WELCOME!

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.

Join Us!


LATEST POSTS


  • The disaster zone

    The disaster zone

    Yesterday I called the farm a disaster zone (after 2 and a 1/2 MORE inches of rain) and the animals must  be evacuated to higher ground. Except the pigs who are as happy as .. well.. Pigs.   Thoroughly disillusioned we moved the two Bobbys (steers) across the way onto the concrete pad there (they were literally…

    Read more

  • Poor Piglets

    Poor Piglets

    Yesterday the boar piglets were castrated. So they did not have a good day. However Poppy was very well behaved and waited patiently outside in the rain until it was over.  There are two gilts(girls) (Jake will have one and I will keep the other) and three plonkers.  They recover very fast. Can you see this little…

    Read more

  • Frustrating

    Frustrating

    Now that the meat chickens are in the freezer there is a field free and the cows have been re-organized . And all last night they noisily protested. But they will settle down after a day or two. Queenies Bobby and Aunty Del go across the way today. Queenies bobby is the noisiest so I…

    Read more

  • Playing along

    Playing along

    I was taking all our shots yesterday with my phone but I must have inadvertently turned on a high noise filter. Still.. .. life is not always crystal clear.  I think these images will look better on a small screen. For once you smarty pants phone viewers will be the winners. And the images are…

    Read more

  • Gardening in the rain

    Gardening in the rain

    Yesterday it rained. I am trying very hard not to make sarcastic comments like ” Rain? Really? You’re kidding.” More rain. Amanda was Kitchen Mama which meant I had hours to spend in the garden and it was raining but I just worked in the  rain. All day I was sopping wet. But happy. A whole…

    Read more

  • black calf in the black night

    black calf in the black night

    Last night I decided that I would begin the process to wean Naomi completely from her mother. So instead of letting her back with her mother in the evening I left her in her corner pen with  walls that come up to my chest and extra food and extra cuddles. (Look at those flies on…

    Read more