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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


  • Summery Sunday

    Summery Sunday

    We had a sweet little Sunday morning, today. The sun was in and out and the temperature was perfect. We brought the cows back from across the way. The whole herd. Well – all five of them. John will work on the fences over there and in a few months they will go back there…

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  • A rainy Sunday

    A rainy Sunday

    When it rains I naturally turn towards the kitchen . This are the chickens when I let them out yesterday – apparently the ducks pond has nicer water! Ooo. Yesterday – I also shifted The Four from one field to another. Pigs shift very slowly – there is a lot to investigate on the way.…

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  • Stunning Day!

    The pond is not quite finished but it has been filled and is circulating as a trial. It really is awfully pretty. My big black cow Tia has been sent to a bull to be bred – Aunty stayed home, much to her disappointment, but I am not breeding her again. As well as losing…

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  • In Bed

    I have decided this morning to quite simply lie in bed and do this mornings work here. It is a still and overcast morning after a night of gentle steady rain. Maybe it is going to be hot – I don’t know. After a year working in the depths of the mill I have lost…

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  • MUCH BETTER

    MUCH BETTER

    Not a lot happening on the farm on this mid- summer weekend. The weather is hot and drier lately so John has been baling the straw left over from the wheat crop. As the cover crop of clover begins to take off, I think the straw will become hay! Next year will be corn and…

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  • Too Hard To Say

    Sheila lost the use of her back legs three days ago. I tried and tried to get her to stand but she could not. All through the night we talked about things, out there in the straw, as Poppy slept on. Sheila was sitting most of the time, all through that last night. Huge in…

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