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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


  • Marauding pigs break into the chook-run

    Then realised that the run is not where the food is and only the winter door was open, which is only big enough for a chicken. And the netting that they had broken in through did not allow them to break back out. So they called for help, and I had to lift the netting…

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  • A Tiny Tour through the Tiny House

    These shots of The Matriarchs Coupe were taken to send to the man who we hope will plaster our dry wall. This is a very specialised job, not for the faint of heart.   I thought you may be interested in the rough shots as well. They are boney and raw.   And I hope you…

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  • Polishing the beams and Growing Cabbages in the Window

    If you thought the other day was murky and mucky! Well I spoke too soon. Yesterday drizzled and snowed flurried on and off and the murk deepened. And the skunk is back. We have not seen her but we can smell her, not on TonTon yet but you remember last year.  This dog is a…

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  • The Mucky Murk or is it The Murky Muck

    Yesterday was a study in getting stuck in the mud. I squelched my way through fields with my arms out like wings trying to keep my balance. The ground underneath is still frozen so in some areas the melting soil is like a slurry on top of ice, in others it is deep cold muck…

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  • Lambs go out and play in the snow

    I began the big clean in the barn yesterday. Working our way through each pen … … forking out all the old hay out to the compost piles.. … scraping and cleaning the concrete floors … c .. … …everything get sprinkled with diatomaceous earth to kill any bugs, then lime to dry it out…

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  • The Chopping Block got the Chop

    I would have taken a shot of the chopping block but it was chopped and in the fire before I knew it, last night. So, all this years firewood is gone. From now on we will have chilly starts. And early to bed evenings.  I don’t mind I spend most of the day outside anyway.…

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