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
-
You Saw it Here
PAN. In my barn. Though Pan has a pretty bad reputation around goats. So I told Freya to watch out for herself. But she didn’t listen. Too funny really. Lets look at that again. I am still laughing. Freya looks so intent. Marmalade playing with her kitten. The girls come in for dinner. Look at…
-
Easterly
The Easterly is my least favourite wind, our prevailing wind is the Sou’ wester. All the trees bend that way, so the sleeping arrangements in the barn have (like the trees) evolved as shelters bending to shield themselves from this wind. When a cold Easterly comes flying in with snow and rain on its back…
-
Balance
Yesterday John had the day off so he finished and brought home my Winter present. He does not do Christmas and Birthday presents he makes winter presents. Last year it was a chicken tractor. This year it is a free standing home made hay feeder. I took a photo of a NZ one when I was…
-
Movements
The Accident Chicks have been shifted to their half-way house outside. Kim’s Hen House. Actually we could call it Kim’s Half-way Hen House. Which is a pleasing alliteration and you know how I like those. It was just getting Too cramped in their inside box. The time had come. The little urban hen house has…
-
Every thing in its proper place
This time of year, as we gear up for the busy season, everything is re-placed in its proper place, House AND Barn and woe betide anyone who borrows something and does not return it. I work alone – so that would be ME whose Woes will be Beti-ded. And the house is small so everything…
-
Cats in Hiding
The kittens have heard that next week they are off to have their ‘operations.’ So they are exploring hiding places. I can still see you, you know. Hide again. I can still see you this time too. Egoli quite likes riding in the car and wonders if he can take his perfectly healthy paw for…
The Kitchen's Garden
Sustainable. Self Sufficient. Loving the Land. Join Us!
Site Navigation
Letters To My Mother
Want more?
Join me on Substack where I tell stories of growing up in a different time, a simpler time, a time when all those sustainable tips we are relearning now were normal and ordinary.
Join us at The Sustainable Home:
Sign up to our monthly newsletter for tips on managing a sustainable home.
The Kitchen's Garden 