This Week of Bitter Cold and Snow at My Farm
Temperatures here in the New York City area are expected to reach the high 20s today - that's actually warmer than the last couple of days we've had in the single digits. But it's still bitter cold, so any snow from this latest storm will have to wait a little longer before melting.
Over the years I've shared many photos of the white fluff across my farm's landscape, but some of the most beautiful are those images I capture early in the morning as the sun is rising and the snow is still fresh on the ground. If you follow me on Instagram @MarthaStewart48, you may have seen a few of my latest winter pictures - all taken while I was plowing the four miles of carriage road around the property. I am always happy to take on the job!
Here are a few more photos, enjoy.
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- I honestly enjoy my Polaris vehicles. This Polaris XP Ranger has 80 horsepower. It is easy to handle and helps with so many of the chores around the farm. When I plow, I always leave an inch of snow on the top, so the roads still look pretty and the gravel underneath is left undisturbed.
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- On this day, the snow started overnight and lasted until early morning. I got out before 7am to take these photos.
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- My azaleas and the trees above are bare – very different looking from mid-May when they erupt with swaths of bright colors.
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- This heavy snow stuck well to branches of the evergreens. This is one of a group of large Fernspray Hinoki cypress bushes along the carriage road just past my allée of lindens near the entrance to my Japanese Maple Woodland.
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- And here is my stand of American beech trees. They are slow to grow but can live up to 300-years.
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- Tucked away between the Equipment Barn and a grove of weeping willows is my pinetum. It includes pines, spruces, and firs, as well as other evergreens.
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- At 7am, my outdoor grounds crew is already busy clearing. Here’s Jimmy shoveling snow from the doorways around my stable.
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- After it snows, my crew sweeps the snow off the burlap that covers most of the boxwood here at the farm. This time of year, I am very relieved the hedges and shrubs are protected. Heavy snow could splay the branches.
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- My horses don’t seem to mind the winter weather at all. In fact, a horse’s respiratory system is designed to warm incoming air. It is also good for dissipating heat in summer.
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- In a back field are these evergreens. This is my “Christmas Tree Garden.” I planted hundreds of Christmas trees in this area – White Pine, Frasier Fir, Canaan Fir, Norway Spruce, and Blue Spruce. They’ve grown so much since they were planted in 2009.
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- By afternoon, clouds covered the skies above my pergola but there were peeks of sunshine. Despite the cold, it was a lovely day.
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- This snow was followed by two days of frigid cold – even the snow on the cobblestone, which is exposed to full sun, did not melt away.
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- My donkeys in their nearby paddock – waiting patiently for visitors with full pockets of treats.
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- Here is a view looking through my orchard that surrounds the pool. More than 200-fruit trees are planted in this space.
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- And here are the trunks of the mighty pin oaks that grow alongside my large Equipment Barn.
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- Outside my giant half-acre vegetable garden is this weeping copper beech tree, Fagus sylvatica ‘Purpurea Pendular’, an irregular spreading tree with long, weeping branches that reach the ground in summer.
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- My vegetable garden is put to bed for the season, but time goes fast. It won’t be long before fresh, organic vegetables fill every bed once again.
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- In the woodland, a stream peeking through the blanket of white. The woodland streams are full, but semi-frozen.
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- For now, it’s cold and icy everywhere. These icicles are hanging over the windows to my studio. This weekend is expected to bring warmer weather and maybe lots of melting.
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- This is a row of six weeping hornbeams, Carpinus betulus Pendula. They line one side of the soccer field I set up for my grandson, Truman. These are such graceful and shapely specimen trees, very densely branched and adaptable to various soil conditions – a lovely view in any season.
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