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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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Pumpkins for cows
The pears have petered out except for a last few left in my fruit bowl and now the cows have been switched to pumpkins for their milking treat. The cream in the milk when I was milking on pears was amazing. The pumpkins make for a rich heavy cream. I found some reasonably priced lemons…
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Golden Fall
Autumn has come. It came on fast actually. The leaves held their green for as long as they could in this wet warm autumn. Now finally the trees have begun to turn their coats and the leaves to release their tenuous hold on life and fall. I never rake up leaves I let them lay about the tree…
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A Watchful Stillness
There has been a curious watchful stillness about the air these last few days. Waiting. “Captive wild animal watching the open door.” – kind of waiting. This was our sunrise yesterday. In a moment it will spring forth leaving winter in its wake but for the moment there is this warm stillness. A Wait. We did…
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Meet Tia and Sad News
Meet Tia and her cousin BobbyT3. Tia is the daughter of a major star in the Holstein Show Circuit. And her father is an acclaimed Angus bull. She is very calm, and friendly. Docile. Her cousin the steer is also a gentle fellow. They are both a good size too. Almost three months old. Nice…
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Buying Calves
The other day I was offered two Holstein/Angus cross calves and after some deliberation and research I have decided to buy them.(Though I will also need to buy more hay for their winter feed). So today I will drag the stock trailer out to their farm and collect them. One is a heifer and one…
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Pigs in the Root Cellar
Lists are so boring but so essential don’t you think. Every Monday morning I try to make a decent list of the weeks work. But this morning my mind seems to have slipped into a blank state. So I am writing to you instead. On the weekend we shifted Aunty Anna (the shorthorn/hereford cross)…
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