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I am Cecilia. A New Zealander who farms in Illinois.

My farms are organic and regenerative and full of stories. I have been writing here about environmentally sustainable farming and food and travel since 2011.

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LATEST POSTS


  • Fact: Chickens Lay Eggs Standing Up. Video.

    Fact: Chickens Lay Eggs Standing Up. Video.

    Here I will show you. I had dismantled the laying boxes yesterday, taking off the front plank preparing for the spring clean. I was sweeping out the boxes when this chicken insisted on climbing in and laying her egg. Quick. Quick. She said. She wiggled about a bit then stood still, squatted slightly and laid…

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  • Nanny Boo the self appointed Guardian Dog

    Nanny Boo the self appointed Guardian Dog

    Dogs are all the things. They are companions. Guard dogs. Guardian dogs. Farm dogs. Lap dogs. Nagging dogs. Old dogs. What else? The above shot is of Boo trying very hard not to look annoyed (and failing) as I take TOO LONG to get ready to go outside. But one job that Boo, (the Blue…

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  • Easy Home Made Laundry Liquid

    Easy Home Made Laundry Liquid

    ⚫️ In 2019, it was estimated that 49% of all liquid laundry detergents, and about 77% of powdered laundry detergents, contained micro-plastics. Synthetic polymers. Nasty stuff. ⚫️  700 million plastic laundry detergent jugs are thrown away each year in the United States. ⚫️ Synthetic clothing sheds micro-plastics as they are washed and the microplastics are flushed…

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  • How not to panic when your Draft Blog Post Disappears!

    How not to panic when your Draft Blog Post Disappears!

    Blogging is not always plain sailing. My daily blog post was almost finished and just perfect. 🐞 Then winked out. In fact I am sure it was AWARD WINNING! The pictures were beautiful. All the images were optimised and had alt-text and the SMO was still deeply confusing but I was feeling really good about…

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  • How to Catch a Peacock. Mr Flowers needed Help.

    How to Catch a Peacock. Mr Flowers needed Help.

    Yesterday I noticed that Mr Flowers had a band of nylon string wrapped around one of his feet. And he only has one good foot. If left in place the nasty nylon string would continue to tighten and eventually cut off the toe (in this case). By then the animal would be in big trouble.…

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  • Sunday Mornings used to be Coffee and Newspapers.

    Sunday Mornings used to be Coffee and Newspapers.

    Do you remember those days? I loved the Sunday newspaper. How it was really fat, fat enough that everyone had a favourite section and took it off into a corner like a dog with a bone. I also loved how – if you got Saturday right – then Sunday was a proper day of rest.…

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