I love Maine in summer, when I can enjoy the great weather with family and friends, but it's also very beautiful there in autumn, when one can see the glorious changing of the seasons.
Cheryl DuLong and Wendy Norling, who work up at Skylands, my home in Maine, love the outdoors and nature. They often keep me updated by sending photographs of the property and the surrounding areas. Here are some wonderful late fall images.
Enjoy.
Like me, Cheryl enjoys taking photos early in the morning before the work day begins. Here’s a sunrise photo she took last week as she was headed to Skylands.
Skylands and the surrounding areas have already passed their peak of fall foliage – many of the deciduous trees are now bare, but here is Acer pensylvanicum, better known as the striped maple, moosewood, moose maple or goosefoot maple – a small North American species of maple tree. In fall the leaves turn bright light yellow.
This is what the lost pool looks like in fall – now drained of water and cleaned. My outdoor grounds crew will fill the pools again in spring.
And here’s a view that never gets tiring. Taken through the woods above another natural pool, this view looks out to Seal Harbor. In the center is a late blooming rhododendron that shows off beautiful white blooms in early summer.
Here is a moss covered forest floor. Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants that typically form dense green clumps or mats, often in damp or shady locations. During summer, we fill garden planters with moss and other natural elements. Once the season is over, we always make sure the moss we harvested is returned to the forest where it can regenerate and flourish.
These steep steps originate from my main house and lead to the footpaths toward my guest house. One will always get some good exercise at Skylands.
From this location at one of the natural pools, one can see some of “Rockefeller’s teeth” at the top – large, irregular blocks of granite that serve as guardrails.
Cheryl photographed this fall scene of some of the changing colors of the ferns at Skylands. These are hay scented ferns, Dennstaedtia punctilobula. The fronds release a fragrance reminiscent of fresh mown hay when brushed with a hand.
This wall is seen outside the laundry room windows. The small tree on the left is witch hazel – hard to see without its foliage. Witch hazel is a genus of flowering plants in the family Hamamelidaceae and is closely related to the sweet gum. Most species flower from January to March and if given enough room to spread and grow, they will display a beautiful and fragrant border of spidery blooms when everything else is still winter gray.
Here, the carriage road is filled with pine needles. They’re blown down from the woodland and then gathered in the center where they can be picked up and brought to the compost pile.
Can you guess what this roof is for? My Skylands team is carrying the protective roof for Aristide Maillol’s ‘La Riviere’s’ winter shelter. The custom made enclosure is put up as soon as the temperatures start to dip up at Skylands.
Here is our ‘lady’ in her box, ready to be covered for the cold season. The box is made using strong plexiglass, so she can still be seen even in the snow.
Slowly and carefully, the roof is put into place. On the right one can see some of the high bush blueberry bushes with their crimson fall colors – the fruits from these bushes are some of the sweetest I’ve ever had. Once secured, Aristide Maillol’s ‘La Riviere’ is safe and all tucked away until spring.
These steps lead to Aristide Maillol’s ‘La Riviere,’ now completely enclosed, and to my large “iced” terrace.
This area is down by the shop where we cook lobsters during summer. It’s a different scene now – the grill is all covered for the winter and the area is very still and quiet. Above is a maple tree all bare of any foliage.
Wendy is all set to plant the garlic. We plant lots of garlic here in Maine and at my Bedford, New York farm. She took photos of her process.
To make the holes for planting garlic, Wendy uses a dibble or a dibber. Although garlic can be planted in the spring as soon as the ground can be worked, fall planting is recommended for most gardeners. This allows extra time for the bulbs to grow and become more flavorful for the summer harvest.
Cloves should be at least three inches deep. And always plant the tip of the clove faced up, and the root side faced down.
All the holes are left uncovered until the last garlic clove is placed – this ensures all the holes are filled. Next, Wendy backfills everything and rake the surface so it is neat and tidy. The garlic crop will tolerate some shade but prefers full sun. This garlic will be ready next August.
On her way home, Cheryl captures a few more photos – this one is taken at the beach where the docks have already been brought to shore and secured for the winter. Boats wait until high tide and then pull them to land where they are tied. In spring, the docks are pulled out once again.
And here’s a sunset photo of Seal Harbor taken from Cooksey Drive. What a beautiful view. If you’re ever traveling through New England, make a stop in Maine, visit Acadia National Park, the surrounding areas, and enjoy all that nature has to offer there.
Here in Bedford, New York we're still enjoying the beautiful fall foliage despite some unseasonably mild weather. Following some overnight rain, today we're expecting temperatures in the mid- to high-60s Fahrenheit.
It's amazing how quickly plants and trees grow and change day to day. Starting in September, many of the trees in this area begin their autumn transformations - changing colors from bold green to various shades of red, yellow, and brown. Now in November, we see more bare branches, and in some cases, the late season fruits. Here at my farm, we see quince, persimmons, the berries on the Sargent crabapples, and those of the Cornus kousa, etc. While we've already picked and enjoyed the many apples, pears, and other autumn treats, these fruits continue to provide wildlife with sugar, protein, fat, and other crucial nutrients to sustain them through the season.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
Just a couple of weeks ago, most of the trees around my farm were filled with gorgeous fall color. Foliage season here begins in late September and extends through early November. It’s one of the most beautiful times of year.
But it doesn’t last long. Now, more of the trees are bare. The term deciduous means “falling off at maturity” and “tending to fall off”, which refers to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed their leaves. These are two of the four Sargent crabapple trees outside my Tenant House and studio.
Looking closely, one can see the Sargent crabapple berries. The Sargent crabapple, Malus sargentii, is a dwarf fragrant, showy shrub with bright red berries. While these fruits are edible, they are also quite tart and are generally not consumed raw.
This is also a crabapple with fruits still hanging off its branches. While related to regular apples, crabapples are smaller in comparison and much more tart than regular apples.
Behind the main greenhouse, I have a grove of pawpaw trees. Asimina triloba, the American papaw, pawpaw, paw paw, or paw-paw, among many regional names, is a small deciduous tree native to the eastern United States and Canada.
The taste of a pawpaw is a mix of mango-banana-citrus all in one. It’s a big favorite for some here at the farm. We all enjoyed a nice bounty of these fruits a few weeks ago.
Near the pawpaw trees are two trifoliate orange trees, Citrus trifoliata or Poncirus trifoliata – a member of the family Rutaceae. Also known as the “hardy orange” or “flying dragon,” it is the most cold hardy of all citrus. It is a large, deciduous shrub that produces an unusually sour, downy fruit considered to be nearly inedible when raw, but medicinally beneficial and delicious when cooked. The fruit is commonly juiced, made into marmalades, jams, jellies, or candied. Trifoliate oranges are slightly smaller than conventional oranges and taste like a blend of lemon and grapefruit.
But watch out when picking – the thorns are long, thick, and very sharp.
Are you familiar with quince? Quince is a fall fruit that grows like apples and pears, but with an unusually irregular shape and often gray fuzz. These fruits turn a golden yellow when ready to pick in fall. The quince trees are all bare, but a few fruits remain.
These are also quince – ornamental quince, which are less known for their flavor.
The bright fruits of persimmons ripen in late fall, usually, after most of the leaves have fallen from the tree. I have a grove of these persimmon trees outside my flower cutting garden. The American persimmon, when picked at just the right time, can have a flavor that is rich, deep, and sweet.
Do you recognize these berries? They are the fruits of the American bittersweet weed, Celustus scandens L. On the branches are colorful berries and arils sometimes used in dry fall flower arrangements and winter decorations.
All parts of bittersweet are poisonous, but songbirds, ruffed grouse, pheasant, and fox squirrel eat the fruits.
Outside my Winter House kitchen is this beautiful Nyssa sylvatica, blackgum, or black tupelo. Its summer leaves are a dark green, but in the fall its foliage turns yellow, orange, bright red, purple or scarlet – all colors that may appear on the same branch.
In late September, small, striking, blue-black berries appear on the tree. These are technically edible but quite sour – the birds love them.
Along the carriage road near my back hayfield, I have several Cornus kousa trees – small deciduous trees in the flowering plant family Cornaceae. Common names include kousa, kousa dogwood, Chinese dogwood, Korean dogwood, and Japanese dogwood. The kousa has edible berries with soft pulp that is sweet with a similar flavor to a ripe persimmon.
Kousa trees also grow in Nepal, where several of my outdoor grounds crew are from – they always love snacking on the fruits of these dogwood trees.
I have beautiful healthy Osage orange trees along three sides of my North Maple Paddock surrounding the run-in field and shed, not far from my tennis court. These trees are bold green in summer and change to bright golden yellow in fall.
And although the trees did not fruit this year – some trees fruit every other year – these are Osage oranges. Have you ever heard of an Osage orange? The Osage orange, Maclura pomifera, is actually not an orange at all, and is more commonly known as a hedge-apple, horse-apple, or mock-orange. Each one is about four to five inches in diameter and filled with a dense cluster of hundreds of smaller fruits – some say it even resembles the many lobes of a brain. For the most part, the Osage orange is considered inedible because of its texture and taste, but they’re very interesting and fun to grow.
And beware… Osage orange branches are armed with stout, straight spines growing from the leaf axils.
And then there are the fruits of the mighty female ginkgo tree. The most noticeable thing about these is their smell. Have you ever smelled one? It is hard to miss, and the stench is quite disagreeable. The outer, nasty smelling pulp is known botanically as sarcotesta. Here is one seed separated from its fruit.
And of course, we still have a few late season apples on the trees. This one is hanging from my apple espalier outside my Winter House. What fruits do you still see where you live? I hope you can take some time to appreciate some of nature’s offerings, even if some of them are not for eating.
Grooming is such an important part of good pet keeping.
I have always been a firm believer in regular bathing and brushing for all my furred friends. This is true especially for my Chow Chows, Empress Qin and Emperor Han who have dense double coats. Their coats need to be groomed regularly to prevent them from becoming matted and tangled. Last week, champion show dog groomer, Carrie DeJan, came to my Bedford, New York farm to bathe and groom Qin and Han. Grooming is always a time consuming task, but one that's well worth the effort.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
Han is first. My dogs are very accustomed to being bathed. They’ve had many baths, but always keep an eye on any dog who is getting washed – just in case they want to make a quick move. Han is secured to our custom made Scenic Road wheelbarrow – it has a drain.
Once Han feels the lukewarm water, he starts to relax. Han is five-years-old and such a good boy. It is very important to get all the shampoo out – a rule of thumb is to keep rinsing until there are no visible bubbles on the coat – and then rinse a little more. Carrie also applies conditioner and then rinses Han thoroughly again.
Next, Carrie puts Han on the grooming table and starts the long task of drying him. The coats must be blown completely dry.
Here, Carrie dries Han’s hind quarters and “pants,” or the long hair on the dog’s hind legs. These specially made dog hair dryers are essential. They do not really dry a dog’s coat by heat, but instead blast the water out of the fur. The high speeds also help remove the loose fur in their undercoat, which lessens shedding.
Carrie also dries between the folds of skin under Han’s chin. Drying in these places is crucial. Otherwise, the hair closest to the skin will pack down, retain dirt and moisture, and cause skin irritations. Han does not mind this at all.
Next, Carrie trims Han’s nails with a pet nail clipper. Han’s nails are dark, so the quick cannot be seen, so Carrie just trims off the tip of the nail. The “quick” is a soft cuticle that contains the blood vessel and nerves that run through a dog’s nail – one does not want to get too close to the quick.
Carrie trims the fur under Han’s feet. Doing this gives a dog better footing. The hair can grow quickly between and under the pads. She does this very carefully with the electric grooming clipper.
Then she uses professional shears to get harder to reach hairs.
She also takes this time to shape the foot, so it looks neat and tidy.
Carrie uses a pin brush to gently remove any tangles that may be in Han’s coat.
She also uses this time to inspect Han for any ticks, fleas, or possible skin irritations. She looks at the skin closely as she brushes his coat.
And then she goes over him again with a pin comb to make sure she didn’t miss any small burs or knots.
Finally, a good ear cleaning. My Chows are in perfect condition – in part because they are groomed and checked frequently and regularly.
And here is my handsome Emperor Han – what a good boy. According to the breed standard, Chows must have a lovely thick mane, with small rounded ears, giving it the appearance of a lion when all grown up.
Here is Empress Qin after her bath already on the table getting dried. If one chooses to use a hair dryer for humans, always put it to the no-heat setting. Never use high heat on a dog’s coat. Dogs are much more sensitive to external heat than humans are and have a far more difficult time dissipating heat.
Qin is a champion show dog, so she is very used to lengthy grooming sessions. There are two types of coat on a Chow Chow – rough and smooth. Both are double-coated. Qin is a rough-coated Chow. The outer coat is abundant and straight. The undercoat is soft and woolly. Chows should be sturdy and squarely built. Its body should be compact, and heavy-boned – Qin has a perfect body.
Here, Carrie uses a special brush by Les Poochs for removing any tangles. It is designed with long, flexible pins that glide smoothly from roots to tip.
Just like she did for Han, Carrie trims Qin’s nails – again, not too close, so the quick is not touched.
She also files her nails using a Dremel, so they are smooth. Some dogs may be afraid of the filing sounds, so be sure to always properly introduce any grooming tool slowly with lots of encouragement and praise. The sound of the Dremel doesn’t bother Qin at all.
Qin’s feet are also clipped just a bit to get the hair out from under and between the pads.
And a quick ear cleaning – both my dogs have healthy, clean ears.
You look marvelous, my sweet Empress Qin! Thank you, Carrie DeJan. I think I will also send my my Frenchies, Crème Brulée and Bête Noire, down for a quick nail trim, so they don’t feel as if they were left out from a day at the spa.
Martha Pins
Martha Tweets
