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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


  • Dear Old Friend,

    Dear Old Friend,

      8.53 pm. Tuesday night (NOT Wednesday night!  hard to remember what day it is sometimes!) Dear old Friend, I am laughing at myself! Fifteen minutes ago I was reading your email  – my brain turned off – La La La  I was humming, sleepy,  sitting in my chair, cup of tea, dishes draining from dinner and writing…

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  • The Eyes of a Toad

    The Eyes of a Toad

    Look who introduced himself to me in the glasshouse yesterday. A Glasshouse Toad with very determined eyes.  I left him in there – the cold is coming back soon and he has come out of his hibernation – better he stays in the glasshouse and hunts for bugs in there until it warms up for good. I brought…

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  • Going Green

    Going Green

    The word Green stands for so many different things. Environmentally friendly. The greenies. Marijuana. The Green Party (hey NZ – are they still there?). Green as in innocent or un-knowing. Little Green Men.  Green as in envious. Green Tea. For me: Green means – well – GREEN  – as in the colour. Yesterday it rained with a high of…

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  • From the Left

    From the Left

    From the Left: Lady Astor, Alex, Carlos the Tiny, Aunty Del.  The summer herd. Small but good and hopefully productive. The Tall and the Short of it.  No problems there at the moment. Sheila has been moved across to her house in the field. Happily I might add. Now that she is alone I can…

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  • Fire in the hole!

    Fire in the hole!

    As expected I scooped and shovelled “the proverbial” all day.  It was sunny and warmed up beautifully. I barely went inside all day. Cow manure does not smell too bad though so it was not an unpleasant task. Later while I was Across the Way feeding the cows and pigs I saw that the neighbour…

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  • Jig Saw Jog

    Jig Saw Jog

    Well, yesterday was busy as you can imagine. Spring though sunless seems to be on it’s way. My life is consumed by the weather. I remember my life when I lived in the city each day was a surprise I never looked at a weather forecast or even bothered with wind direction. Now it is…

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