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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


  • LOST IN THE DARK

    LOST IN THE DARK

    Last night Tane disappeared into the dark.  I was on the phone talking to the airlines looking out the window. And as I talked I watched the poor old hobbly pig walk out in the gathering dark – the wrong way. 

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  • AUNTY’S RICE SALAD

    AUNTY’S RICE SALAD

    AUNTY’S BROWN RICE SALAD A great salad – the trick to this salad is adding the soy sauce and onions to the hot brown rice and letting them steam and soak and cool together. My sister first introduced this to me at New Years in New Zealand. She is not a cook. In fact she…

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  • HIGH WINDS

    HIGH WINDS

    The first thing I do every day – even before I sit down to write to you, my friends – is I check the weather.  As kids, when the radio man read the weather forecast woe betide anyone who spoke or rattled pots or slammed the door. There was a hushed almost religious silence for the…

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  • Untitled post 35425

    In the night when the dogs and I were out in the dark- they were watching me catch roosters – the moon was so bright we had shadows. Moon shadows. 

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  • CROOKED BOTTOM

    CROOKED BOTTOM

    I had a chicken catcher visit yesterday. A young man who spent a couple of hours sneaking up on the runaway chickens catching them and returning them to the chicken coop. So to date there is only one (or maybe two) still wandering about with no home. 

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  • ONWARD

    ONWARD

    I had the most refreshing and invigorating discussion with the man who sells my pork. He is on a mission to feed good people good food and get good farmers a paycheck. 

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