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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


  • A Well Placed Rocking Chair

    A Well Placed Rocking Chair

    I placed an old rocking chair in front of the barn and sat on it yesterday evening. And it was good! I never sit down out there. Why do I never do that!? The rocking chair blends with the barn. Looking like it has sat there forever. Small changes can have big repercussions. I will…

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  • How’s your Fake Spring?

    How’s your Fake Spring?

    Ours is great. I am even thinking of buying my yearly supply of clothes pegs for the clothesline! Where do all those pegs disappear to!? FreeBee is so much happier with a warmer day. This is how BooBoo breaks up cock-fights. Because he is not allowed to bite the roosters, he runs towards them and…

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  • Someone Left My Coat Out in the Rain

    Someone Left My Coat Out in the Rain

    And that would be me!!! I thought about it in the night as I heard the rain begin. Heavy on my tin roof. So, from deep in my bed I did a quick mental inventory of the pockets. Then turned over and went back to sleep. I saw myself take it off when I got…

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  • When a Black Cat crosses your Path

    When a Black Cat crosses your Path

    Distant. Beautiful. That penetrating gaze. Slightly ethereal. Superior. Independent. Black Cat is deeply imbued with cat characteristics. And this cat crosses my path with panache. Stalking. I don’t know the sex of this cat but TomKat hisses at it. And the orange cats are very wary. No-one takes TomKat seriously, he is so hairy and…

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  • Give it a Rest. Reach Out.

    Give it a Rest. Reach Out.

    The animosity. The pettiness. The tiny-mind mean-spiritedness. The shyness. The dark self talk. The busyness of business. Give it a rest. All that thinking. Stop it. Heads Up. Reach out to your people. Take a deep breath and jump into a conversation. Two people I knew not too well have died. We liked each other.…

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  • Wild Quacker has Flown Away

    Wild Quacker has Flown Away

    Sad right. But it is the way of things. Especially wild things. The last time I saw her was on Friday when she was flying round and around above the house and the barn – at height – doing big loops – squawking loudly. Mad thought she was probably calling for a mate and I…

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