It started off as a day of much needed rain, which then developed into snow - the first of the season.
Until now, it's been unusually dry and warm here at my farm, but yesterday we got a couple inches of wet snow - enough to cover much of the landscape in white. Fortunately, all the plants are tucked away in temperature-controlled greenhouses and hoop houses, but we are still in the process of preparing for the winter season ahead. Soon all the shrubs, hedges, and cold-sensitive garden containers will be covered in burlap.
Here are a few photos, enjoy.
Even if one is not a big fan of cold weather, there is always a bit of excitement with the first snow of the season. On this early morning, my stable manager, Helen Peparo, captured some photos of the newly fallen snow from inside and outside the stable.
We got enough snow just to cover the ground and the tops of the boxwood. My allée is still due to be covered in protective burlap, but this snow will be brushed off all the boxwood around the farm by hand… and broom.
Jude “JJ” Junior, one of my five donkeys, is looking out onto the snow covered pasture. Donkeys are not as adaptable to the cold weather as horses, but my donkeys don’t seem to mind the chill in the air or the snow under their hooves.
Meanwhile, my Friesian horses and Fell pony enjoy the cooler temperatures. They stayed inside overnight while the storm passed through, but were then let out into my run-in paddock first thing in the morning.
This is Mayo, also known as “May-May’ – one of my two stable kittens. This is the first snow for the feline sisters, and while May May appears to be hiding under the boxwood here, it didn’t take long before she was out exploring her winter wonderland.
This photo shows the gray skies. Gray skies are caused by a phenomenon called a temperature inversion, where cold air near the ground is trapped by a layer of warmer air above, leading to the formation of thick, flat stratus clouds that block sunlight and leave only gray.
Footprints in the snow… I wonder what little creature left them.
While the morning skies were gray, some patches of color were still visible down below. Here, one can see the reddish tint of the blueberry bushes and the green in the lawn and boxwood.
These are the stone pavers outside my Tenant House – outlined in snow. The Old Farmer’s Almanac predicts this winter will be wet and cold. We certainly need more precipitation, so we’ll see.
My operations manager, Matt Krack, took this closeup of the snow melting on fallen leaf later in the day. Snow forms when the temperature is at or below 32-degrees Fahrenheit. At this temperature, water vapor in the atmosphere condenses directly into ice crystals. The day warmed quickly to the mid 40s.
The pachysandra in front of my Winter House was nearly all covered in snow…
… And so were the horizontal tops of the antique fence rails.
Snow fell around the apple trees, leaving patches of earth still exposed.
But it did stick to the stone walls.
This is the snow covered ground through the mid section of my long pergola. The uprights for this pergola are antique granite posts from China – originally used as grape supports. They’re perfect as posts because they don’t rot over time like the wood overhead.
And the cobblestones in the courtyard outside my stable are also coated with snow.
And by late afternoon, the sun was back out and the skies were blue. Today’s weather is expected to be mostly sunny with partly cloudy skies and temperatures in the high 40s. And the next chance of rain… maybe Tuesday.
It takes a lot of work to maintain the fencing here at my Bedford, New York farm.
My pasture fencing is made from 100-year-old white spruce railings I purchased in Canada. When the fences were built, I used new cedar uprights to support them. They've held up very well over the years, but a number of posts are now deteriorated and need replacing. Pete Sherpa and Fernando Ferrari, longtime members of my outdoor grounds crew, take on the task whenever they can. It's a tedious process and has to be done by hand so as not to damage the antique wood.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
I have lots of fencing here at the farm. It surrounds my horse paddocks, my orchard, and various other trees. The antique railings were constructed into a split rail fence and are in good shape, but many of the cedar uprights are deteriorated, wobbly and no longer support the railings as they should.
This fence surrounds a maple tree inside a paddock to keep the horses from rubbing against it.
Many of you have commented on how much you admire these fences. The railings are sandwiched between two cedar posts buried deep into the ground.
My donkeys, Friesian horses, and Fell pony get turned out into their paddocks every day, so it is important to maintain the fences and ensure they are all in good condition. Truman “TJ” Junior and Jude “JJ” Junior spend most of the days in their large fenced-in enclosure.
I pay close attention to everything at the farm. Here is one upright post that needs replacing. It was part of a broken fence section around my orchard.
One of the tools used is this post hole digger on the right – this tool is available at any hardware store. A post hole digger is also known as a clamshell digger, because of its resemblance to the seaside shell.
Strong, metal tamping bars are great for digging postholes and tamping the soil around a post once it is set.
The nails used to secure the railings are quite long – four inches. It takes a bit of time to remove them so they can be reused.
Pete already removed the visible section of post, but it broke in two and the bottom is still in the hole. He tries to loosen the soil around it by hand using the tamping bar.
Pete uses the post hole digger to try to pull the rest of the post out, but it doesn’t budge.
He tries again with the tamping bar. One can see the remaining piece of the post still wedged in pretty tightly.
Pete secures one end of a chain to the piece stuck in the hole and the other end to the bar.
Pete then pulls out the old, deteriorated base.
These posts will be chipped and repurposed as top dressing for woodland trees at a later time.
Fernando takes away the old post…
… As Pete brings in the new.
All the new uprights are placed next to the ones being removed.
Once a new post is positioned three feet down into the hole, Pete and Fernando adjust it for level, and turn the post so that the nicest side faces out. The new posts will be very secure here – and no cement is needed.
Once backfilled, Pete uses a tamping bar to pack the soil tightly around the post.
Fernando rakes around the post to make the area neat and tidy.
The new upright is secured with the same four-inch nails to keep it in line with the railings and the other post.
The next step is to cut the tops of the new posts, so they are all the same height as the fence. This project will take some time to complete with all the fencing on the property, but we’re making good progress. Thanks, Pete and Fernando.
I love visiting Maine in the summer, when I can enjoy the great weather with family and friends, but it's also very beautiful there in autumn, especially at Skylands, my beloved home overlooking Seal Harbor.
Cheryl DuLong, who helps me care for Skylands, loves the outdoors and nature. She often keeps me updated by sending photographs of the property and the surrounding areas. While we are getting some much needed rain here in New York today, I thought I'd share some her most recent late fall images taken at sunrise and at sunset.
Enjoy.
On this day earlier this week, Cheryl wanted to be sure she caught the sunrise. What a beautiful photo taken between the trees. Skylands and the surrounding areas have already passed their peak of fall foliage – many of the deciduous trees are now bare.
This photo was taken of “Rockefeller’s Teeth” and a back footpath to my home. In summer, the area is filled with greenery – ferns and other perennials. They have all been cut back for the winter.
If you’re not familiar with “Rockefeller’s Teeth,” it is a name affectionately given to the large, irregular blocks of granite that serve as guardrails. One sees many along the carriage roads at Acadia National Park.
And see what is on the other side – a 30-foot drop. We’re thankful for those “teeth.”
This gazebo overlooks my tennis court. In summer, I set chairs and refreshments there for any players and their spectators.
This is the larger of two Jens Jensen–designed lost pools with its natural stone formation. Now it is drained of water and cleaned for winter. My outdoor grounds crew will fill the pools again in spring.
One will always get good exercise at Skylands. This is the walking path up on the hill near the lost pools. Low pathway lights guide walkers at night.
This is my Counsel Circle and fire pit – a wonderful place to gather for evening chats and maybe even a ghost story or two.
There is a lot of moss at Skylands. Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants that typically form dense green clumps or mats, often in damp or shady locations. During summer, we fill garden planters with moss and other natural elements. Once the season is over, we always make sure the moss we harvested is returned to the forest where it can regenerate and flourish.
This is my circular driveway in front of Skylands. In summer, it’s filled with color from the lush plantings – purple smoke bushes, hay-scented ferns, and these yellow spruce trees, Picea orientalis ‘Skylands’.
The stairs outside the council circle are guarded by Chinese Fu Dogs. Also known as Chinese guardian lions or stone lions, these are symbolic statues traditionally placed at an entrance to protect it from harmful spirits and people.
And this is a beautiful autumn view of Seal Harbor. Most of the boats have disappeared from their harbor moorings. Sutton Island is in the distance – a small, private island south of where I am on Mount Desert.
In the afternoon, Cheryl went out again, in search of more beautiful photographic settings. Here is a young rhododendron that seeded itself outside.
Here is a sunset view between the branches of a tall spruce tree from my dining room window to the west. Seal Harbor is in the distance.
This wall is seen outside the laundry room windows. The evergreens sometimes cast interesting shadows on the stone.
If you follow this blog regularly, you will recognize my large “cracked ice” terrace at Skylands. This photo taken from an upstairs terrace. Here, one can see the branches of the original kiwi vines on the house that are still thriving after all these years. The sundial above the doorway on the right is also original to the home. A sundial tells the time of day using the position of the sun in the sky. It has a flat plate and a gnomon, which casts a shadow onto the dial. It is very accurate.
This photo shows the charming Ox Ledge gazebo next to the Overlook garden.
Here is why I call it the lookout. This gazebo looks out onto Sutton Island, part of the Cranberries, and the ocean beyond.
At sunset, the brilliant colors are reflected in the clouds – stunning red and orange hues.
And here are “Rockefeller’s Teeth” again at the end of the day, now with the setting sun as its backdrop. Thanks, Cheryl, for these great photos. I am looking forward to my next visit to my beloved Skylands.
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