My ostentation of peafowl is growing and thriving here at my Bedford, New York farm. I now have 17 of these magnificent birds.
All my adult peacocks and peahens live in a very safe and comfortable pen near my stable, where they get lots of attention from visiting friends and family. Peafowl can add an exotic element to any farm, but caring for them is a huge responsibility. Not only do they need high quality food and ample exercise, but birds must also have a safe place to roost - they like to be up high to see what is around them and to escape from predators if needed. All my outdoor birds have access to natural perches made from old felled trees here at the farm. Last week, the crew moved and "planted" an oak tree in the middle of their expanded pen - and they love it.
Enjoy these photos - and be sure to see more on my Instagram page @MarthaStewart48.
Peacocks and peahens are alert and curious animals. What do you think my handsome peacock is looking at?
A large tree on its side is resting in the corner of the peafowl pen. I hate to take any tree down, but sometimes it is necessary if it is damaged, diseased, or deteriorating. This oak tree was removed from its location and saved. It’s a great tree to repurpose as a perch for my peafowl to use during the day.
Using a post hole digger, my outdoor grounds crew digs a big hole for the tree in the middle of the pen, which was recently enlarged for the growing ostentation. The hole is about four to five feet deep, so it can safely secure the tall tree. Using the post hole digger is not difficult, but it does take time, especially if there are a lot of rocks in the area. The post-hole digger is lifted as high as possible and then the blades are dropped down into the soil, pulled outward to close the blades and lift the excavated soil from the hole.
Before the tree is even “planted,” the peacocks and peahens are already testing it out – I think they like it.
This peahen is watching all the activity from afar.
The oak tree is quite heavy, so the crew gathers together to strategize how they will carry it to its location. Oak wood is very dense – about 55 pounds per cubic foot when dry. In fact, do you know… the U.S.S. Constitution reportedly received its nickname, “Old Ironsides,” during the War of 1812 because of its live oak hull? That’s right, the hull was so tough that cannon balls fired from British war ships literally bounced off it – these trees are extremely tough.
Oaks are also one of the broadest spreading of the oak tree species – look at the branches – they grow straight out. They’re perfect for peafowl perching. The crew secures a heavy duty strap to the trunk and maneuvers it into position.
Slowly, the tree is carefully and gently lifted by hand, and inserted into the newly dug hole. It fits perfectly. How many strong crew men does it take to move an oaky tree? We have five!
Once the tree is level and straight, the crew backfills the hole with soil. Using a tamping bar, Chhiring packs the soil in, so it is tight and the tree is secure. Oak trees have bark with deep fissures and ridges, giving it a scaly look. The bark color of oaks ranges from whitish-gray to almost black.
It is important to pack the tree in very well, so there is no chance of it falling over.
Chhiring also walks on the soil to tamp it down.
Pasang, who is our resident tree expert, climbs up the tree to make sure it is secure enough for the peafowl – it is important that the peafowl feel safe when roosting on its high branches.
Because the peahens have been raised here at the farm, they’re all accustomed to the various noises. It did not take long before they approached the area to see what was happening.
Within minutes, the peacocks and peahens gather around the tree.
Meanwhile, look at what is happening nearby – this young peacock is fanning his short tail feathers. With all the males outside, this one wants to show how beautiful his tail is, even if it is short with no eyespots.
Full grown, peafowl can weigh up to 13-pounds, and peacocks with their majestic trains can reach body lengths of more than five feet. I’m so pleased my peafowl are healthy and happy at the farm.
We have one on the tree. Peafowl are beautiful birds, but do not underestimate their power – they are extremely strong with very sharp spurs. They will perch on anything above ground to get a better view.
Nearby, the pretty blue opens his tail. The males boast impressively sized and patterned plumage as part of a courtship ritual to attract a female. This peacock also turns in circles showing-off his tail feathers. This display is known as “train-rattling.” Researchers found that the longer the train feathers, the faster the males would shake them during true courtship displays, perhaps to demonstrate muscular strength. During this particular display, the females did not give much attention to the male.
And then there were three… more have flown up to roost on the newly “planted” tree.
This white peacock is on the roof of the nearby shelter.
Both male and female peafowl have the fancy crest atop their heads called a corona.
In the wild, roosting up high keeps them safe from predators. Here, there are six…
And then there were seven – each one on his or her own branch. My peafowl will love this tree. I know they will love roosting here and watching over all that happens here at the farm. Enjoy it, my dear peafowl.
It’s time to plant all those spring-blooming bulbs!
Every autumn we plant thousands and thousands of bulbs here at my Bedford, New York farm. Last week, we started planting in various beds including my beautiful pergola garden - one of the first areas I see when I drive into my property. We planted Camassia and several Allium cultivars. Many of our bulbs are from Colorblends Wholesale Flowerbulbs - a third generation flower merchant in nearby Bridgeport, Connecticut. I always find it exciting to plant bulbs in the fall that you won't see for many months to come - it's such a wonderful surprise of color when they bloom in spring.
Enjoy these photos and bulb-planting tips.
If you haven’t yet planted your spring-blooming bulbs, this is the time to do it. Every year, I order lots of bulbs in batches of 50, 100, 500, and a thousand. These bulbs are from Colorblends – they come in these breathable sacks and crates.
The Colorblends facility is housed in an old factory originally built in 1879. Colorblends has been selling bulbs for more than 50-years.
The Colorblends warehouse is large and filled with all kinds of bulbs that arrive from the Netherlands in early fall. Most of them are already packaged and ready to ship. While Colorblends does handle some bulb order pickups, the company mainly ships bulbs to customers from online catalog orders and by phone.
Everything is neatly stacked and organized by type. Once the bulbs are ready, they are delivered according to a planting map. After the first frost in one’s area, bulbs can be planted safely for about two months.
Everything is done by hand at Colorblends. The bulbs are all inspected for each order and hand packed. Then, they are shipped off directly to professionals and ambitious residential gardeners – all in time for planting season.
Fernando Ferrari lives just a few minutes from the Colorblends facility, so he picks up our bulb order every year. Once our bulbs arrive at the farm, each crate and bag is properly labeled and grouped depending on where they will be planted. Each variety is also checked off on a master inventory list to ensure we picked up everything we ordered for the season.
One of the first areas we plant is the long pergola garden across the carriage road from my beautiful bald cypress trees- look at the gorgeous russet brown colored fall foliage of these trees.
There are several different tools used for planting bulbs depending on the size of the bulb. Here we have traditional long handled bulb planters made with powder-coated steel. The six inch barrel is perfect for planting most bulbs and has a 37 inch long handle for planting ease. We also use the shorter bulb planters – each crew member has his favorite tool.
Using the stand-up bulb planter, Phurba makes holes all along the bed.
This tool is best for planting larger bulbs that need to be buried at least six-inches deep.
Because the pergola garden is long, this bed will need hundreds of bulbs to fill it. Most bulbs do best in full sun with at least six hours of direct sunlight a day and well-drained soil.
Brian uses a stainless steel bulb planter drill attachment that pulls the soil out in a “core sample” type plug that can easily be dropped right back into the hole to cover the bulb.
In general, holes should be three times deeper than the bulb’s length.
We always add Bulb-tone to our nutrient-rich soil. The food should be a balanced fertilizer that has a good amount of phosphorous. Fertilizing spring-blooming bulbs also helps them fight off diseases and pests.
We also add Bone Meal fertilizer – a meal or powder made from ground up animal bones. It is used to increase phosphorus in the garden, which is essential for plants to flower.
Ryan mixes both in one trug bucket before sprinkling over the entire length of the garden bed.
Next, Ryan places all the bulbs for this area into a wheelbarrow. This batch includes Camassia and Alliums.
Camassia is a genus of plants in the asparagus family native to Canada and the United States. Common names include camas, quamash, Indian hyacinth, camash, and wild hyacinth. They grow to a height of 12 to 50 inches and vary in color from pale lilac or white to deep purple or blue-violet. (Photo courtesy of Colorblends)
Allium ‘Globemaster’ is a tall allium that blooms in early summer with six-inch diameter rose-purple globes. ‘Globemaster’ is among the tallest of the giant Alliums. (Photo courtesy of Colorblends)
‘Purple Sensation’ alliums are four-inch globes of rich purple flowers on tall stems. Also this year, we’re planting Allium ‘Atlas’ and Allium ‘Firmament.’ (Photo courtesy of Colorblends)
Ryan mixes all the bulbs, so they can be planted randomly. This will allow them to look more natural when they bloom. In general, when positioning bulbs in a garden bed, consider color, size of plant and time of bloom. This bed is already established with Camassia and Alliums.
When purchasing bulbs, always look for those that are plump and firm, and avoid those that are soft. These bulbs from Colorblends are in great condition. Bulbs come in a variety of sizes depending on the flower – the bigger the bulb the more time it has to grow and the bigger the flower bloom.
True bulbs can be either tunicate, with a papery covering or non-tunicate without the covering. This is a tunicate bulb. On many bulbs, it is also easy to see which end is the top and which end has the roots.
One by one, each bulb is carefully placed in a hole, with the pointed end faced up, or root end faced down. This is very important, so the plant grows properly from the bulb.
Here is a bulb inside the hole – at least several inches down.
Brian backfills the hole to completely bury the bulb. There are already many other bulbs planted here, so the crew is very careful when planting additional bulbs in this space. Once all the bulbs are planted, the area is raked, so it looks neat and tidy.
There are hundreds and hundreds more to get in the ground, but I am glad the weather has allowed us a good head start this season. I cannot wait to see the fruits of our labor, and the swaths of color that will emerge in spring.
Sometimes, business trips take me to the most beautiful countries filled with history and culture.
If you follow me closely on Instagram @MarthaStewart48, you may have seen some of my photos from my recent trip to Dubai, on the Persian Gulf coast of the United Arab Emirates. Joining me were my longtime friends and colleagues, Kevin Sharkey and Hannah Milman. Our main purpose was to participate in the Methuselah Foundation-sponsored Deep Space Food Challenge Panel at the International Astronautical Congress, held for the first time in the UAE since the IAC's establishment in 1950. We flew Emirates Airlines to Dubai and stayed at the beautiful hotel, Jumeirah Al Qasr. In the short time we were there, we toured the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre, walked through one of the area's souk markets where they sell lavish gold jewelry, handwoven fabrics, traditional perfumes, spices, and souvenirs, drove through the city of tall skyscrapers, and ate at several delicious restaurants. It was a very packed four-days, but we had a wonderful time.
Here are some photos, enjoy. These photos were taken by me and Kevin Sharkey - follow his Instagram @seenbysharkey. And don’t forget, Daylight Saving Time ends tomorrow morning, November 7th, so set the clocks back one hour before going to bed tonight. Those living in participating states across the US will get an extra hour of sleep. Daylight Saving Time occurs in many states and territories except Arizona, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the Virgin islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Island.
We flew aboard Emirates Airlines – the largest airline and one of two flag carriers of the United Arab Emirates. The entire flight took 12-and-a-half hours, but it was very comfortable ride with excellent service and accommodations – see my Instagram post on @MarthaStewart48.
Dubai is the largest and most populous city in the United Arab Emirates. It is located on the southeast coast of the Persian Gulf. There is always so much growth here. I last visited with my family in December 2017 – it has developed even more since then.
We took many photos of the interesting buildings. On the left are The Jumeirah Emirates Towers. They’re the “twins” of Dubai’s skyline — two buildings that appear almost identical.
Jumeirah Emirates Tower One is the taller of the pair at about 1163 feet. Its 54 floors house mostly offices. Tower Two stands at 1014 feet and serves as a luxury hotel. The two buildings are topped with distinctive equilateral triangles and a spire. Designed by architect Hazel Wong, the Jumeirah Emirates Towers were the tallest skyscrapers to be designed by a woman upon their completion in 2000.
This is one of Dubai’s newer attractions – the Dubai Frame. The two towers are connected by a 1000 square foot bridge, which has a glass panel in the middle. It was designed by award-winning architect Fernando Donis, who also designed Dubai’s Porsche Design Towers, and the Dubai Renaissance Tower. This giant frame is located in Zabeel Park and was carefully chosen to give visitors the best view of both old and new Dubai.
This is Dubai’s Museum of the Future – a technology-themed museum located at the Madinat Jumeirah. The facade is decorated with Arabic calligraphy, including quotes from the Prime Minister of UAE, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. All windows are designed within the characters.
This sail-shaped hotel is the Burj Al Arab. It sits on its own manmade island in Dubai’s harbor. It is accessed via its own helipad near the roof at a height of 689 feet above ground.
The Jumeirah Grand Mosque is a landmark structure in Dubai. Designed in the Fatimid architectural tradition, the mosque is made from white stone and features a pair of minarets that frame a central dome. The Jumeirah Grand Mosque was a gift from the Late Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the former Ruler of Dubai and father of the current Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. It is said that it is the most photographed mosque in all of Dubai.
On our first full day in Dubai, we were given a private tour of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre, the hub of where UAE’s space activities first started.
This is the KhalifaSat Earth Observation ground station antenna. It is made to receive the satellite communications and data back down on Earth. Equipped with the latest in space and imaging technology, KhalifaSat is a powerful imaging tool, more agile than its predecessors: the DubaiSat-1 launched in Kazakhstan in 2009 and DubaiSat-2 launched in Russia in 2013.
This mural behind me Shows the Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who has been a strong supporter of the UAE space program.
We were able to see many of the control rooms. The Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre is a Dubai government organization which works on various space satellite projects, the Emirates Mars Mission, the Emirates Lunar Mission, and the UAE astronaut program.
This is the mission control and space operations room. Leading the tour is Amer Al Sayegh, who is the Senior Director of the Space Engineering Department at MBRSC. (Photo by Stephanie Wan, Methuselah Foundation)
This is called a clean room where they are assembling the next satellite mission: MBZ-sat. The clean room is where all components are assembled before they go into space to ensure there is no contamination.
Here I am with Robyn Gatens, Director for the International Space Station, and Mark Kirasich, Deputy Associate Administrator for Advanced Exploration Systems at NASA Johnson Space Center.
My main commitment on this trip was to speak at the Methuselah Foundation-sponsored fireside chat on the Deep Space Food Movement, focused on accelerating food technologies for Earth and future deep space missions. Other guest speakers included representatives from NASA, the European Space Agency, the United Nations, and private entities who are passionate about food innovation and sustainability. Hannah and I were honored to be part of the panel.
Afterwards, we stood for a few group press photos – it was a great discussion. The team received high praise for the quality of the talks and the diverse insights from all the guest speakers. We covered many topics including the historical impact of human exploration for advancing food technology and ways we could solve world hunger. Please go to deepspacefoodchallenge.org to learn more.
And here’s a throw back to a photo of me taken in 1996 – I have been interested in the foods of the future for many years and have had many discussions with renowned scientists and authors about the critical need for innovative food technologies to sustain people on Earth and in space.
In this photo I am joined by NASA astronaut Jessica Meir on my right and Hazza Al Mansouri and Sultan Al Neyadi on my left, the first two Emiratis selected in their Astronaut Program.
We also toured a Dubai Souk, where there is a large number of stores selling everything from clothes to textiles, souvenirs to food.
This shop was dedicated entirely to spices.
The displays were very neat and tidy.
At night, the lighted skyscrapers gave Dubai a whole new look.
This is our view looking up to the top of the Burj Khalifa. Rising 2,716.5 feet above ground level, the 160-story iconic tower is currently the tallest building in the world. Excavation for the project began in 2004 and the building officially opened to the public in 2010.
The Burj Khalifa puts on a light show featuring an LED system totaling more than 17 miles of LED lights. The lights are installed on all the fins of the southeast side of the skyscraper facing the lagoon.
To create this light show is more simple than it looks – a media file plays on a laptop connected to a “main brain” server, which, through a network of fiber optics works with the LED lights to display a particular color. There are about 1.2 million lights for each image.
Here’s a group photo of me, Hannah, and some of the members of the Methuselah Foundation – Stephanie Wan Deep Space Food Challenge Partnerships Advisor, Florina Gobel Communication Director, Rebecca Batterman Deep Space Food Challenge Business Strategy Advisor, Dane Gobel Deep Space Food Challenge Program Director, and Helene Papper, the Global Communications and Advocacy Director for the United Nations International Fund for Agricultural Development.
We couldn’t go to Dubai without meeting up with former colleague Ron Thomas. Ron was the Vice President of Human Resources for my company, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. He’s been working here in the UAE for several years. Kevin, Ron and I had a great time catching up.
At the airport before flying back home, we came across a very interesting group of passengers – falcons. The trainers and their raptors were waiting for a flight to Pakistan for a falconry competition.
This is the number one champion falcon. A gorgeous bird with white and brown feathering. These birds of prey are hooded to keep them calm during travel. It was quite a sight to see before leaving Dubai. In all, it was a very interesting and informative trip abroad.
Martha Pins
Martha Tweets
