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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


  • YES! They are HERE!

    YES! They are HERE!

    The four tiny American Guinea Hogs are here. And they are good! They are robust, chubby and very busy. American Guinea Hogs are an old American breed that was even on the endangered list for a while, they were very common in the South in the old days being a small friendly easy to raise

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  • 📣 A Fun Announcement

    📣 A Fun Announcement

    I am looking for a few readers who would like to write GUEST POSTS for the kitchens garden blog while I am in California next month. We used to do this all the time! Remember? Who we would love to meet This time I am particularly looking for writers or aspiring writers, writers of novels,

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  • West meets East

    West meets East

    Look West. See the sunset? Then. Turn. Swivel. Look over your shoulder. Keep your feet planted. Look back. From the exact same spot. Look East. Same light. Same time. Different direction. The land is so flat that the sunset lights the clouds in the East. We can see light and dark from the exact same

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  • Weeding in Bare Feet

    Weeding in Bare Feet

    If you are a gardener you are a weeder. A watcher of weeds. We endlessly plot how to have weed free gardens and fields. A weed is a plant in the wrong place and there are thousands of plants in the wrong place in my pig garden. Velvet weed or Buttonweed is an invasive species.

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  • Line after Line of Storms

    Line after Line of Storms

    Last night, after a terribly hot, oppressively muggy day, we were battered by line after line of dangerous threatening storms. The wind felt circular and furious. Rain pounded down. Thunder rolled endlessly, like a larger than life train was passing by. Out the window, in the strobe-like flashes of lightning, I could see the big

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  • Blending the Flocks and Herds

    Blending the Flocks and Herds

    By returning the calves to their aunties and bonding the new layer chick flock with the old layers I have made a massive dent in my work day. Four units have become two. I am very glad to finally get to this day in the plan. The chicks have been moved in with the big

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