Fog Over the Farm
I hope you all saw the photos on my Instagram page @MarthaStewart48 showing my Bedford, New York farm shrouded in a blanket of early morning fog.
Fog is made up of tiny water droplets or ice crystals - a result of the air being cooled to the point where it can no longer hold all the water vapor it contains. Because I live in close proximity to a reservoir, early patches of fog are common, especially in the fall and winter. When the fog is thick, visibility is reduced, making it very difficult for driving or even walking.
Here are more photos, enjoy.
-
- I always enjoy taking photos around the farm. The following photos were taken before 9am. The atmosphere is thick with fog. Here is a view through the Allee of Pin Oaks, which is just starting to turn colors. This particular morning was so foggy, one can barely see the other end of the Allee.
-
- The long pergola can be seen up close, but everything else is covered in fog.
-
- Here is the soccer field where my grandson, Truman, loves to play when he is here. The large regulation soccer net can hardly be seen in the distance. To the right are some of the quince trees, now laden with fruits.
-
- Here is a look at one entrance to the pool. Fog is actually made up of millions of tiny droplets of water floating in the air. It can form in two ways: either by cooling the air to its dew point or by evaporation and mixing – this happens when the earth radiates heat at night or in the early morning. I live in a region where there is additional moisture, so when the air is cooled, and the vapor starts to condense, patches of fog emerge.
-
- The carriage road to the woodland looks eerie surrounded by fog. Fog reduces visibility below one-kilometer, or six-tenths of a mile, making it very difficult to navigate. Some describe fog to be “as thick as pea soup”. This was originally used to describe the dingy yellow smog from burning soft coal common in Europe. Such fogs occurred in London until the Clean Air Act of 1956.
-
- These tall eastern white pines can be seen from nearly every vantage point on this side of the farm – still a bold and majestic sight even through the fog.
-
- More fog blocks a clear view of the trees. The thicker the fog, the longer it takes to dissipate.
-
- Here is a view from another side of the white pines. Fog is most likely to occur at night or near dawn when the temperature of the day is normally at its lowest.
-
- Hard to see down this path – the fog is still very low and thick. And don’t confuse fog with mist – mist is actually easier to see through. Visibility is at least a half-mile with mist. Visibility below this is considered fog.
-
- Look at the fog across the paddock – it’s so dense. However, the foggiest place in the world is the Grand Banks off the island of Newfoundland, Canada. It gets more than 200-days of fog per year.
-
- This view is from the stable looking down the long Boxwood Allee. Dense fog is when visibility is at least one-quarter mile or lower. And, when fog mixes with air pollution, it’s called smog.
-
- This is what we call the “house paddock” – it is closest to my home. In this paddock are the ancient apple trees on the left surrounded by antique fencing – barely visible now. And, can you see my house? It’s there…
-
- The sun is trying to peek through the morning fog. There are also several different types of fog – radiation fog, sea fog, ground fog, advection fog, steam fog or evaporation fog, precipitation fog, upslope fog, valley fog, ice fog, freezing fog, and artificial fog, which is when water, glycerin or propylene glycol are mixed together to create “fog juice” and then passed through a super-heated nozzle at high pressure and atomized into the air in a fine mist.
-
- This view is over a boxwood shrub and a cobweb. Do you know the difference between a spider web and a cobweb? A spider web typically refers to a web that is apparently still in use by an insect, whereas the term cobweb refers to one that has been abandoned.
-
- This view is over my stable and staff offices. The sky looks very flat when the atmosphere is full of fog. In desert areas where there is little rainfall, fog can also serve as a source of water. The Atacama Desert in Chile is one of the driest areas in the world. Early in the 20th century, it went a parching 173 months without rain. It does, however, experience frequent fog. When it is foggy, large nets are used to ‘catch’ the fog’s water droplets which then drip off into a gutter that collects the water.
-
- Fog is common near large bodies of water and valleys – my farm is not far from the reservoir.
-
- Unlike clouds, fog only forms at low altitudes. This is another view through the “house paddock.” On the left is one of two linden tree allees. The taller trees are sycamores.
-
- These wild geese can often be seen resting in large numbers in my paddocks. All the activity of my working farm doesn’t bother them one bit. Just behind the geese are my row of chicken coops.
-
- This is a photo of my American beech tree grove. Soon, these trees will show off their gorgeous autumn colors.
-
- Before 10am, the fog begins to lift. The day ended up to be quite overcast with temperatures in the low 70s. If one is lucky, one may also see a fog bow – a rainbow that appears in fog rather than during rainfall. They are fainter and slightly harder to see than rainbows, but the complete circle of the optical effect may be visible. No fog bows this time, but perhaps we’ll see one the next time the fog rolls in…
Martha Pins
Martha Tweets
