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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


  • Good Bees.. Close Up

    Only two pictures today… because yesterday nothing topped the honey in Nefertiti’ s House.. and the Brood in Cleopatra’s. These are hand held shots so the images are not brilliantly sharp at this magnification. But … wow.  I could not resist. They had a tough spring with all the rain and storms and cool weather. So…

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  • What to do when your puppy brings you rat poison

    After your heart has sunk. And you have reached into his reluctant mouth and carefully lifted the offending little brick of poison over his teeth and out of his mouth.  We were visiting a friend and it was one of those moments when you are chatting and not watching the dogs as closely as you…

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  • More peacock eggs and big bellies and sleeping cats!

    I wonder if peahen eggs is the correct term or peacock eggs. The egg may contain either. It seems the peahens are laying again. Or at least I have found one of their more recent nests. (With a chicken egg in it just for good measure.) The peahens are being very good at staying out…

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  • What you need to breed a cow without a bull

    To breed a cow without the actual bull you need frozen semen. Well of course you do!! This gadget. The semen is in a small straw that fits into the end of this, once it gets through the cervix the semen is gently released into the uterus. And to get that far you will need…

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  • Walkabout the Farmy between Storms and a Piggy Anniversary!

    I love that word: Storm. It has such weight! Such potential. Such compassion when it storms above your head but does not break it. And such callousness when it does. The dogs and I walked the perimeter with Camera House between squalls yesterday to see what you might see and the benefit of all this…

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  • Wild Storms, Electric Shocks and Back Doors

    I fully intended to have this written and ready to post at dawn this morning  as usual but then the weather had other plans. The electrician did not come to turn our power off yesterday but a nasty storm did.  A very nasty storm. Two more  inches of rain and horrendous white out winds. We…

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