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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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The Cadet and I
Yesterday we had an old fashioned day and the Cadet and I toddled about the farm doing our work. Just the two of us. We picked apples for the dehydrator and pies, and apples off the ground for the pigs. We found a butterfly – a monarch – in a wood of milkweed – a protected plant…
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Prairie Squalls
Again and again yesterday we were hit with buckets of drenching rain. Inches of it. Pouring out of the sky., I don’t even really understand how a fluffy cloud could contain so much water. Literally Tons of water in a little cloud like that. How can it sit in there and wait to rain like…
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The Power, Your Power
I am often amazed by the power of a small word or gesture. The tiniest pat and smallest gentle correction can literally make a world of difference to a persons future. A small word as you open the door, a smile as you close it. We are powerful. All of us. We must be careful…
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Poppy and Pie
It has been so long since I managed this whole farmette by myself that yesterday I lost track of time as I trotted about and ended up coming up to the house way too late to make any dinner so we went out to The Local for fried chicken and by the time I got…
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From A little Mermaid
Because there has been so much more rain. I feel like I am swimming through the days. Yesterday it simply poured almost all day. Again. The rain carried dread with it. We wish for rain, but too much of anything carries its own punishment. I thought of mermaids as we sloshed through huge murky puddles…
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Tane Mahuta
Yesterday Tane Mahuta was loaded into Kim’s car and off we went to the vet. Thank Goodness for Kim and her car. After another 79 dollars we discovered that he has thrown his hip out a bit and developed a secondary infection. He has a temperature of 104 degrees (between 100 and 102 is normal) so he…
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