Here in the Northeast we've had several days of heavy rain, but one group around my farm couldn't be happier - my gaggle of geese.
I share my farm with 14 beautiful geese, including Sebastopols, Toulouse, Africans, Chinese, and, of course, my ever-watchful Pomeranian guard geese. For these birds, rainy weather can be very beneficial. It gives them the chance to bathe and preen, keeps their feathers in top waterproof condition, softens the ground for easier foraging, and helps them stay cool and comfortable in the warmer weather.
Here are a few photos, enjoy.
Hard to tell, but this photo was taken when it was pouring rain – and the geese are loving it. My geese have a large yard located right outside my stable.
They enjoy being out in the rain, flapping their wings and walking through the mud and muck.
They also love to gather close together most of the time. And do you know, a group of geese on land is called a gaggle. This is because when geese get together they can get quite noisy and rowdy.
And, while the term “goose” may refer to either a male or female bird, when paired with “gander,” the word goose refers specifically to a female. Gander is the term used to identify a male. Here is my pair of Chinese geese. The Chinese goose is refined and curvaceous.
The Chinese goose holds its head high. Its head flows seamlessly into a long, slim, well-arched neck which meets the body at about a 45 degree angle. Its body is short, and has a prominent and well-rounded chest, smooth breast and no keel. Mature ganders average 12 pounds, while mature geese average 10 pounds. Their bills are relatively long and slender, with a large, rounded, erect knob that attaches to its forehead.
Look closely at the Chinese geese in the back compared to the Sebastopol goose in front. The Chinese geese most likely descended from the swan goose in Asia, though over time developed different physical characteristics, such as longer necks and more compact bodies. The Chinese goose is a very hardy and low-maintenance breed.
Most domestic geese have larger back ends than their wild counterparts and stand more upright.
In flight, a group of geese is called a skein. On the water or flying close together, specifically in a “V” formation, a group is referred to as a wedge of geese.
Everyone asks about the Sebastopols. These birds are considered medium-sized birds. Both males and females have pure white feathers that contrast with their bright blue eyes and orange bills and feet. Sebastopol geese have large, rounded heads, slightly arched necks, and keelless breasts.
And what is most striking is the plumage. A Sebastopol’s plumage of the head and upper two-thirds of the neck is smooth, while that of the breast and underbody is elongated and well-curled. Though domesticated breeds of geese generally retain some flight ability, Sebastopol geese cannot fly well due to the curliness of their feathers and have difficulty getting off the ground.
This is a male African goose – a breed that has a heavy body, thick neck, stout bill, and jaunty posture which gives the impression of strength and vitality. The African is a relative of the Chinese goose, both having descended from the wild swan goose native to Asia.
The mature African goose has a large knob attached to its forehead, which requires several years to develop. A smooth, crescent-shaped dewlap hangs from its lower jaw and upper neck. Its body is nearly as wide as it is long. African geese are the largest of the domestic geese.
His mate is never far behind.
And this buff-brown goose is called a Toulouse. On this breed, the bill is stout, the head large and broad, and the moderately long neck is thick and nearly straight. Often suspended from the lower bill and upper neck is a heavy, folded dewlap that increases in size and fullness with age. The body is long, broad and deep, ending in a well-spread tail that points up slightly. And thanks to the breed’s honks, my Toulouse geese make excellent guardians. They can scare off any animals on the ground and they’re great at spotting aerial predators, such as hawks and falcons.
Here is a Pomeranian guard goose preening, or cleaning its feathers with its beak.
The rain gives the geese a great opportunity to clean themselves.
While both ducks and geese love water, geese don’t require a pond or large swimming pool – they swim much less than ducks and are content with a small dipping pool where they can dunk and clean their noses and beaks. My geese have lots of vessels and pools in which to dunk their heads or entire bodies in refreshing water.
Geese are grazing birds which means they eat a variety of different items. They eat roots, shoots, stems, seeds, and leaves of grass and grain, bulbs, and berries. They also eat small insects. In addition, I fortify their diet with a mix specifically made for waterfowl.
Geese also have impressive visual capabilities. The way their eyes are structured allows them to see things in much finer detail at a further distance than humans. They can also see UV light and can control each of their eyes independently.
And waterfowl don’t need roosts – they are very happy gathering together and sleeping on the ground.
This is Bear. He was incubated and hatched right here at the farm. He is about five years old and is very attached to the humans, but his “affectionate” pecks can sometimes be a bit insistent.
My gaggle of geese is fun, friendly, personable, and very protective. It’s a joy to have them here at Cantitoe Corners.
It's unmistakably mid-summer when my long, winding pergola is aglow with the luminous orange blooms of tiger lilies.
Set along one side of the carriage road near my Tenant House, this pergola goes through several transformations during the year. In winter, the beds are bare, while the bordering boxwood is carefully swathed in protective burlap. As spring gives way to early summer, bold purple alliums, Spanish bluebells, and blue Camassia create a striking display, followed by the delicate shades of lavender from the flowering clematis vines that wrap around each of the antique granite posts. Now, hundreds of brilliantly speckled tiger lilies brighten the garden bed - it's so beautiful.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
I hope you saw my Instagram video @MarthaStewart48. My pergola is filled with these striking lillies. Tiger lilies, Lilium lancifolium, bloom in mid to late summer, are easy to grow, and come back year after year.
Native to China and Japan, these robust flowers add dramatic beauty to any border with their bright and showy orange colored blooms.
In winter, my pergola is sleeping – the boxwood border is covered in burlap and the beds are bare.
By late May, this pergola garden is filled with lots of blue and purple flowers. This palette of colors is a big favorite at the farm – it grows more colorful and more vibrant every spring.
The beds are filled with brightly colored alliums, Camassia, and Hyacinthoides or Spanish bluebells.
And now it’s filled with bright orange lilies.
Tiger lilies are covered with black or deep crimson spots, giving the appearance of the skin of a tiger. They have large, down-facing flowers, each with six recurved petals. Many flowers can be up to five inches in diameter. And they’re well-known for having heavily pollinated stamens, which stain. When cutting, always remove the anthers to prevent a clothing disaster – just pinch them off with gloved fingers.
The tiger lily’s petals bend back far during the flowering cycle, curling up against its own stem and exposing the stamens and pistol for visiting pollinators.
There are also a few white lilies in this bed – adding more interest to the long floral display.
This lily is white and orange with orange pollinated stamens.
The leaves can grow to three inches long and about 3/4-inch wide. They are medium green, narrow, smooth along their margins, and glabrous, clasping the stem at their bases.
The blackish, round “seeds” that develop in the axils of the leaves along the main stem are called bulbils.
Along both sides of the pergola, I planted a hedge of smaller boxwood shrubs, which have grown excellently.
This pergola starts across from my perennial flower cutting garden and runs along the carriage road leading to my Winter House. It’s one of the first gardens guests see when they come to visit.
It’s also across the carriage road from my charming Basket house – filled with all kinds of wicker baskets I’ve collected over the years.
On the granite posts, there are still a few lasting clematis flowers. I have always loved clematis, and have grown many varieties of this wonderful plant.
I also have pops of daylilies. The daylily is a low-maintenance perennial—easy to grow, virtually disease- and pest-free, and able to survive drought, uneven sunlight, and poor soil. The daylily’s botanical name, Hemerocallis, comes from Greek hemera “day” and kallos meaning “beauty”. The name is appropriate, since each flower lasts only one day. Despite their name, daylilies are not “true lilies.” Leaves grow from a crown and the flowers form on leafless stems called “scapes,” which rise above the foliage.
And on one side of the pergola is my giant weeping copper beech tree. I have several large specimens on the property. The deep red to copper leaves grow densely on cascading pendulous branches.
And one by one, the orange lilies begin to open. New ones open every day during this time.
And there are still many more lilies waiting to bloom. Tiger lilies do best in full sun.
The entire pergola border and its surrounding gardens, trees, and other specimens provide a spectacular show every year.
Here at my farm, we're harvesting an abundance of fresh, nutritious produce from the garden.
Yesterday, my head gardener Ryan McCallister gathered a beautiful bounty of vegetables, including beans, artichokes, peppers, eggplants, carrots, onions, beets, celery herbs, and more. Growing all of this takes time, care, and plenty of hard work. From choosing the right varieties and preparing the soil to watering, weeding, and staking plants as they grow. It's so rewarding to see all that effort pay off in a healthy, productive harvest. And there's still plenty more to come.
Here are some photos.
After any harvest, the freshly picked vegetables are loaded up and brought to my flower room, where they can be washed if needed, then bagged and stored in the refrigerator. It makes me so happy to be able to share all of this produce with friends and family every summer.
The right time to harvest cabbage depends on the variety of cabbage planted and when the heads mature. Look for heads that are firm all the way through when squeezed – that’s when they’re ready.
I have such beautiful carrots this season. Most are familiar with the orange carrots, but they also come in red, yellow, white, and purple.
The carrots are rinsed in cold water and then placed in a large stainless steel bowl. Enma removes the outer leaves of the cabbage and rinses off any dirt.
Summer squash is best harvested when young, tender, and about eight inches long, with glossy, slightly firm skin.
Here’s one of the onions fresh from the garden.
Elvira peels off the outer layers and gently wipes each one clean.
These look so wonderful. I planted a lot of white, yellow and red onions. There will be a bigger onion harvest soon.
Here’s the season’s first big bounty of cucumbers. Cucumbers, Cucumis sativus, are great for pickling – I try to find time for pickling every year. I like them best when they are about six to eight inches in length. These will be so sweet and juicy.
The globe artichoke, Cynara scolymus, is actually a flower bud, which is eaten when tender. Buds are generally harvested once they reach full size, just before the bracts begin to spread open. Artichoke harvest starts in late July or early August and continues well until frost.
Enma uses a brush specifically made for removing dirt, debris and any bacteria left on the surface of the vegetable.
She carefully cleans the beets one by one.
And look at all the beets that were picked. Beets grow so well here at the farm. The beetroot is the taproot of the beet plant, and is often called the table beet, garden beet, red or golden beet or simply… beet.
There are two types of green beans. Pole beans grow on climbing vines and require trellising. Bush beans like these grow on bushes up to two feet and do not need support. And with the proper care, the bushes can produce beans through the entire season.
This celery will be so delicious in my daily green juice. Celery is ready when the stalks stand tall and have a diameter of about two to three inches.
Also great in my green juice is parsley. I always grow parsley in the garden. Parsley is a low-calorie, nutrient-dense herb that is rich in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.
It’s good to pick eggplants when they are young and tender. Try to pick a little early, which will encourage the plant to grow more, and will help to extend the growing season.
Peppers hold up great in the heat, and we’ve had a lot of warm days, so these should be very flavorful. Sweet bell peppers are popular in the garden – all grassy in flavor and crunchy in texture. I love making stuffed peppers.
I also grow many hot peppers to share. These thrive in full sun and are ready to pick when they are firm, green, and about three inches long. Be careful when picking peppers – always keep the hot ones separated from the sweet ones, so there is no surprise in the kitchen.
And a bucket of lush basil in green and purple. Basil is used for its fresh, sweet, and slightly peppery flavor.
What a fantastic bounty. Enma finishes cleaning all the vegetables so they’re ready to use. What are you picking from the garden this weekend?
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