps from the trees.
This tree is barely visible covered in snow.
This carriage road is still clear of any tire marks. The untouched snow is so pretty early in the morning.
These trees are part of my “Christmas Tree” garden. I planted hundreds of evergreens here more than 10-years ago and they have all grown so beautifully – White Pine, Frasier Fir, Canaan Fir, Norway Spruce, and Blue Spruce.
These apple trees are original to the farm. They produce lots of delicious fruits every year.
Venturing further to the back hayfield, one comes across this stand of trees along one edge of the carriage road. I’ve planted thousands of trees here at the farm.
Do you recognize this? It is one of many catch basins around the property. They are all marked with black tipped stakes, so they are easy to find under the snow. They are all checked during the inclement weather to be sure the drainage holes are all clear. This one is in good working order.
This is my newest tropical hoop house – one of six greenhouses here at the farm. Because of the shape of this structure, snow just rolls off it – accumulating on the hay bales surrounding the base.
Here is a view across the paddock with the great Eastern White Pines standing strong and bold green.
Just outside my Winter House are four rows of espaliered apple trees. Birds love to congregate here after dining on the hanging bird feeders nearby.
Across from the dwarf espaliers are these espaliered “Gravenstein” apples.
The grove of bald cypress, Taxodium distichum, looks stately even without any foliage. The small structure nestled within the trees is my basket house – filled with beautiful antique and vintage wicker baskets.
This snow even covered every surface of my long and winding pergola. One can see snow on the granite uprights as well as the wooden cross beams and rafters.
Here’s a stand of dawn redwoods, Metasequoia, with their straight trunks – impressive trees by any standard, and beautiful in any season. One can sometimes tell the direction of the wind by the way the snow collects on the trees – it creates such interesting patterns on the tree trunks.
Here’s a view of the 100-year old white spruce fencing from Canada. It has newer cedar uprights to support it. I love how the snow collects on the fence rails.
One of the first tasks after a snow storm is to shovel all the snow leading to the bird enclosures and areas within the fenced in yards. The chickens are happy to venture out and enjoy the newly fallen snow. By afternoon, temperatures had already risen into the upper 30s.
This photo was taken in the late afternoon – the snow has already fallen off these linden trees. We’re expecting another storm end of this week, with possibly more snow – winter is definitely not over yet.
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