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I was not a friend to the deer this weekend, having spent hours and hours mowing acres and acres of the high grass in which they like to make their beds.  I was, however, a Hero of the Barn Swallows: they love it when someone mows because it turns into a feast.  They swoop around […]

The grass is rising high and the fences are sinking low at the farm these days. This weekend, we celebrated Memorial Day.  Rhinebeck has a real small-town parade, which Sarah was eligible to march in by virtue of her membership on the softball team. All people in uniform are welcome. Sarah was thrilled to have […]

On Saturday, we visited the Northern Dutchess Botanical Gardens to buy a few plants for the garden. We got the essentials: peppers (bell and poblano); lettuce (oak leaf, red sails, and red romaine); arugula; peas (snow and sugar-snap); soybeans; broccoli; strawberries (everbearing, Junebearing and all-star); herbs (green and purple basil, Italian parsley, and lemon verbena); flowers (coneflowers […]

On Saturday, Sarah played first base in her first softball game, against Red Hook. Rhinebeck could have fielded 15 players, but the Red Hook coaches — rather churlishly, in my opinion — allowed only nine of them on the field at a time. Some of the Red Hook girls seemed quite a bit older. In […]

We had a great Mothers’ Day weekend at the farm, with lots of lilacs starting to bloom, and plenty of gardening by Jen. If the house appears a little odd … … it’s because we’re having it painted, and it looks a bit naked without its shutters. In addition to lilacs, we gathered lots of […]

  We had plenty of sunshine this weekend, enjoyed by what we can only hope is a large proportion of our pond’s turtles. The squirrels — all of whom are as fat as house cats — checked out the new growth. The birds also seemed to enjoy the fine spring weather.  Here is a mourning […]

We returned to the farm after a month away to find many harbingers of spring. Uncharacteristically negligent deer left us a single crocus, which is enjoying a visit from a bee. We had a visit from some scaups, as well as a pair of mallards (not pictured). We found wild hyacinths … … and a […]

Sarah and Jen are already thinking ahead to next spring, planting bulbs that they got from Aunt Julie’s chorus fundraiser. Here is a red-bellied woodpecker, which spent most of the day at the feeder. And below, some of our last remaining leaves.

We had a great summer vacation, mostly at the farm.  We started off last week with a canoe trip in the Adirondacks, on Follensby Clear Pond.  Here is Sarah preparing to launch the Sarah K.  Sarah got the full camping experience, including a campfire dinner (hot dogs, corn on the cob and s’mores) and plenty […]

We had a rainy Saturday, but Jen and Sarah made the best of it.  It’s been quite hot, and some rain was welcome.  Eventually the sun came out, and with it the bunnies… … and their admirers. The rain was particularly welcome in the garden.  Sarah’s pumpkin is thriving. The corn seems to be doing […]