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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


  • The Cat and her Pig

    The Cat and her Pig

    I was taking photographs of the plonkers yesterday which is a challenging task as they are never still… … and with the sun being so low I needd to get myelf low to get a shot but the moment I lowered my hanches to the ground I was mobbed.  So it was a frustrating business. I…

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  • Save your fivers

    Save your fivers

    All my working life I have put coins in jars and fivers in a drawer.  Every five dollar note that I touch is saved and I have jars of coins sitting in the corner waiting to be cashed in.  And they are all cashed in when I begin to take my annual leave. And leave I…

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  • oops, I forgot

    oops, I forgot

    Remember how I told you it got really cold the night before last but that was OK as i was all preparde for the cold? Well, I completely forgot that the milking pump and the pulsator hate cold and I left them out in the milking room, the pump sitting on its stand and the…

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  • The closing of the days

    The closing of the days

    I milk at three in the afternoon. My cows are trained to milk once a day at three which is the warmest patrt of the day. And everyone is happy with this arrangement especially John who is doing very well learning to milk. Milking is the pivot of a farm day and the sunsets come…

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  • House – Work in a Windy Barn

    House – Work in a Windy Barn

    The wind is blowing hard and is a Nor/West. In this hemisphere – the Northerly one is the cold one.  It was a Sou-west when I went to bed and it turned in the night and I know I left the big north door open a bit for the calves to come in and forgot to…

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  • A Pig’s Cat

    A Pig’s Cat

    Tane (the disabled kunekune boar) has a cat. Her name is LuLu. All the farm cats are ginger cats and LuLu is the oldest ginger cat.  And LuLu loves Tane. You know  how cats rub their bodies against your legs and ankles – particularly when you are cooking dinner – well LuLu does this with…

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