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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


  • How to make Raw Apple Cider Vinegar whilst pretending that this is what you wanted to make all along!

    This morning is 9F  (minus 12 C).  Clear and cruely cold.   All the animals are fed and watered and I have opened all the barn doors as the sun is shining.  A juxtapostition of the senses that I could not hang in a gallery.    It is a stunning, fiercely cold, bright and  sunny…

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  • All Dawns are Not Born Equal.

    Dawn shot. Not enough light and snow driving sideways. It stings your face that snow.  19F which is minus7.2C.   Note the MINUS as we head out the door.  I don’t like the minus.  This morning, I have discovered that if you have a sneezing fit out in the barn in that kind of cold…

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  • Blood in The Barn! Hairy can no longer Toot his own Horn!

    You know how only YESTERDAY Daisy promised not to head butt Hairy  in 2012? Well it was still 2011 yesterday. We were working in the barn unearthing the 1953 Dodge. It will be my asparagus truck for the spring, I am going to park it at the end of the track and sell my fresh…

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  • Daisy’s list of New Years Resolutions

    Daisy thought, since no-one else on the Farmy was making New Years resolutions through some kind of lack of resolve,  that she would.  She also wanted to remind me that should I promise to give her  four alfalfa cubes as a treat every day for the rest of her life then I should remember that…

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  • Back to work you lot! How to make Butter at Home!

    After all the Christmas palavalava,  I thought you might be ready for something simple and old fashioned. Nothing is simpler to make than butter. There is only one ingredient… CREAM! (And a touch of salt at the end if you want it to keep a bit longer.) Butter – my favourite! My cream came straight…

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  • And so to these magnanimous awards, for the new year and for the old year, for our year.

    We have a story at the end of this post, you will see why soon. But first. The giving and receiving of awards is most wonderful and most terrifying. Choices hurt. How can I possibly choose between you, when I have so many truly wonderful people reading and commenting on my pages.  Many more whose…

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