It takes a lot of work to maintain the fencing here at my Bedford, New York farm.
My pasture fencing is made from 100-year-old white spruce railings I purchased in Canada. When the fences were built, I used new cedar uprights to support them. They've held up very well over the years, but a number of posts are now deteriorated and need replacing. Pete Sherpa and Fernando Ferrari, longtime members of my outdoor grounds crew, take on the task whenever they can. It's a tedious process and has to be done by hand so as not to damage the antique wood.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
I have lots of fencing here at the farm. It surrounds my horse paddocks, my orchard, and various other trees. The antique railings were constructed into a split rail fence and are in good shape, but many of the cedar uprights are deteriorated, wobbly and no longer support the railings as they should.
This fence surrounds a maple tree inside a paddock to keep the horses from rubbing against it.
Many of you have commented on how much you admire these fences. The railings are sandwiched between two cedar posts buried deep into the ground.
My donkeys, Friesian horses, and Fell pony get turned out into their paddocks every day, so it is important to maintain the fences and ensure they are all in good condition. Truman “TJ” Junior and Jude “JJ” Junior spend most of the days in their large fenced-in enclosure.
I pay close attention to everything at the farm. Here is one upright post that needs replacing. It was part of a broken fence section around my orchard.
One of the tools used is this post hole digger on the right – this tool is available at any hardware store. A post hole digger is also known as a clamshell digger, because of its resemblance to the seaside shell.
Strong, metal tamping bars are great for digging postholes and tamping the soil around a post once it is set.
The nails used to secure the railings are quite long – four inches. It takes a bit of time to remove them so they can be reused.
Pete already removed the visible section of post, but it broke in two and the bottom is still in the hole. He tries to loosen the soil around it by hand using the tamping bar.
Pete uses the post hole digger to try to pull the rest of the post out, but it doesn’t budge.
He tries again with the tamping bar. One can see the remaining piece of the post still wedged in pretty tightly.
Pete secures one end of a chain to the piece stuck in the hole and the other end to the bar.
Pete then pulls out the old, deteriorated base.
These posts will be chipped and repurposed as top dressing for woodland trees at a later time.
Fernando takes away the old post…
… As Pete brings in the new.
All the new uprights are placed next to the ones being removed.
Once a new post is positioned three feet down into the hole, Pete and Fernando adjust it for level, and turn the post so that the nicest side faces out. The new posts will be very secure here – and no cement is needed.
Once backfilled, Pete uses a tamping bar to pack the soil tightly around the post.
Fernando rakes around the post to make the area neat and tidy.
The new upright is secured with the same four-inch nails to keep it in line with the railings and the other post.
The next step is to cut the tops of the new posts, so they are all the same height as the fence. This project will take some time to complete with all the fencing on the property, but we’re making good progress. Thanks, Pete and Fernando.
I love visiting Maine in the summer, when I can enjoy the great weather with family and friends, but it's also very beautiful there in autumn, especially at Skylands, my beloved home overlooking Seal Harbor.
Cheryl DuLong, who helps me care for Skylands, loves the outdoors and nature. She often keeps me updated by sending photographs of the property and the surrounding areas. While we are getting some much needed rain here in New York today, I thought I'd share some her most recent late fall images taken at sunrise and at sunset.
Enjoy.
On this day earlier this week, Cheryl wanted to be sure she caught the sunrise. What a beautiful photo taken between the trees. Skylands and the surrounding areas have already passed their peak of fall foliage – many of the deciduous trees are now bare.
This photo was taken of “Rockefeller’s Teeth” and a back footpath to my home. In summer, the area is filled with greenery – ferns and other perennials. They have all been cut back for the winter.
If you’re not familiar with “Rockefeller’s Teeth,” it is a name affectionately given to the large, irregular blocks of granite that serve as guardrails. One sees many along the carriage roads at Acadia National Park.
And see what is on the other side – a 30-foot drop. We’re thankful for those “teeth.”
This gazebo overlooks my tennis court. In summer, I set chairs and refreshments there for any players and their spectators.
This is the larger of two Jens Jensen–designed lost pools with its natural stone formation. Now it is drained of water and cleaned for winter. My outdoor grounds crew will fill the pools again in spring.
One will always get good exercise at Skylands. This is the walking path up on the hill near the lost pools. Low pathway lights guide walkers at night.
This is my Counsel Circle and fire pit – a wonderful place to gather for evening chats and maybe even a ghost story or two.
There is a lot of moss at Skylands. 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.
This is my circular driveway in front of Skylands. In summer, it’s filled with color from the lush plantings – purple smoke bushes, hay-scented ferns, and these yellow spruce trees, Picea orientalis ‘Skylands’.
The stairs outside the council circle are guarded by Chinese Fu Dogs. Also known as Chinese guardian lions or stone lions, these are symbolic statues traditionally placed at an entrance to protect it from harmful spirits and people.
And this is a beautiful autumn view of Seal Harbor. Most of the boats have disappeared from their harbor moorings. Sutton Island is in the distance – a small, private island south of where I am on Mount Desert.
In the afternoon, Cheryl went out again, in search of more beautiful photographic settings. Here is a young rhododendron that seeded itself outside.
Here is a sunset view between the branches of a tall spruce tree from my dining room window to the west. Seal Harbor is in the distance.
This wall is seen outside the laundry room windows. The evergreens sometimes cast interesting shadows on the stone.
If you follow this blog regularly, you will recognize my large “cracked ice” terrace at Skylands. This photo taken from an upstairs terrace. Here, one can see the branches of the original kiwi vines on the house that are still thriving after all these years. The sundial above the doorway on the right is also original to the home. A sundial tells the time of day using the position of the sun in the sky. It has a flat plate and a gnomon, which casts a shadow onto the dial. It is very accurate.
This photo shows the charming Ox Ledge gazebo next to the Overlook garden.
Here is why I call it the lookout. This gazebo looks out onto Sutton Island, part of the Cranberries, and the ocean beyond.
At sunset, the brilliant colors are reflected in the clouds – stunning red and orange hues.
And here are “Rockefeller’s Teeth” again at the end of the day, now with the setting sun as its backdrop. Thanks, Cheryl, for these great photos. I am looking forward to my next visit to my beloved Skylands.
There's always a new project being completed here at my Bedford, New York farm.
Last month, I stored all my tropical plants for the winter. Every year, they are put into temperature and humidity controlled greenhouses or hoop houses. A selection of tall potted plants is also kept in one area of my stable. To supplement the natural sunlight that comes through the giant stable-entry door windows, I decided to install Spider Farmer LED Dimmable Grow Lights above the plants. These lights are compact, easy-to-assemble, high energy efficient units that offer full-spectrum light needs and even coverage. My plants are sure to get all the light they need during the coming cold season.
Here are some photos.
Because my stable has very tall ceilings, I utilize the center space for storing plants during the cold season. Here, the plants are protected from the elements and can be properly monitored and maintained.
My head gardener, Ryan McCallister, grooms them when needed. Here he is tending to a king palm. These trees have 15 to 20 arching evergreen fronds that emerge from the center crownshaft.
It has a single smooth grey-brownish trunk ringed by the scars from fallen fronds.
Ryan also removes the dead bark from the top of the palm – a process called skinning, which can help reduce the risk of pest infestation.
Palm trees have a horizontal root system that helps anchor the tree in the ground and provides access to nutrients and water.
This branch is from a Norfolk Island Pine – a large, evergreen conifer with a symmetrical, pyramidal shape, a straight trunk, and tiered branches arranged in whorls, with bright green soft, needle-like foliage.
I also have tree ferns in this stable. Tree ferns have ascending trunk-like stems and an arborescent, or tree-like habit with short, green-leafed fronds.
They also have hard, coarse trunks with circular marks where fronds have been shed.
Ryan looks over all the tree fronds and removes any dead or dying branches.
And this is my granddaughter’s avocado tree. Jude grew this from seed and it is now more than 10-feet tall.
To provide more light for all these potted plants, I ordered three 2024 Spider Farmer® G5000 480W Dimmable Full Spectrum High Yield Grow Lights. Each one is four feet square in size.
This box is the controller for the lights – it just snaps in place, with no other assembly required.
My property manager, Doug White, clicks the controller into place at one end, so it is easy to access at any time.
He makes sure the unit is secure on the frame and ready to hang. These grow lights are durable and each one weighs less than 20-pounds.
Then he adjusts the suspension brackets and cords. All the hanging supplies come with the grow lights.
Here it is hanging above the potted specimens. The bar-style design allows proper light distribution and airflow to pass between the bars. Because these lights are LED, they are long-lasting and the most energy-efficient grow light option.
Dough turns it on for a test and adjusts the light strength. Greenhouse grow lights can greatly help to supplement natural light during the winter. Grow lights convert electrical energy into photons, light particles that stimulate photosynthesis and encourage plant growth.
He turns it off and hangs another unit next to it.
Here he is from above. There is a lot of room for the plants to grow beneath the lights, but the lights can be raised as needed.
He separates the lights, so they are equally spaced. In order for the plants to get even light coverage, it is best if they are all hung directly above the plants.
From below, this is what it looks like when the lights turned on just as the sun starts to set. These specimens will be very happy this winter.
Martha Pins
Martha Tweets
