If you follow me on Instagram @MarthaStewart48 you may have caught some of the photos from my trip to the Telluride Film Festival for the premiere of my Netflix documentary, "Martha," directed by RJ cutler.
Recently, I traveled to southwest Colorado to attend the 51st annual Telluride Film Festival presented by the National Film Preserve. The multiple-day affair celebrates excellence in the arts and invites cinema enthusiasts, filmmakers, and artists to gather and screen the year's best world cinema productions. Aside from my documentary, the event featured about 60 other screenings, and held filmmaker tributes, conversations, panels, student programs, and other fun festivities. While in the area, I also visited a farmers market, saw some beautiful elk, enjoyed some of the most spectacular views of Colorado's Rocky Mountains and met up with other celebrities.
Here are more photos from the trip, enjoy.
Here I am looking over the mountains around Telluride, a former Victorian mining town in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains. Telluride is set in a box canyon, meaning there is only one way in and out.
The mountain views were spectacular. Telluride is located on the western flank of the San Juan Mountains at an elevation of 8,750 feet.
The area is highly mineralized and was part of the gold and silver mining industry of early Colorado.
On the ground while driving around, we saw many elk roaming and grazing in the grasslands.
Elk and the deer of the Northeast are both members of the Cervidae family, but elk are generally larger than deer, standing one to two feet taller at the shoulder and weighing more. Elk also have larger antlers that point backwards. Their coloring includes a tan rump patch, black legs, and a dark brown mane.
Here I am on Main Street in Telluride. The town’s historic district includes landmarks such as the Sheridan Opera House, a performing-arts venue originally built in 1913, and the Telluride Historical Museum, which showcases local history in a converted hospital built in 1896. One can see the mountains behind me. This annual festival attracts about 5000 visitors a year.
Here I am with filmmaker, documentarian, television producer, and director, RJ Cutler. We’re at the Patron Brunch for all the film entry participants. It was held at Gray Head, an 885-acre development nestled at the base of Mt. Sneffels Wilderness, just a few miles from the town of Telluride.
And here I am with Pharrell – a musician, singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer, and fashion designer. He is also the new men’s creative director for Louis Vuitton.
Whenever I travel, I always enjoy visiting as many places as possible. We had some time to stop at a charming farmers market.
The tomatoes are still going strong here in Colorado.
We also saw bags and bags of sweet peaches and plums.
… And bouquets of colorful flowers such as these dahlias.
We also saw this single person hot air balloon known as a cloud hopper. This one is owned by Mar and Cody Myers and is called Mar’s Rover.
Here’s my team all excited to watch the Netflix premiere of my documentary, “Martha.”
One of the film festival’s traditions is to get a Main Street photo of all the participants. Here we are getting ready for the large group photo.
I’m sitting next to none other than actress Angelina Jolie. In front of us is filmaker Ken Burns and actress Saoirse Ronan.
Angelina was at the festival for her her latest film “Maria.”
I also met up with actor and producer, Will Ferrell.
And here I am with Selena Gomez – it was a wonderful gathering of celebrities.
… And a great visit to the 51st Telluride Film Festival in Colorado. I hope you watch my documentary and enjoy it – releasing this fall! Be sure to let me know.
Will you be out in the yard watering your plants this weekend? On my big farm, it takes a lot of close monitoring to stay on top of the watering tasks this time of year. Temperatures today are expected to be in the low 80s, with no chance of showers until next week, and that is just not enough to keep all the gardens well irrigated.
Because of this late summer weather, the hoses and sprinklers have been very busy. One of my favorite sources is Gilmour, a company that’s been manufacturing hoses and other watering solutions for more than 70-years. I use several of their products at my Bedford, New York farm and at Skylands, my home in Maine. With so many trees, shrubs and plants to maintain, it’s important we use only the best quality outdoor tools.
Enjoy these photos.
I’ve been using Gilmour products for years. This is our most recent shipment of supplies to keep all my gardens well irrigated.
The hoses are always put to great use in the gardens and wherever thorough watering is needed. Plus, they curve without kinking, connect without leaking, and are easy to store.
I also love Gilmour’s Professional Adjustable Circular Tripod Sprinklers. These tripod sprinklers can be seen all over the farm this time of year.
The adjustable rectangular sprinklers are very durable and long lasting. They work well for smaller garden beds where gentle watering is needed.
And the design of these rectangular ground sprinklers has not changed much. This one is an older model and still very reliable and consistent in the gardens.
Here is another rectangular sprinkler. They all have adjustment controls that are easy to use for customizing various coverage areas. They feature a tube with multiple openings that move back and forth to provide even watering.
Gilmour also carries a wide range of nozzles and wands in different sizes.
A Gilmour hose and at least one sprinkler are placed at every bibb or faucet. And here’s a tip… to keep it from kinking, when it’s new stretch it along a path or the edge of the lawn and then loop the business end back to the tap.
Here’s another hose and sprinkler setup along one of the carriage roads.
This tripod sprinkler is in my soccer field. The adjustable tripod can reach a height of 58-inches and can water everything from above. Once the watering in one area is done, it’s extremely important to turn off the water at the source. Just turning off at the sprinkler puts a lot of pressure on the hoses and pipes.
I always instruct the crew to never direct hard spraying sprinklers at trees – this may mar the bark. Instead, use harder sprays for open spaces and wide lawn areas.
Here’s a tripod in my Linden Allée. Look how far the sprinkler can reach.
I also remind the team to keep the tripod sprinklers at the lowest height, so there is maximum coverage on the garden plants below the branches.
When ready to use, the collar of these tripod sprinklers can be adjusted for partial to full circle coverage. The controls are just under the sprinkler head.
A pin diffuser allows for a customized spray from powerful jet to gentle mist. I show every member of my crew how to use the sprinkler, so they can water properly and efficiently.
The round dial on top makes it easy to set the direction and length of the spray.
And each of the legs is also adjustable. Here is one of the three spiked feet of the tripod sprinkler which provide lots of stability on varied surfaces.
Mornings are the best times to water – when water pressure is high, evaporation is low, and the soil can absorb the water before the sun heats up the ground. The distance and spray patterns of these tripod sprinklers can also be adjusted to suit so many garden needs.
Many ask my why I don’t have expansive irrigation systems installed at the farm. I actually prefer manual watering, to ensure there is coverage everywhere – with a farm this size, it’s important to get to all the gardens. These individual watering supplies are also very easy to maintain.
Every so often, observe any sprinklers in action and look for clogged or leaking heads that may need minor maintenance. It’s nice to know we have the “right tools for the right jobs,” so all my gardens, groves, and allées can be well watered through the season.
Sometimes, getting out of the office and enjoying a business meeting over lunch, al fresco, is a very good thing.
Yesterday, I hosted a small luncheon at my farm for a group of colleagues. I served chicken salad sandwiches, steak sandwiches, beet salad garnished with dill, a light and delicious chicken soup, and bread pudding with whipped cream for dessert - all homemade using vegetables just picked from the garden. Temperatures were in the low 70s, so we dined outside on my terrace parterre. It was an excellent lunch and a most productive and interesting meeting.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
The garden is still providing lots of wonderful, delicious vegetables. I am often asked what I do with all the vegetables I grow. Of course, I share most of them with my family, but I also use them for video and photography shoots, and for entertaining. These beets were just picked for my business luncheon.
Inside my Winter House, I decorated the rooms using flowers grown right here at the farm. These are amaranth and dahlia blooms.
Amaranth is an annual ornamental plant characterized by long colorful flower clusters in orange, gold, purple, red, white, or pink – some that are trailing and these that produce upright plumes.
The dahlias are also still going strong. Dahlias bloom from midsummer until the first fall frost. Here at my farm, I had dahlias blooming in June, and hopefully they’ll continue until Halloween.
I like to display seasonal flowers or plants throughout my home whenever I entertain. This is an all dahlia arrangement in bold shades of pink.
And here are some dahlias on my servery counter in shades of orange.
For my salad, I boiled the beets, removed the skins, and sliced them uniformly.
To prepare my sandwiches, I cut thick slices of bread, buttered each one lightly, and then dressed with chicken salad.
I took the following photos to show each stage.
My chicken salad includes celery, diced apples, mayonnaise, and a touch of salt.
On top, I added fresh arugula just picked from my garden.
Each plate included a side of beets garnished with dill, also from my garden.
For the two gentlemen at my table, who needed more than just one sandwich, I made steak sandwiches, also dressed with fresh garden arugula.
And as a vegetarian option, a mozzarella and beet sandwich.
Everything looked so delicious on the table served on my Martha Stewart Gilded Drabware Wedgwood plates.
I served a light and refreshing chicken soup in tea cups and saucers. My soup includes freshly picked vegetables, and pasta.
More dahlias were picked just minutes before lunch to decorate the table.
Joining us outdoors – my beautiful Empress Qin and Luna Moona. Where is Crème Brûlée?
And for dessert, we enjoyed bread pudding I made the day before, with dollops of fresh whipped cream.
And here is my handsome Emperor Han looking on with curiosity, and hope for something to fall his way. It was a perfect day for a homemade luncheon at Cantitoe Corners.
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