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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


  • Untitled post 26106

    Yesterday I lost one of Poppy’s piglets. She looked a bit off on Friday evening, stopped eating on Saturday, did not respond to the usual treatments and died yesterday morning. I don’t know. I take these things hard. She had no symptoms at all. No scours. No vomiting. No cough. But something was happening inside her. There…

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  • In-Heriting those ears

    In-Heriting those ears

    Txiki has inherited her ears from her red head mother.  Txiki’s mother is Alex, the little red cow who looks like a shaggy mountain pony – Alex is spending time with Carlos the Tiny. Both are Dexters.  Txiki (Alex’s daughter) is a cross between a Dexter and a low line Angus, she looks like a shiny…

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  • Oh No – Not Dreary!

    Oh No – Not Dreary!

    John looked at this picture over my shoulder last night and said, you are not showing them that dreary photo are you?  I said,  when it is dreary the blog shows dreary. He is appalled. But if we don’t see the dreary side how can we possibly appreciate the sparkling side. I think there is a…

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  • A Nasty Day Ahead

    A Nasty Day Ahead

    Wind and Cold. It was windy all night and as I write on my disappearing keyboard (the letters are almost all gone again)  the wind is howling outside and it is 20F/-6C.  This does not include windchill.  The windchill equation brings us down to 4F/-15C but I have no interest in that number!  I have to…

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  • Sheila the Thief

    Sheila the Thief

    Sheila my Big Fat Pig is being VERY NAUGHTY. I could not work out why the calves were spending so much time out of their nice big shelter in the Rat House, so this afternoon I went in to see what was going on. I pushed through the mob to see what had caught their…

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  • The Morning After

    The Morning After

    It snowed all day, the day before yesterday, lulling us into it’s clean bright world. Then, yesterday, with a snide attempt at a grin the snow began to melt into muck. The two big cows are still on the concrete yards but Sheila and her calves have turned the hay corner of the salad bar field into…

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