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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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Toads Do Not Become Princes you Know
But I have seen a lot of princes become toads. This toad was calmly waking across the bottom step of the verandah before seeing us and hopping (literally) back into the bed of leaves. He is an American toad (Anaxyrus americanus). Very common. And so delightful. He may even have been hibernating there. (I leave…
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Do You See What I see? The First Spring Chick!
I know that spring has arrived with I hear the chirp of a new chick. There is the wild fanfare of morning birds and the grass is greening up, buds popping on the trees. But a wee chick is a great big exclamation mark on the arrival of spring. I wonder what you see that…
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Do you know what This Bird Is?
As the trees grow in our wilding areas so too do the bird populations. We are in Illinois, just about 100 miles South of Chicago and many of our birds fly South for the winter. And now they are coming back. And this tiny brown and white speckly bird, about 4 inches long I think…
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Is there a difference between Blogs and Social Media?
Is a blog better than Social Media or is there even a difference? Maybe a blog IS Social Media. Personally I think our blogs are much more than Instagram or Facebook (or Twitter and TikTok). Did you know that 77% of internet users read blogs and they prefer blogs that are written and managed by…
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Rolling Hits of Stormy Weather
Nasty squalls hurled themselves across the landscape of the midwest plains last night. Wind, rain that sounded like hail, the roar of the storms, all flew above our heads like malevolent angels. Thunder shook the house and lightening kept Boo under the desk with his storm blanket on his head. The squalls came in banks,…
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Fact: Chickens Lay Eggs Standing Up. Video.
Here I will show you. I had dismantled the laying boxes yesterday, taking off the front plank preparing for the spring clean. I was sweeping out the boxes when this chicken insisted on climbing in and laying her egg. Quick. Quick. She said. She wiggled about a bit then stood still, squatted slightly and laid…
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