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We continue to find old apple and pear trees from the farm’s former life as an orchard.  The fruit they produce is not beautiful — and, in fact, not always tasty — but there is some high quality fruit out there. Jen is now able to reach such fruit thanks to our new Flexrake LRB190 Fruit Picker. Jen also tends […]

Sarah had her first soccer game of the season on Saturday.  The Ravens (f/k/a Fireballs) played the Red Hook Storm.  Sarah played defense with gusto, élan, and vigor.  The Ravens fell to the Storm 2-1, but there wasn’t a moment when we doubted that the Ravens could win. Sarah and her friend Anna congratulated each […]

We just finished a two-week vacation at the farm.  (Or, rather, I finished it.  Sarah and Jen continue to vacation.)  Here’s Sarah having a sip of water after hiking through Ferncliff Forest, just outside the village of Rhinebeck. It’s part of the old Astor estate.  Jen and I climbed the fire tower, which gives spectacular […]

We had a splendid Memorial Day weekend, with all of Jen’s family visiting. Sarah marched in the parade with the Rhinebeck Soccer league. The locusts were blooming. And we celebrated Lew Burleigh’s 75th birthday.  Happy birthday, Lew!

We celebrated Mothers Day in customary fashion, with breakfast in bed for mom. This year, we decided not to burden Jen with another tree she would need to plant — although the Redbud, Jen’s 2009 Mothers Day present, is now thriving.  Here it is in 2011. On Saturday, Sarah, for reasons best known to herself, […]

We had a very merry Christmas at the farm, with a visit from all of the Burleighs (and one or two Burleigh affiliates) and plenty of surprises under the tree.  Even Daisy got several presents, including this star, rated 9/10 on the dog toy toughness scale.  She has since demolished it. The next day, Jen […]

  We sprinted up to the farm Tuesday night to beat a snow storm.  The lights flickered, but we did not lose power — although we did suffer a hellacious Wednesday without Wifi. We got six or eight inches — just enough for a family snowshoe outing. Daisy loves the snow. Jen made a lovely apple […]

We stayed in New York Friday night so Sarah could trick-or-treat.  She was Athena, the goddess of war and wisdom. It was quite chilly in Rhinebeck, but that did not stop Daisy from going swimming.  She is very hardy. Afterward, Daisy unwound on Sarah’s beanbag chair. Most of our leaves have fallen, but some are holding on.

We are at the peak of the fall foliage season.  This weekend we had many plans: the Sheep & Wool festival, a visit from the Dizes, an auction at George Cole, an antique car show at Mills Mansion, and a 4-H open house at Southlands.  We accomplished none of them, mainly in favor of school applications, […]

  Once again we had a rainy Saturday but a splendid Sunday.  On Saturday, Sarah had a riding lesson, in which she wrestled bravely with Cookie’s exceeding bounciness.  During the weekend, she offered her toil, sweat and tears (no blood, thank goodness) to her essays for her school applications. Because my comments on Sarah’s applications […]