It’s late summer, and lots of regular maintenance and cleaning work is going on at the farm.
Supporting a working farm is a huge job. In order for it to thrive, animals and gardens need constant tender loving care. Here at my Bedford farm, we keep a running list of all the chores that need to be done at any given time, so it always looks and functions at its best.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
Here at the farm today, temperatures are expected to be in the high 80s and even warmer tomorrow with no rain in the immediate forecast. We’re doing a lot of watering with our Gilmour Adjustable Circular Tripod Sprinklers to keep all the gardens adequately hydrated. I’ve been using Gilmour hoses and sprinklers for years – they’re dependable, durable, and easy to use.
This time of year, my gardeners and I walk through this vegetable garden every day to see what is growing and clean up what is needed. My pumpkin and squash crops are looking so lush and green. It is the first time I’m growing them around the perimeter of the half acre space. So far, the vines are growing very well.
And beneath the vines, look what is also growing – a very large pumpkin, and it’s only August! I am looking forward to a great pumpkin season this year.
On the other side of the farm in my large Equipment Barn, Pasang is doing some maintenance to the STIHL chainsaws he uses. It is crucial to keep them in good condition so they work well and are safe to use. STIHL’s most well-known tool is the chainsaw. STIHL designed and built its first electric chain saw in 1926 and 94 years later, it is still one of its best pieces of equipment. We use both gas-powered and battery-powered chainsaws.
Pasang inspects the teeth and the bar of the chainsaw to see what work needs to be done. This unit needs sharpening.
Pasang places the tool onto the vice. The chain itself needs to be sharpened if the shavings cut from the chainsaw become very fine and almost dust-like, or if the saw does not cut straight. If the teeth on the chainsaw chain become dull, the saw will not cut correctly or efficiently.
Pasang positions the file at about a 30-degree angle to the chainsaw teeth and holds it at about a 90-degree angle to the bar. He applies pressure as he files away from the teeth – two or three strokes per tooth. He does this for every tooth in one direction and then in the other, all the way around.
Behind my Summer House in the Sunken Garden, Josh is cleaning and weeding the formal beds. This garden is planted with American and English boxwood, ginkgo trees, smoke bushes, Siberian weeping pea shrubs, peonies, hostas, lilies, alliums, and other spring blooming bulbs. It is so beautiful here, especially in the springtime.
Here’s Fernando prepping my “Run-In” shed for painting. Before it is painted, it must first be thoroughly power washed and cleaned of any debris and mildew.
Cesar oversees all the care of my birds – the chickens, peafowl, geese, and pheasants. The birds respond well to him. Here he is talking to one of my male Golden Pheasants.
My foreman, Chhiring, continues the tedious job of mulching all the beds around the farm. Thankfully, I am able to make good, nutrient-rich mulch right here. We always have an abundant supply.
First he manually delivers wheelbarrows of mulch to the bed and drops mulch in sections.
He does this for each area before raking into level, two to three inch layers.
On this day, Chhiring completes the berry patches. It’s always a good idea to mulch the garden beds to help conserve and extend moisture, protect the soil from erosion, suppress and prevent weeds, moderate temperature extremes, and create a marker for landscape maintenance equipment.
Nearby, gardening intern, Matthew, works on the roses – trimming any dead wood and pruning them for height. Keeping on top of pruning tasks like this improves plant health, prevents disease, and encourages better flowering. I like to do this to all my roses two or three times a year.
Juan is keeping all my horses and donkeys cool on this hot day. Jude “JJ” Junior and Billie just had a refreshing shower after playing in their pasture.
It’s still mowing season! And while I have replaced many grassy areas with mulch to reduce the amount of mowing around my farm, there is still a lot of mowing to do. Adan is my resident mower. For narrow spaces he uses this STIHL RM 655 VS push mower.
Inside my main greenhouse, Ryan checks every plant to make sure it is properly watered. It is extremely important that all the plants are well fed and well watered. As I always say, if you eat and drink, so should your plants.
And in my Winter House, here’s Elvira polishing the silver for all the fall entertaining ahead. This is also another chore that must be done regularly to keep everything looking its best.
These pieces are very lightly tarnished – some pieces don’t even look tarnished at all, but it is always a good idea to clean silver a couple times a year, so it doesn’t develop a thick coat of tarnish that is harder to remove. Here, one can see what has been polished and what has not. I will share polishing tips in another blog. It’s always busy at my farm. I hope you’re getting lots of your summer tasks checked off the list too!
Anyone who knows me knows how much I love my animals - my dogs, cats, birds, and horses - they're all wonderful and special companions.
Two of the youngest residents at my farm live down at my stable. Perhaps you've seen them on my Instagram page @MarthaStewart48. They are kittens named Cinco and Mayo and they're nothing short of adorable. Born on March 15th, these two felines arrived at the farm on - you guessed it - the 5th of May, Cinco de Mayo. I adopted the sister pair from @gentlemensfarmstead and so far they are acclimating nicely to their new environment.
Here are some photos to start your week, enjoy.
Here they are – sisters Cinco, the calico, and Mayo, the tabby. These two have quickly become very popular here at my farm.
Cinco is very friendly and curious. She is the first to greet anyone who visits.
Mayo is a bit more shy, but has warmed up well and loves to join in the fun after her sister has “checked it out.”
Both Mayo and Cinco are living in my stable feed room until they are old enough and big enough to venture through the rest of the stable complex.
These two are Scottish Fold mixes. Their purebred mom had them shortly after she was rescued herself. The breed is known for having a sweet and loving nature with a short, dense coat.
Here is Mayo looking up from the platform on her cat tree. The two are extremely playful.
This is Cinco, looking quite coy.
When bringing any kitten home, it’s important to provide it with a safe space that includes a litter box, food, water, toys, and a scratching post.
They should also be kept safely separated from other pets and animals until they are accustomed to the sights and sounds of their new surroundings, especially at a busy farm like mine. And in case you were wondering, they have not yet met Blackie, my greenhouse cat.
My stable manager, Helen Peparo, and the rest of my crew, spend time with the kittens every day introducing new smells and objects as often as possible.
Tabby cats are domestic cats with a distinctive coat pattern and an “M”-shaped marking on the forehead. The pattern can include stripes, dots, lines, flecks, bands, or swirls on the cat’s body, and the cat may also have stripes by its eyes and across its cheeks, back, legs, and tail.
Cinco is a calico, meaning she has a tri-color coat. The calico cat is commonly 25 to 75-percent white with large orange and black patches. And, calicos are almost exclusively female.
Here’s Mayo using the small top of a scratching post to get off a shelf. Cats are naturally athletic and have many characteristics that contribute to their agility, speed, and impressive jumping ability.
Cats have a wider field of vision than humans, spanning 200 degrees as opposed to 180 degrees; however, cats only have about 20 to 40-percent of human visual acuity, which means they need to be closer to see things in the same detail. Felines also have much better night vision than humans.
These two are quite close, and love to play with each other. All cats are obligate carnivores and need a high-protein, meat-based diet to grow and thrive.
Kittens play hard… and sleep hard. Kittens six months and older, and adult cats, sleep about 16 to 18 hours a day on average.
And, kittens have a similar routine to adult cats, napping throughout the day. They are usually most active at dawn and dusk.
Here is Mayo winding down for a nap in her tree by a sunny window. Many cats love to lounge in a warm sunlit space.
A cat’s strongest senses include smell, hearing, and night vision. They can transition from sleep to wakefulness very quickly without grogginess.
For now, these two are filling their days with lots of playtime. They are nearly six months old – the stage when cats are reaching adolescence. There’s still so much for them to learn.
… And so much for them to see. I’ll be sure to share more photos as they grow. See you soon, Cinco and Mayo.
Here at my Bedford, New York farm, whenever a member of my team returns from vacation, I always encourage them to share some of their photos.
My operations manager, Matt Krack, recently returned from a summer trip with his sons to Tulum, a town on the Caribbean coastline of Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula. There, he and his family walked along Tulum's beautiful white sandy beaches, snorkeled in underground limestone caves, learned about well-preserved ancient Mayan ruins, toured historical buildings, and enjoyed the area's local foods - every day was filled with activity, learning, and fun.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
In under five hours by plane, one can be on the gorgeous beaches of Mexico’s east coast enjoying the clear Caribbean waters.
Matt and his sons, Alex and Charlie, chose Tulum for their vacation because of its history, its culture, its natural beauty, and of course its delicious food.
Matt loves all the colorful, handmade signs around Tulum. This one is on a building housing a bike repair shop.
This sign is on the back of a motorcycle – a traveling shoe repairman.
And along the roads, handmade stop signs warning drivers of bumps. Matt took photos of many signs – he called it street art made out of necessity.
Touring the city of Valladolid, Matt and his sons saw this truck filled with fresh watermelons. Watermelon is very popular in all of Mexico. It is often served in wedges, in fruit cups, or mixed with fresh water, agua fresca.
Here’s another sign directing drivers to the Nicte Ha Cenote. There are a lot of cenotes in Tulum. A cenote is an underground sinkhole that forms when limestone bedrock collapses and reveals crystal clear water.
Matt, Alex, and Charlie snorkeled at Cenotes Dos Ojos. Sunlight seeping in from the crater above shows the impressive rock formations.
They also visited the former Convento San Bernardino de Siena. Constructed between 1552 and 1560 by Franciscan monks, the Convento San Bernardino was part religious center and part fortress.
The facade has long corridors of arches with walls more than 20 inches thick. The entire complex consists of the church, chapel, convent, atrium, and a garden – all occupying more than 150,000 square feet.
These are some of the vestments worn by the Franciscan monks at the convent.
Next, was a stop at Negro Huitlacoxe, a restaurant in Tulum. This is a refreshing glass of horchata made with rice milk, corn milk, cinnamon, sugar, and vanilla.
These are fried corn ribs made by slicing, seasoning, and cooking strips of corn and serving with a creamy, spicy sauce.
This dish is chilaquiles, or fried tortilla chips, with corn ash, pickled radish, and cilantro. Chilaquiles is a traditional Mexican dish.
This was a favorite on the trip – tomato tamal with steamed ricotta cheese cooked in tomato sauce and served on a banana leaf.
For dessert, churro with cinnamon, chocolate, sugar, salt, chocolate ice cream, and candied pecans.
On another day, the three visited the ancient Coba Pyramid Ruins in the state of Quintana Roo first settled by an agricultural population between 50 BC and 100 AD. The large pyramids were mainly used for religious ceremonies and sacrifices, and as tombs for rulers and their spouses. They were built to resemble mountains, which were sacred to the Mayan people.
This pyramid is 138 feet tall and was the heart of the city, which at its peak included more than 50,000 inhabitants. The Mayans used local building materials like sandstone and limestone, and even created a form of cement using burnt limestone.
Mayan inscriptions are found on stelae or standing stone slabs. This one shows a figure and part of the Mayan counting system.
This is a Mayan ball court where the the ancient game of Pok-A-Tok was played. The court features a long trench area with vertical sloping walls on each side and two stone rings where “goals” were scored. Two teams of seven athletes would compete in this vicious yet ritualistic sacred game, kicking a ball with their hips, elbows, knees, and forearms so as to keep it from falling. Only the best warriors of the community could participate.
And this is AZULIK Uh May near Francisco Uh May, just 35 minutes outside the center of Tulum. It is a “City of the Arts” cultural complex and a holistic center where nature is mixed with art. It was designed by its founder, Eduardo Neira, also known as Roth, a self-taught architect.
The AZULIK complex includes a museum, residences, and a restaurant all nestled within the Mayan jungle. Its purpose is to reconnect people with their origins, stimulate creativity, and promote art.
Matt, Alex, and Charlie took this selfie from atop AZULIK.
And on the way home, shortly before landing, the three looked out of their plane and saw a double rainbow. A nice ending to a memorable journey to Mexico.
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