Here at my Bedford, New York farm, my gardeners and outdoor grounds crew all know how crucial it is to "use the right tool for the job" - not only does it get the task done properly, but it keeps everyone safe. Among the tools we use and depend on all year long are those from STIHL.
Recently, we received several new pieces from STIHL to help with our many projects and chores. I've been using STIHL products for a long time. This company is a global leader in outdoor power equipment and offers more than 80 different tools including professional-grade chainsaws, blowers, string trimmers, hedge trimmers, brush cutters, pruners, saws, and so much more. Their tools are durable, efficient, easy-to-use, and everyone here, including myself, loves using them.
Here are some photos.
Here I am with Brian Carolan from STIHL, my gardeners, and my outdoor grounds crew – all of us equipped with our new STIHL tools. Brian always delivers the tools and shows us the proper way to use each new model.
On this day, Brian delivered a variety of battery operated and gas-powered products.
These are STIHL’s brush cutters – very important tools here at the farm, not only for whacking tall weeds, but also for cutting all the brush in the woodland. These heavy-duty cutters have a four-point anti-vibration system that helps reduce operator fatigue and an easy-adjust handle bar for easy maneuverability, transport, and storage.
We’ve been using STIHL’s backpack blowers for years here at my farm. These blowers are powerful and fuel-efficient. The gasoline-powered engines provide enough rugged power to tackle heavy debris while delivering low emissions.
When it comes to smaller jobs and touch-ups, I love the HSA 26 Battery-Powered Garden Shears. The HSA 26 is lightweight with a rubberized handle for comfort and a secure grip. It comes with its own roll-up case to store all its accessories.
These STIHL hedge trimmers are designed without excess bulk and feature an appropriate power-to-weight ratio for superior maneuverability and cutting power.
Whenever Brian visits, he always brings added safety gear such as these ear protectors. It’s very important to me that the crew works safely at all times.
We keep all our STIHL tools inside my large Equipment Barn. These tools are all cleaned and checked regularly as part of our maintenance routine. Taking good care of our tools will ensure they last a long, long time.
STIHL also carries several efficient hand tools such as the pruning saw. Pasang, our resident pruning expert, uses the saw often for low, easy-to-reach branches.
Another favorite hand tool is the STIHL lopper. Its aluminum handle measures a full 32-inches and the specially designed cutting head has a cutting capacity of two-inches. My gardener, Brian, likes to use this tool when pruning the fruit trees in my orchard. I like hand tools to be used whenever possible – they make more exact, clean cuts.
We also use STIHL’s chainsaws for many outdoor projects. They are capable of felling and limbing. Its durable construction and reliable performance make it one of our most powerful tools. All STIHL chainsaws are also equipped with a chain stopping system designed to reduce the risk of injury.
Here, Pasang uses the telescoping pole pruner to prune high branches. These tools can cut branches up to 16 feet above the ground.
Ryan trims the young European beech trees with the battery powered hedge trimmer – they made this early fall job easy and fast.
Pasang wears safety chaps whenever working with the STIHL brush cutter to clear the woodland in winter.
The battery-powered STIHL blower is used every day to blow leaves and other debris off the terraces and footpaths around my home.
Phurba uses the HSA 26 Battery-Powered Garden Shears to trim the boxwood. It’s so lightweight and efficient for these fast jobs.
Ryan uses the same shears to trim the baby boxwood in the “boxwood nursery.”
A couple of weeks ago, Phurba started rototilling the vegetable garden in preparation for our spring planting – we caught him wearing one of STIHL’s black hooded sweatshirts.
Gloves are also very helpful when pruning, trimming, or carrying thorny branches.
All our STIHL tools and supplies keep us ready to take on any task at any time. Thanks, STIHL.
I always enjoy learning about other cultures and customs. Losar Tashi Delek is a Nepali phrase meaning blessings and prosperity for the New Year - this, the year of the water tiger 2149 according to the Tibetan lunar calendar.
The Sherpa members of my Bedford, New York farm staff, celebrate the Tibetan Losar. In Nepal, Sherpas are those who lead mountaineering expeditions in the Himalayas. They are highly respected mountaineers, known for their physical strength, endurance and for their resilience to high altitude conditions. New York is home to a large community of Sherpas - in fact, my foreman, Chhiring, is the president of the Upstate Sherpa Community chapter in New York. Last weekend, the community gathered for a New Year's celebration filled with traditional foods, clothing, and dance.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
This year, the Upstate Sherpa Community held their New Year’s Celebration at the Moses Taylor Jr. American Legion Post 136 in nearby Mt. Kisco.
Chapter president, Chhiring Sherpa, dressed in his traditional Sherpa formalwear. Behind him is his wife, Ang Pema. Above are Tibetan prayer flags – each hue signifies an element — and the flags are always arranged in a specific order of yellow, green, red, white and blue. Blue represents the sky, white represents the air, red symbolizes fire, green symbolizes water, and yellow symbolizes earth. All five colors together signify balance.
Many attendees wore traditional Sherpa clothing. Married women tie a multi-colored striped apron of woolen cloth called “pangden” around their waists.
Chhiring’s son, Mingmar, also works at my farm as part of my security team. Here he is next to his sister, Alina, welcoming guests at the entrance.
Dolma, in the center, helps me care for my horses, donkeys, and pony. Here she is with her sisters – Sanu on the right, who worked for me for many years, and their eldest sister, Jangmu, on the left.
Pasang is our resident tree expert at the farm. He was at the venue since early morning helping with preparations.
Dolma and her son, Jamling, stop for this photo before enjoying some of the celebratory dishes.
Popular New Year’s appetizers include chana. Chana masala, also known as channay, chole masala, chhole masala, chole or chholay, is a dish originating from India. The main ingredient is a variety of chickpeas called chana or kala chana.
This is pakora – a spicy fritter often sold by street vendors and served in restaurants in South Asia. It consists of vegetables such as potatoes and onions, coated in seasoned gram flour batter and deep fried.
This is called beaten rice – a flattened rice dish made from raw, toasted, or parboiled rice grains pounded into flat flakes. They are eaten as is, toasted and fried.
The dough in the middle is called momo – made of white flour and water. This one is plain; however, it can also be filled with meats or vegetables as dumplings.
Phurba, another member of my outdoor grounds crew, was also there. And look who else attended – Fernando. It was a very fun event for everyone.
Fernando brought his daughter, Fernanda, and his five year old granddaughter, Emily.
Here’s Dawa just before taking his first sip of Sherpa beer. Sherpa beer is called chhaang and made with brewed barley, millet, or rice grains. You may recognize Dawa from this blog – he oversees the care of my chickens, peafowl, pigeons, and geese.
At the front of the auditorium, a table is set for several Sherpa community leaders – Chhiring is on the far left.
Here, Phurba stands with his wife, Chhoti, also wearing a traditional dress for formal cultural events.
In this photo, the president of the United Sherpa Association welcomes a member with a Buddhist scarf. Also known as Khata, Khada, Khadag or Hada; this traditional ceremonial Tibetan scarf symbolizes prayer, purity, goodwill, auspiciousness, compassion, and sincerity.
More than 200 guests attended the celebration that lasted more than 12 hours.
Chhiring, his wife, Domi, and their group perform a traditional Nepali dance. On the far left is Mingma Sherpa Paldorche, and on the far right is Mingmar Chhiri Sherpa – two Mt. Everest climbers. Sherpas are well-known for their endurance and climbing abilities. In fact, Mingmar Chhiri completed seven climbs without added oxygen.
Pasang, Domi, and Chhiring receive Buddist scarves on stage.
Children of all ages also performed. Here, the daughters of Pasang and Sanu danced for the audience while younger children watched.
Dawa joined in the fun performing a dance that was more comical than customary. Everyone watching enjoyed it. Here he is after receiving his scarf.
It was a joyous time for all – ringing in the Year of the Water Tiger 2149.
Losar Tashi Delek to everyone!
Here is a short clip showing Chhiring, Chhiring's wife Ang Pema, and Domi on the dance floor.
This year’s spring burlap removal project continues at my long Boxwood Allee.
Last week, my outdoor grounds crew removed the burlap in front of my Winter House and behind my Summer House. Then they tackled the burlap along the Boxwood Allee that's located outside my stable and runs all the way down to the carriage road leading to the woodland. The entire removal process is a large undertaking which takes several days to complete. Every autumn, I cover all my boxwood shrubs and outdoor urns to protect them from the heavy snowfall and freezing temperatures. We use strong steel frames and custom fit burlap casings sewn by hand. And every spring, everything is removed to expose all the lush green foliage - it's a complete transformation.
Enjoy these photos.
For as long as I’ve been gardening I’ve covered my boxwood shrubs and outdoor ornamental urns. When the ground begins to thaw, it’s all removed. Here is the Boxwood Allee about to go through its spring transformation.
The winter burlap still looks so good – it held up so well through the entire season protecting my precious plantings. The boxwood has grown so much over the years. Every winter, these burlap tents are made taller and taller to accommodate their size.
The first step is to remove the wooden strips that help sandwich and secure the burlap. These strips are at the bottom of the metal frames.
Phurba unscrews each one all the way down the allee.
These strips are saved until next fall when the burlap is put up once again.
Phurba and Domi remove the burlap from one end of this section of the Boxwood Allee. All of the coverings are custom wrapped and sewn to fit each individual shrub, hedge, or bush. The holes are for any birds that wish to take shelter under the burlap during inclement weather.
Slowly, the two roll back the fabric from on top of the metal frames.
The burlap and all the supplies are removed gently, so as to preserve as much burlap as possible. Once a section is removed, it is placed and folded in half neatly on the ground. No cars are allowed up or down the allee during the removal process.
And then rolled carefully. We use industrial burlap that’s available in giant rolls of 40-inches or 60-inches wide. These covers are used for two or three seasons before being replaced.
Once the burlap is rolled and tied, Phurba labels the roll indicating what section it covers and where. The label will make it easy to identify next fall when the boxwood is covered again. He decides to place two labels just in case one piece of tape falls off – it has happened.
For these boxwood shrubs, I use the same metal used to make hoop houses – strong industrial steel ground uprights and purlin pipes.
These materials not only provide the necessary support frames for the burlap but also accommodate any growth – one can see how much room there is between the top of the boxwood and the metal frame.
Here’s Domi working on removing another section of the burlap.
Next, Domi removes the tension purlin brackets one by one. They connect the center piping to the bow sections of the frame.
These brackets are also removed carefully and saved in one container, so they can be stored easily and then used again next year.
Meanwhile, with Chhiring on one side and Pasang on the other, the two remove the bow metal frames that go over the boxwood. And look, everything is so green. We are always amazed every spring. Covering it definitely helps preserve the plantings.
Pasang then removes the long bar from atop the center of the boxwood sections. Taking down the burlap is a much faster process than putting the burlap up, but it’s still very time-consuming.
All the metal pieces are placed neatly along the allee carriage road until they are picked up and taken to our storage area.
Here, Pasang removes the metal legs that hold up the hoop structures along the allee.
It’s such a change – one that we all look forward to seeing this time every year.
Some question whether covering the boxwood each winter really helps, but look how lush and intact the plantings are when exposed – I definitely feel it is worth the time and effort. This week is unseasonably cold – highs are only expected in the 40s today, but we’re all so excited for spring and the gardening season ahead.
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