My longtime driver, Carlos "Uno" Villamil, is at it again - taking photos around the farm and sharing his unique perspective on the places we see every day.
Carlos is an avid photographer. On many evenings just before sunset, he takes my five dogs out for a walk or drive around the property with his camera in hand. Along the way, he captures images of the gardens, trees, flowers, the sweeping landscapes, the colorful sky, etc. And then he shares his photos with me and all the others that work here.
Enjoy some of the photos he's taken this season.
Carlos has seen all of these gardens develop – he’s been working with me for more than 25 years. This is my large hosta garden located down behind my chicken coops.
These hostas are planted under the shade of these great dawn redwoods, Metasequoia. I planted these trees when they were just a few feet tall.
Across the carriage road from the hostas is my newest formal rose garden. Earlier this year, I transformed what was previously my lilac allée. I planted more than 140 new roses to add to the existing rose bushes and surrounded them all with a border of boxwood.
This is one of my horse pastures. In the distance are the tall eastern white pines that were here when I moved to the farm. The trees in front of them are lindens. The allée stretches from my long pergola down to the chicken coops.
I planted climbing hydrangeas at the base of some of the trees around my home. They bloom wonderfully every year.
Here’s my handsome Chow Chow Emperor Han on the cool stone floor of my stable. He adores Carlos and loves to accompany him wherever he goes.
This is my pinetum just off the carriage road behind my Equipment Barn. I started it about 20 years ago. As an arboretum of pine trees and other conifers, this area provides shelter and nesting sites for small birds, and continuous, year-round interest and greenery in the landscape.
Carlos enjoys capturing photos of the changing skies. On this warm summer day, there was nothing but beautiful blue above the farm.
Aside from his love for photography, Carlos also enjoys helping me with the gardening. He feeds many of the plants for me – with Miracle-Gro, of course.
Here’s one of my three French Bulldogs, Luna Muna. She loves going for rides in the Polaris off-road vehicle with her “Uncle Carlito.”
Here, Carlos notices the interesting bark of the London Plane tree. As these trees mature, they show mottled, exfoliating bark that reveals a camouflage-like pattern of pale yellow, grey, white, and brown patches.
Not far is my grove of weeping willows. Anyone who drives by this hayfield at my farm can see these tall weeping willows along one edge. Weeping willows are upright, fast-growing, deciduous trees that can grow up to 80-feet tall. Because of their massive root systems, they need a fair amount of room to grow. They also prefer wet feet and are often planted on the banks of streams and rivers to prevent erosion.
Here’s a photo of my stable complex on July 3rd, the evening before Independence Day – clouds were rolling in.
Nearby, Carlos takes this photo of our trusted Kubota tractor, which is used for so many jobs here at the farm.
This photo was taken a short time later – here the skies are looking quite gray and ominous.
Here’s Carlos in my half-acre vegetable garden. What are you harvesting for me, Carlos?
Carlos also enjoys taking photos of the flowers. This year, the hydrangeas are so prolific. I have hydrangeas blooming all over the farm.
This photo showing blue hydrangeas and some pink phlox was taken earlier this month. The foliage is so lush and green.
One can see my tennis court in the distance with the pinkish skies overhead. A pink sky at sunset occurs when sunlight is scattered by the atmosphere, showing stable, fair and calm weather.
The season is going by quickly. Thanks for documenting so many of our finer days and evenings here at the farm, Carlos. Keep taking beautiful photos.
Do you know... a group of pheasants is called a nye or nide? More specifically, the words refer to pheasants gathered on the ground. A family of pheasants with their chicks is called a brood, while a group of pheasants in flight is known as a bouquet - such a fitting name for such colorful birds.
I hope you caught my recent Instagram post on @MarthaStewart48. Last week, I received an early birthday present from my friends Gregory Goodwin and Kyle Rush. They gifted me three young silver pheasant hens to join my handsome silver pheasant male. I'm happy to report they're getting along nicely, and the hens are happily exploring their surroundings, and enjoying the company of all their new feathered friends.
Enjoy these photos.
I called it my best birthday present so far – three beautiful young silver pheasant hens presented in this charming vintage carrier. Here I am with Greg and Kyle and the girls.
The silver pheasant hen is mostly brown with subtle black and white streaking. I was excited to introduce the three to my male silver pheasant.
Here’s a photo of two of the three hens in their new coop. The birds also have a small crest on the head that’s brown with black tips. Both the males and females have bare red faces.
The three feel most comfortable together right now, but they’re acclimating nicely to their enclosure.
This is my male silver pheasant. Male pheasants have more vivid, iridescent plumage than the females, so they appear more attractive during breeding season.
This is a photo of the same male when I first acquired him last February. His feathering looked different then. It changes until the bird is full grown at around two years.
This was him just yesterday. He’s growing fast. At full maturity, he will have a longer black crest, with central feathers becoming more and more white. Males also continue to grow until the total body length is about 50 inches including a tail of up to 30 inches.
Silver pheasants are quiet and mild. This one is also very attentive to his surroundings.
While mostly ground dwelling, pheasants will perch up high to escape predators.
And pheasants have surprisingly good memories and can recall the location of their nests even after traveling long distances.
The new hens are perching on their ladder in the coop. They are quiet, hardy, and generally calm.
They are also getting along well with the other pheasants that share their coop.
But they are also quite active and able to fly. Look at their legs and feet. They have four digits on their feet, with the first toe, known as the hallux, typically pointing backward for effective stability and movement. The legs of silver pheasants are red, distinguishing them from other species.
All my outdoor birds get a good supply of seeds. Pheasants also eat insects, berries, and plant matter – they are excellent foragers.
The silver pheasants live with my golden pheasants. This is a male peach golden pheasant, strikingly rare in its coloration. Males are white with a light, shiny golden breast and body and a full peachy ruff.
The white is a female peach golden pheasant – much duller in color.
And these are vibrant, exotic red golden pheasants, known for their striking red and gold plumage and hardy nature.
On the right is a male yellow golden pheasant. The yellow is a color mutation of the red golden pheasant. It was originally developed in the 1950s. To maintain the yellow coloring, these birds need shaded areas to protect their feathers from the sun. A female is on the left.
I am happy they all get along so well in their enclosure. In all, I have 19 pheasants – many of which were hatched right here at my farm. I am looking forward to watching them all thrive here at the farm.
Their graceful appearance, fascinating behaviors, and vibrant colors make pheasants a true pleasure to raise. With good care, these beautiful birds will live for 15 to 18 years.
With their plump, juicy sweetness and range of colors from vibrant red to deep purple-black, blueberries are truly one of nature’s finest delights. I use them in jams, jellies, and pies, but they’re equally delicious in pancakes, yogurt, cereal, and cobblers, or simply enjoyed by the handful. Low in fat and rich in vitamin C and antioxidants, it’s no wonder blueberries are one of America’s favorite fruits.
Enjoy the photos.
Right now my blueberry bushes are laden with delicious fruits – almost every branch is full.
My blueberries are all from bushes located between my flower garden and large Equipment Barn, next to a stand of quince trees.
The posts supporting the pergola above are the same 18th-century Chinese granite uprights I use for the clematis pergola, my apple espaliers, and my raspberry bushes.
Every year around this time, the patch is checked often until the berries are ready for picking.
Standard blueberry bushes grow about six to 10-feet tall. New shoots grow from the crown under the soil.
At the base, blueberry shrubs have multiple canes growing directly out of the earth in clumps. The canes or branches are smooth and thornless. These bushes have done so well here at the farm. I am always so pleased with how prolific they are.
Blueberry bushes have glossy leaves that are green or bluish-green from spring through summer. The leaves are ovate, in an irregular oval or slightly egg shape that is wider at the bottom than the top. Blueberry leaves can also be harvested and dried for teas.
Blueberries are easy to grow when provided with acidic soil, consistent moisture, and adequate sunlight.
When the blueberries start growing they are pale green.
Days later, they turn reddish-purple.
And finally they deepen to a more uniform dark purple-blue when ripe. The full transformation to deep blue typically takes about one to two weeks depending on the variety, climate and growing conditions.
And blueberries don’t actually reach their full flavor until a few days after they turn blue.
Yesterday, Elvira was happy to start harvesting.
There are different types of blueberries -Northern and Southern highbush. Rabbiteye, lowbush, and a hybrid called Half-High. Highbush blueberries are the types you commonly find at grocery stores and farmers’ markets. Lowbush blueberries are smaller, sweeter blueberries often used for making juices, jams, and baked goods.
One tip to know which ones are ready – tickle the bunches lightly, and only the truly ripe ones will fall.
Many blueberries also fall to the ground. All those picked are carefully inspected – only the best are saved. The rest are enjoyed by the birds.
Each of these fruits is about five to 16 millimeters large with a flared crown at the end. They were once called “star fruits” by North American indigenous peoples because of the five-pointed star shaped crown.
Blueberries are covered in a protective powdery epicuticular wax known as the “bloom”.
I grow many blueberry varieties, including ‘Bluegold’, ‘Chandler’, ‘Darrow’, ‘Jersey’, and ‘Patriot’.
A single healthy blueberry bush can produce thousands of berries a year.
These boxes were all picked in under an hour. Blueberries produce from early summer through late fall – we will pick lots and lots of berries before the end of the season.
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