Officially SPRING! Buuuuut… Mother Nature doesn’t always agree. The snow melted, revealing the ground, and then—NOPE! More snow! We ended up with about fifteen centimeters and are now bracing for another week of snow systems.
This freeze-and-thaw cycle is pretty typical. The in-between stage of snow and dirt? Well… it’s mud. And lots of it.
Morning chores have been anywhere from 4°C to -8°C. Honestly, -8°C feels like hoodie-and-flannel weather compared to the deep freeze of winter! We don’t even mind chores in the slightly-below-zero temps—at least the muddy footprints from the night before are frozen solid, and there’s no risk of losing a boot in the muck!
Open Mic Night
We have such talented friends! I think we mentioned an open mic night in a previous blog, and we finally made the time to join in on the fun again. There’s a pub-style restaurant in Fredericton with a side door that leads down a hallway to a whole separate area. It has that old speakeasy vibe. Every Thursday night, they host an open mic.
We carpooled with Al and Constance, picked up Amalie on the way out of town, and made our way there by around 8 pm. What a ride! We met some new people Al works with (or works for), enjoyed some drinks, had conversations with some very interesting folks, and listened to some excellent music.
Al got up to perform, and we cheered him on the loudest! It was a ton of fun. On the way home, Addy drove us all while listening to Eminem, trying to rap along (with varying success). Another great open mic night!
Addy: Burger Battle Lunch
Just as I was wrapping up at the Saturday Market, Shaun dropped by with the family and suggested grabbing coffee afterward. We both messaged Jessie, and plans came together—but instead of coffee, I realized I hadn’t eaten lunch yet. I told them I was hungry and needed food.
That’s when Jessie mentioned a Burger Battle that local restaurants were participating in. A burger sounded perfect! Our first choice didn’t work out—it was packed, and the lineup was long. So, we went with the second suggestion: The Snooty Fox. The name alone gave off classic English pub vibes, and the atmosphere matched.
But the real star? The burger—it was A-MAZE-ING! Great food, great company, and great conversation. Definitely a solid lunch choice!
Addy: Warrior Angel Photoshoot
Alison and I had planned this shoot while we were in the midst of selling our house in B.C. and searching for a property in N.B. At the time, I wasn’t even sure where we’d end up. It took us a while to finally connect after the move—both of us were busy, and aligning dates and ideas took some time.
Mandy and I drove to Mill Creek Nature Park, just outside Moncton, on Sunday, and it was intense. In some areas, the snow blowing off the roads and falling from the sky made it whiteout conditions. BUT by the time we headed back, the skies had cleared, the snow was almost gone, and it was absolutely beautiful.
For the shoot, Alison had these stunning, giant white wings, while I had massive black ones. She had purchased her armor from a seller on Etsy—it was heavy, made of real metal, and it looked incredible. I was beyond excited to capture it all.
Most of the shoot was done with a Nikon D850, paired with a Sigma 135mm f/1.8 or a Nikkor 80-200mm f/2.8D. I used two AD200 flashes for the main light and backlight, but when a bit of water got into the flash triggers, they stopped communicating with the camera, so I had to switch to natural light.
For the final teaser image, I used a Fuji GFX100s with an adapted M42 Cyclop 85mm f/1.8—a lens repurposed from a 1980s Russian night vision scope. It’s a softer lens, sharp in the center with rapid falloff, and the bokeh is phenomenal. The result? A painterly, Renaissance-like feel, reminiscent of medieval times.
The snowfall during the shoot was magical—as it slowed, big, fluffy flakes drifted down in slow motion. No post-processing was needed to create that ethereal atmosphere. It was pure, natural perfection.
Addy: Paint Night with the Girls!
After much planning, the ladies finally nailed down a paint night at our place. A couple of them couldn’t make it due to prior commitments or last-minute changes, but the rest of us were ready for a fun evening. Mandy set the mood with a new (thrifted) candle holder—it’s kind of artsy! And, of course, there were plenty of delicious snacks to go around.
Amalie and Constance joined Mandy, and the creativity started flowing. When Mandy asked me what she should paint, I suggested a kingfisher. I gave her the reference photo, and I have to say, she did an amazing job. It wasn’t anything fancy—just dollar store supplies for the most part—but the supplies don’t make the art, the artist does! It was such a success that they’re already hoping to make it a regular thing.
Later, Stefan and I headed over to Al’s place for drinks and great conversation. We didn’t need much—just simple comforts… oh, and of course, some leftover snacks from paint night! Lol. We all shared the same feelings about loving New Brunswick. Sure, there are growing pains, but we wouldn’t trade this life for anything.
Mandy: Goats!! The wait for kids is over!
Tuesday, March 25th
Well, we’ve been waiting for our goats to kid since March 16th. Why? When Bron got out of his run back in October, I saw him… do his job with Tessy… and did the gestation math using an online calculator. They can be 5-7 days early or late. So, when Tessy was 8 days past due, I started thinking I didn’t know a thing, and these kids were never coming! As we were tending to them in the morning on the 25th, Addy looked into June’s pen and exclaimed, “Holy $#*!! It’s a baby!” Funny story, we set an alarm to come out and check on them at 1 am. We checked Tessy and Missy as they had way more signs (the utter full of milk and soft or missing tail tendons), so weren’t we surprised when it was June who had her baby first!!? (We were!) Happily born overnight, healthy and drinking mama’s milk. June and Bron welcomed a doe, “Blossom” into the world on March 25th.
That same day, Addy left the farm for maybe an hour and when he got back to give all the goats hay, he was puzzled as Missy would normally be yelling at him at the fence for treats. Nope! Where was she? She was in the main shed, just finished giving birth to twins! They were standing and mostly cleaned off when we came out to see them. Missy was not the best first-time mom last year, but happily, she is doing so much better with her second time. Oh my gawd, what a day!
Wednesday, March 26th
It was a chilly morning at -8°C, but we got our chores done with no trouble. We had June, Ally, and Cosmo on the stanchion for feeding and hoof trimming, which surprisingly went smoothly. After they were fed and we added fresh hay for everyone, I did a quick check on the remaining mamas that were due.
I told Addy, “Stella has no tendons, and she’s full of milk. We’ll need to watch her closely.” Then I checked Tessy, and whoa—she was full to bursting with milk, and I hadn’t been able to feel her tendons for a week. I joked, “If she sneezes, she might have kids.” Addy thought it would be a good idea to add another gate to the milking stanchion area just in case we needed to separate a mama. Thank goodness we had extra pallets and hinges lying around. The gate went up in no time.
After that, we went inside to carry on with our day—me signing in for my shift. Addy went back out to check on the goats before he headed to work, and then I got a text: “Babies!!!… Gonna need help!!!”
I quickly told my coworkers, grabbed my phone and the kid kit, threw on a fleece, and ran out to the goats. We were so glad we were there for this birth. Tessy’s first kid had one of his legs down and back, so she needed a little help. But soon after, his sister was born—more twins! Tessy was a wonderful mother.
But wait—what’s that? While I was drying off baby #2 and making sure Tessy was doing okay after the tricky delivery, I heard Addy yell, “Oh, are you kidding me? Who is having your baby out there?”
Just outside, and to the right of the main shed, there was Stella, lying down and pushing! Addy quickly got her to stand and led her to the stanchion area. (The new gate came in handy!)
I had time to clean up a bit from Tessy’s delivery, run inside to pee, and come back out just in time to watch Stella have her first kid ever. She did an amazing job! The baby was positioned well, so I only had to help a little. Missy is Stella’s mom, and we had been wondering if she would be a good mom herself. We’re happy to report—Stella is a natural!
We were all relieved, so to celebrate—and to help replenish energy and minerals—I gave them warm molasses water after kidding. They all chugged it when it was their turn!
So 4 goats down, and one to go! Ally is our only pregnant goat, and she is huge!! If the math is correct, Ally is due on April 2nd. So we will see.
Some Videos
Thank you for joining us on this journey through our farm life and the fun moments we’ve had along the way. From the excitement of new arrivals in the barn to sharing laughs and good times with friends at open mic night, it’s been a few weeks full of surprises and memories. We appreciate you taking the time to read about our adventures, and we’re grateful for your support. Until next time, we’ll keep enjoying the simple joys and looking forward to what’s next!
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