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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
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Your Day is finished
Oh. Gods. The Relief. When you can say that to yourself. Our Day is Finished. When I say this to the dogs, and they know that they and I are done for the day. Animals are fed. Animal beds are deep and dry. Animals waters are flipped over so they are not full of frozen…
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Sun Dogs at my Heels.
The Patient had an early appointment this morning. So I was out even earlier in the morning feeding the cows and pigs and chickens in the dark. The wind had blown gently and very coldly all night. I followed my own footsteps in the snow from last nights chores. A bucket in each hand and…
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Hell is not hot. It is Deep Cold.
Do you remember the polar vortex of 2014? I think it was ‘14. We hit -20 and stayed there for way too long. That was a bad winter. Though there were two of us farming then. We lost The Duke of Kupa that winter. That was the first time I had ever heard the term…
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The Storm arrived …
And today is not going to be pleasant. Since I woke up this morning (at 5am) to start my writing (for the Sustainable Sunday Letter) we have had snow, sleet, rain and very strong easterly winds. This image, below is called ‘Through the Glass Easterly.” They call it a wintry mix. Which sounds like a…
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Well, Yesterday was a Roller Coaster
But that is fine. i am not afraid of heights. We already know that the exhalted and unpaid position of caregiver has its ups and downs. This is what I wrote yesterday: then ran out of time and proceeded to zoom through the day. ‘The In Between; this weather and that weather’. I have always…
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Farming in a Slushie
They predicted snow and we got rain. Oh joy!’ All that fuss about 4 inches of snow. Nope. It is too warm. We have four inches of slush. I am working in a great big fat flat slushy. The temperatures are staying stubbornly warm and we got inches of rain mixed with wet snow. Yes.…
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Letters To My Mother
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