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
-
Sheila goes walkies down by the creek
Sheila the big pig is getting a bit too big. Fat I think. So Ton and I took her for a little walk. After she had managed to get past the new compost heap, we had a nice wee trot around the back. Going back in and out of the Logan’s gate often so she…
-
Breaking all the Rules of Carpentry
While we have been farming, my friend the cabinet maker has been building the shelves/ cabinets for the Coupe. The Coupe is a Tiny House being built adjoining our Home. Our Johns Mother will live there when she is ready to retire. Until then it will be a divine little guest house. Everything is…
-
A one legged rooster is not really one legged
The chooks, roosters and the guineas swap feet when they are standing in the cold, one foot up, then that foot down and then another foot up, like a wee boy in his thin pajamas showing too much ankle on the cold bathroom floor desperately waiting for the toilet. Hurry UUUUP! His feet taking turns…
-
Sheila’s Christmas Trick
Most piggies can open a door and go out. That is not a problem. Yes, many pigs can open doors to get out. Maybe that is not too clever.Though Sheila’s smile of satisfaction is pretty sweet. However Sheila has also worked out how to go back to the door, push the bolt about, get…
-
It is the time of year for Christmas Revelry. If you want to.
For many, many years I spent Christmas Day alone. Quite happily. I counted to thirteen Christmas mornings waking up in an empty house then I stopped counting. My children always spent Christmas with their beloved Grandmother my ex husbands mother. This was our tradition – a good one too. And I had a project every…
-
The Christmas Owl
Oh Owl. You look so pretty. But where is your Christmas scarf and why are you Carrying your star? I thought we agreed that you would Wear the star. You know. To be more Christmassy. I don’t want to be a Christmas Owl, miss c. Do I look like a tree? I am not a…
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 