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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


  • The Case Against Lists

    The Case Against Lists

    WaiWai was able to open the feed store door yesterday and politely stood with his head inside the door waiting for me to stop mucking about with hoses and “get on with feeding time already!” He has an enormous capacity for waiting. He doesn’t lie down to wait like all the other pigs. He waits…

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  • Playing Snakes and Ladders: the real kind.

    Playing Snakes and Ladders: the real kind.

    I don’t want to scare any of the people who are scared of snakes. So below is a nice benign image to begin. Though – The Fellowship is a pretty tough bunch after all these years. Quacker came shrieking over for some dinner yesterday evening. Still no sign of chicks. And it was while she…

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  • Learning that Spans a Lifetime

    Learning that Spans a Lifetime

    One of the greatest flaws in humankind is the inability to concede that there will be no resolution. That we might not bring all our plans to fruition. That we are not actually in charge. We know this intellectually. But we don’t want to know this. We prefer not to acknowledge that at any moment…

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  • Empty Nest Syndrome

    Empty Nest Syndrome

    Yes. The little bird has flown or rather the little birds have flown. Plural. Yesterday afternoon they were gone from their bread basket nest. I was sure that one kept flying close to my head as I worked in the evening. I fancied that it might have been Jonathan Livingston Swallow who I put back…

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  • “Cycles: The Key to Environmental Harmony.”

    “Cycles: The Key to Environmental Harmony.”

    How many of the patterns in your life are strongly circular and how many have you have been able to close. Here is a simple one. Our clothing is worn for as long as possible then it is cut up for rags then once those are worn through this thin worn out fabric goes in…

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  • Hoses bomb the farm photos

    Hoses bomb the farm photos

    Either a hose or a bucket. The hoses and buckets are the photo bombers on the farm. I am so used to seeing them strategically placed everywhere that I don’t notice until too late that there is either a hose or a bucket in so many of my shots. Homestead Farmers use lots of hoses…

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