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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
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cold gales
A nor’wester and fiercely cold. Wind plus cold is hard on stock. And it blew hard and cold all night. Lucky the animals all have shelter. My Dad (a man of the sea) said a gale is anything over 30 knots. In the very noisy night the winds were gusting up 35+ miles an hour
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Farmers and the Weather
To be honest. Most farmers begin any discussion with talk about the weather. The weather makes all the difference in our day. You can tell a farmer because they can find a way to moan about the weather even when it is perfect. That’s me! A woman said to me the other day she tries
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Cows and Fish in the cold
In the cold we give cows rougher hay. That way their digestive systems take a bit longer to break down the hay generating a bit more energy as heat in their bellies. All the pigs eat hay too as part of their diet but they chew it better before swallowing. Cows have a longer more
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Frigid.
Good morning from the frigid freaking cold Midwest. I am sitting in my piggy bed wearing my warm Kathmandu jersey and my brothers wooly hat writing to you because the house is cold! Everything is cold! I will race to a hot shower then put on multiple layers and that’s just for inside! This feels
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tea towels below freezing
Even when it is cold. Very cold. We still hang washing on the clothesline to dry. Sometimes the garments freeze solid! But eventually they dry!! If it is snowing we hang the laundry on racks inside. Our clothes last twice as long plus it uses no energy to dry them. This is not a choice.
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I am thankful for every day
For all my American friends – have a lovely Day of Thanks. I am thankful for every day I have here on this magic planet. It is cold this morning – as is befitting the season. I have been looking back over some old posts – choosing a few to use for our retrospective posts
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