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 Bee Hive goes Up a Level
Still wrapped in the gentleness of the summer glide we had a productive day yesterday. Summer sauce went into jars. Dried capsicum into jars. Stuff I am not going to eat came Out of jars and into the mouths of my piglets. I have a terrible habit of keeping things in jars just because they…
-
The Rising of the Ark
Not the 2 x 2 Ark we have had no rain for a while but the 47 Chickens On Grass Ark. Scrapper is unimpressed. Kupa is just not the bird he used to be. But my vase of peacock feathers is glorious. Don’t worry they will grow back in time for spring and next year…
-
Some Most Excellent News! At last!
I took a bite of an apple to see if it was ready to be picked.. not quite but still very tasty, crisp and warm from the sun. But that is not the good news. I took all these shots yesterday before I even got the news. The Duke of Kupa probably knew before us.…
-
Children of the Corn
Out here in corn country there is a legend that the ghosts of all the children lost in the corn fields come out at night and roam the rows, crying piteously. Probably rattling fences, and shaking corn stalks together. Though no-one I talk to can remember a child getting actually lost in the corn fields.…
-
The Shift into a lower summer gear
Yesterday. Yesterday the shift into a lower cruisier gentler quieter gear finally happened. It was not warm, but the produce came up in baskets from the gardens. The rhythm of movement without jerks and pulls and pounces. A good calm successful day. Boo spend the afternoon lying under a hydrangea bush. When I picked him…
-
Boys and Chicks
I love having children on the farm. Just having fun. After the mandatory swim, this fellow gathers eggs, feeds the cats, (Egoli was found at his house so he always brings him and Tiba a little pot of food each). He picks tomatoes in the gardens then settles down with a little jar of dried…
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 