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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 […]

We had a lovely day today — cool, dry, and sunny.  The trees are starting to turn, and it begins to seem possible that, some day, the barn roof may be finished.  On Saturday, in the rain, we had a visit from Zach Wolf, who farms at Stone Barns (the Rockefeller place in Pocantico Hills) […]

We arrived at the farm Thursday night in the middle of a monsoon, which claimed about a third of a big maple tree in the back yard.  We had no power until 3:30 a.m., which gave us the opportunity to play Boggle by candlelight.  No plaint here.  It continued raining all day on July 4.  […]

The dead apple tree in the field in front of the house finally gave up the ghost.  On the bright side, it’ll make mowing easier — I hit it pretty often with the tractor. Daisy, however, was mournful.

Many leaves are still hanging on, even though Chanukiving is just a few weeks away.

Today, Sarah and I visited the Sheep & Wool Festival at the Dutchess County Fairgrounds, with John and Diana Rice and their son Mason.  Jen stayed home to work on Sarah’s Halloween costume.  In addition to sheep, we saw goats, llamas, alpacas, angora rabbits, vincuñas, and many, many, women who seem to spend an inordinate […]