An End of January Snowfall

February 1, 2017

The temperatures dropped just enough for us to get a bit of snow here at my Bedford, New York farm. When I am home, I always try to take snapshots whenever the snow begins to fall - so many of you enjoy these photo tours throughout the seasons.

The snow began falling yesterday morning, and continued until evening. It was light, powdery and really quite beautiful. I was happy to see it didn't cause any damage to my boxwood hedges - they are all well-protected underneath their burlap shrouds.

Here is a selection of images from our most recent winter storm - enjoy.

: By mid afternoon, the snow was falling pretty heavily. This storm brought big flakes of snow which quickly covered the farm in a blanket of white.

: I love how the snow collects along the crossbars of the high fence enclosure surrounding my flower cutting garden.

: Just behind the flower cutting garden and my main greenhouse are rows of berry bushes. These are raspberry canes. Raspberries are unique because their roots and crowns are perennial, while their stems or canes are biennial. We recently gave these bushes a good pruning.

: This is the gooseberry patch. Gooseberries are one of summer’s delights. These small, tart fruits are delicious eaten raw at the peak of ripeness, or used for making jams, jellies, pies and other desserts. They are low in calories and packed with essential nutrients such as vitamins A and C, manganese and dietary fiber.

: Here’s my flower cutting garden. Underneath the snow is a fresh layer of dark, nutrient-rich compost, or “black gold”. The compost was just put down in preparation for the next planting season.

: On this side of the cutting garden is a pair of stately Kenneth Lynch garden urns covered in burlap for the winter.

: This is the carriage road along the curved clematis pergola. Wooden stakes painted in my signature “Bedford Gray” delineate the edges of the drive for snow removal purposes.

: This is the drive through the pin oak allee adjacent to the equipment barn. Pin Oak, Quercus palustris, typically grows to between 50 and 75 feet in height, with a trunk diameter of one to three feet. It has an oblong or rounded crown that becomes more irregularly open with age – such a lovely stand of trees.

: A favorite among guests to the farm is my grove of American beech trees. They are slow to grow, but can live up to 300-years – these trees are still holding their leaves.

: Many also comment on the fencing. It is 100-year old white spruce fencing with newer cedar uprights to support it. I love how the snow collects on the fence rails.

: This carriage road into woods winds so nicely with its canopy of naked tree branches overhead.

: This clearing is a hayfield. I have photographed this field many times through the seasons.

: Thankfully, the wind was not very strong, so none of the trees suffered any damage. These leafless trees still look so pretty with snow covering their branches.

: This is a view looking into the woods – I hope all the creatures are keeping warm in their woodland dens.

: This is the Christmas tree field across from my compost piles. I planted a total of 640 Christmas trees in this field – White Pine, Frasier Fir, Canaan Fir, Norway Spruce, and Blue Spruce.

: Here is one grove of weeping willows on the edge of my lower hayfield. The golden hue looks so pretty against the snowy landscape.

: Emerging from the woods and hayfields, past the majestic eastern white pines, Pinus strobus, a flock of Canadian geese are seen walking through the paddock. Look closely – they appear so tiny at the foot of these stately trees.

: A stand of dawn redwoods, Metasequoia, with their straight trunks. They are impressive trees by any standard, and beautiful in any season.

: This view looks down the length of the allee of linden trees. I love this allee – I only wish it was longer.

: This is a my herbaceous peony bed at rest – I cannot wait to see it overflowing with white and pink peony blooms this year. If you look closely, you can still see the outline of the beds through the snow.

: The snow collects on the burlap covers that protect my boxwood during winter. The shrubs beneath the burlap are not misshapened by the weight of the snow. It comforts me to see the burlap tee-pees protecting their delicate branches.

: One never tires of this beautiful panoramic view of my paddocks and the ancient apples. These are some of the oldest trees on the property,

: To the left, in the paddock near the corn crib, is a younger allee of Lindens, Tilia. This allee runs perpendicular to the Boxwood Allee that leads to my stable.

: The old corn crib is original to the farm. The unique “keystone” shape, flaring from bottom to top, was designed to shed water.

: Birds still come to feast at the feeders. I have many bird feeders on this long pergola and on the back of my carport across the carriage road. I am glad the birds can depend on food here at the farm all year long.

: Here are four sergeant crab apples – two on each side of this carriage road heading toward the pergola.

: This is the little basket house nestled in the grove of bald cypress. Bald cypress, Taxodium distichum, are fast growing North American natives. They are deciduous conifers that shed their needle-like leaves in the fall.