Whenever friends, family, and colleagues travel, I always encourage them to take lots of photos - it's always so much fun to see images from others taken during their vacations.
Earlier this month, my property manager, Doug White, and his girlfriend Amy Wilbur, spent a week in Northern California visiting family and friends. While there, they relaxed on the beaches of Trinidad, hiked the trails of Prairie Creek State Park lined with majestic old-growth redwoods, and drove along sections of the famous Pacific Coast Highway Route 101.
Here are some of their photos, enjoy.
Trinidad, California is a seaside town in Humboldt County, located on the Pacific Ocean and noted for its spectacular coastline of beaches and offshore rocks. Situated directly above its own natural harbor, Trinidad is one of California’s smallest incorporated cities. In 2010, it was recorded to have a population of 367 residents.
This is a view from Wedding Rock Point in Trinidad. Wedding Rock is a landmark at Patrick’s Point State Park. It was named after its original caretaker got married there in the early 1900s. From this vantage point, visitors from November through April may sometimes catch a sight of migrating California Grey Whales.
Doug and Amy stayed in a quaint bed and breakfast where they had breathtaking sunset views with the fog rolling over the ocean.
Here’s Doug at the base of one of the trees in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park – a 14,000 acre park and coastal sanctuary for old-growth Coast Redwood trees.
While hiking, they saw many trees previously damaged by forest fires. One can see the charred bark from remains of this redwood.
Here is another tree damaged by fire. Thankfully, many of the trees do survive.
Here is a wider view from one of the trails. Coast redwood, Sequoia sempervirens, and Douglas-fir, Pseudotsuga menziesii, are two of the dominant trees of the old-growth redwood forest. The park takes its name from Prairie Creek which flows near the western edge of the park.
Here is the base of another redwood. Many redwoods in the park have reached 300 feet tall.
The park is also home to luxuriant ferns and other shade and moisture-loving plants.
The trees are left in place after falling. Here, ladders are built on both sides of a tree that fell across the trail.
Here’s Doug standing in the middle of Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway which passes through the heart of the old-growth redwood forest.
Have you ever seen one of these before? It’s a banana slug – a North American terrestrial slug of the genus Ariolimax. They’re often bright yellow, but they can also come in green, brown, tan, or white. Banana slugs are a very beneficial species because they help break down decomposing vegetation and return the nutrients to the soil. But don’t touch one – banana slug slime is also an anesthetic, so it could make one’s skin feel numb.
On this day, Doug and Amy drove along a stretch of US Route 101. Known as the Pacific Coast Highway, California U.S. Route 101, or Route 1 in some areas, runs directly along the Pacific Ocean for 790 miles, from San Diego all the way to the Oregon border.
Here’s another view from the road. US 101 was one of the original national routes established in 1926. Significant portions between the Los Angeles area and the San Francisco Bay Area follow El Camino Real, the commemorative route connecting the former Alta California’s 21 missions. When Fr. Junipero Serra began building his string of missions up the California coastline in the late 1700s, he needed a wagon road to connect them, so he constructed the state’s first highway. For nearly two centuries the road was the principal north-south route in California.
They stopped at Pelican State Beach, a five-acre beach known for its sandy dunes and driftwood. Many visitors come here for walking and beach-combing. Because of its remote location and easy-to-miss access road, it has been described as “the loneliest beach in California”.
This beach is in Jenner-By-The-Sea – a quaint oceanside Northern California village overlooking the mouth of the Russian River, where it meets the Pacific Ocean.
Another section along US Route 101 took Doug and Amy through this row of towering blue gum eucalyptus trees, Eucalyptus globulus – tall, fast-growing trees with blue-green leaves and shaggy bark.
And if you’ve ever been to Northern California, I am sure you are familiar with this bridge – the famous Golden Gate, a 4200-foot suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the one-mile-wide strait connecting San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean.
Here’s a view of San Francisco from Alcatraz Island, home of the well-known federal penitentiary which housed some of the most dangerous civilian prisoners.
And here is a view of Oakland – a city on the east side of San Francisco Bay and Doug and Amy’s last stop before returning home to the East Coast. Here, they captured another gorgeous sunset from their hotel room to close their memorable trip.
Whenever I work on a new apparel collection, I always test every piece myself. It’s important to me that I offer only those items that I like to wear – and I love this collection. Every piece is versatile, stylish, and so comfortable. Here I am at my farm with my handsome Chow Chow, Emperor Han, in my Relaxed Utility Shirt, and Relaxed Cargo Pants with my Slub Cotton Crewneck T-Shirt – all in taupe.
This monochromatic look is one of my signature styles. Pulling items of the same hue is a quick and easy way to always look put together. This collection was designed to be mix and match with some of my favorite colors and styles. My Relaxed Utility Shirt is made from naturally breathable Lyocell fabric and is also available in black and turtle.
My Relaxed Utility Cargo Pants have drawstrings at the bottom hem, so they can be worn cinched or loose and full length.
Everyone’s wearing camo these days. You’ll love my Utility Field Jacket. It’s made out of 100-percent waxed cotton twill in this chic, versatile camouflage print. I’m wearing it over my Relaxed V-Neck Slub Tee.
Here I am in my greenhouse. This jacket is so comfortable, I can wear it while tending my begonias. Plus, it’s waterproof. That’s right – water beads and rolls right off.
This jacket also has durable, roomy pockets for warming your hands on chilly fall days, or for carrying keys and that much-needed mobile phone.
Here I am in one of my chicken coops holding a charming white Silkie chicken. If you’re not familiar, the Silkie, also known as the Silky or Chinese silk chicken, is a breed of chicken named for its atypically fluffy, satin-like plumage. This breed is very calm and friendly – we all love visiting them in their enclosure. I am wearing my new Work Jean Jacket and Work Jeans – paired together for a denim-on-denim look. The jeans can be cuffed or worn full length.
I also have a Mid-Rise Crop Flare Jean. These jeans feature the classic 5-pocket design with a button-fly closure. These come in white, blue, and night indigo.
One of our big favorites is this Utility Jumpsuit – every wardrobe needs one. Made from breathable Lyocell fabric known for its soft sheen and flattering drape, this easy-zip jumpsuit with strategically placed pockets flatters nearly every figure. Choose from three versatile garment-dyed hues – black, turtle, and washed taupe. I pair it with my popular Puffer Vest.
I love these Puffer Vests so much. I dubbed it “the new sweater.” They come in warm tones…
… and cool tones. Be like me and get one of each – you’ll be wearing one every day now that it’s fall. They’re so comfortable, warm, and go with everything. The tote bags are also available on Martha.com.
Here’s my full range of vests, including my newest leopard print exclusively for Martha.com!
I also love this classic – my Popover Poplin Shirt. It’s a crisp, clean, and decidedly feminine take on a classic men’s tuxedo shirt, and designed to be worn untucked. Here, I am wearing it with my must-have Mid-rise Skinny Jeans.
Here’s a peek at what’s to come later this season – my Poet Blouse in 100-percent cotton vanilla bean floral print. It has adjustable drawstrings at the neck and bottom hem, and full ¾-length sleeves with elasticized cuffs.
And my Luxe Cashmere Blended Crewneck Sweater with fashionably chic full sleeves – also coming out soon. This color is washed taupe, but it will also be available in black and medium heather gray. We’re developing pieces all the time, so be sure to go to Martha.com often to check out our newest offerings. I am so excited about this Collection – I know you’ll love it as much as I do.
Here at my Bedford, New York farm, even rainy days can be extremely productive.
Whenever it's stormy outside and my gardeners and outdoor grounds crew are unable to work in the woods or gardens, I encourage them to take stock of the equipment, clean everything, and then organize all the tools and supplies. After I bought this property, it became quickly apparent that I would need a large building to store equipment. The structure is about 40 by 120 feet, with a substantial amount of height. It is where we keep our mowers, blowers, tractors, tools, and other pieces of important machinery. Yesterday, while it poured for hours, we cleared the space, washed the floors, organized and inspected every item before returning it neatly to its spot, so everything is in good order and ready to use. Keeping things well maintained and properly stored will always save time in the long run.
Enjoy these photos.
The soaking rains started overnight and lasted through most of the day. The skies were an ominous gray and we did have some thunder and lightning, but fortunately, no high or damaging winds.
I built this Equipment Barn soon after purchasing the farm. I wanted it to be an attractive structure in an easy access location. This building is just off the carriage road next to my hay barn and vegetable greenhouse. I also wanted it to have a comfortable room for the crew to have their breaks and lunches. This is one of two giant sliding doors – one at each end.
Here is a view of the inside. To clean it thoroughly, everything is brought out, the floor is cleaned and then everything is returned to its proper place. At night, this barn accommodates all our farm vehicles. Above, the space is well lit with these big overhead lamps. I use very utilitarian lighting and fans wherever I can.
And here’s Moises sweeping all the debris on the floors – soil, leaves, dust, etc. These rugged cement floors are then washed and blown dry.
The wood chipper is an important piece of equipment at the farm. I am fortunate to have this machinery to chip fallen or cut branches and then return them to the woodland for top dressing various areas. It has a special parking spot in one corner of the barn.
And, I also have this vintage Allis-Chalmers tractor from the 1940s. It reminds us how much these farm pieces have evolved over the years.
Do you recognize this? It was our Martha by Mail truck, but was repainted last year to be our Martha.com truck. It originally was a postal delivery truck from the 80s, which I bought years ago. Phurba gives it a good power wash.
Domi and Pasang fold all the tarps neatly, so they can be gathered in a pile and stored.
Chemicals and oils are always kept in this storage cabinet specifically designed for flammables.
All the garden tools are hung on sturdy hooks. It is so important that each tool is wiped down thoroughly after every use. These hooks store our spades in all sizes for different jobs.
We keep like items together, so we know where to find them and how many we have in supply. Here are some of our shovels. Do you know the difference between a shovel and a spade? A shovel is longer, angled, and its blade is curved into more of a scoop with a pointed tip. Shovels are better for digging up, breaking apart, and lifting soil as well as for scooping and moving loose materials. A spade has a relatively flat blade with straight edges and the blade tends to be in line with the shaft, rather than angled forward. Spades are good for edging and cutting.
And these are forks. This hook is for our spade forks used for bulky material such as hay or straw, manure, leaves, or compost. These are sometimes also called pitch forks.
These are long handled cultivating forks which are bent at the end in order to turn the soil.
These are long-handled garden hoes – they’re lightweight and designed for close weeding and cultivating, while the point is ideal for making seed furrows in the garden bed.
And here we store bulb planters – manual tools that are used to press into the soil, cutting a two to four inch hole for planting bulbs.
We also have hard bow rakes and soft rakes. Bow rakes have a number of other names as well, including level heads, soil rakes, and ground rakes. These rakes consist of a long head that is straight with stiff, short tines that are very rigid and don’t bend or flex. They are ideal for making planting rows and breaking up hard clumps of soil. We also use them to shape our raised garden beds. A soft rake or leaf rake is a lightweight rake that is shaped like a fan with flat, springy tines radiating outward. This type of rake is designed to be light enough to glide over grass without damaging it.
Ladders of various sizes rest against one wall close to one set of large barn doors.
I have thousands of these black granite bricks that I bought years ago. We use them for raising garden planters and to line the footpaths in my flower garden and pergola. Unused bricks are stored neatly in one corner.
On this section of wall, we hang all the leaf blowers and weed-whackers, or string trimmers. Our blowers are made by STIHL. We’ve been using STIHL’s backpack blowers for years here at my farm. These blowers are powerful and fuel-efficient. The gasoline-powered engines provide enough rugged power to tackle heavy debris while delivering much lower emissions.
On this side of the Barn, we keep our fleet of Kubota mowers. They are all parked by the back entrance to the barn during the summer season when they are used daily.
Everything is now back in the large holding area ready to use. The space in the foreground is earmarked for our Kubota tractors, which are still out being used. It is so nice to know all our equipment can fit neatly in this Equipment Barn.
And look, by late afternoon, blue skies returned overhead – making it a most pleasant evening here in the New York City area. Tomorrow is expected to be much cooler with temperatures topping only in the 60s. Fall is here, and we’re ready for the next season’s tasks.
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