AEX Fredericton (Anime Entertainment Expo)
It was a last-minute decision, but we gathered our heroes and headed out for the Sunday of AEX. Despite the rain, the day was fantastic—luckily, everything was indoors at the Fredericton Convention Centre.
We had a blast roaming through the vendors and activity rooms and even took part in a fun twist on the cosplay contest. Instead of judges, every participant received a card to give to their favourite cosplayer. At the end, the cosplayers with the most cards were presented on stage, and the one with the biggest stack won!
I ended up with quite a few cards myself but chose to give mine to Deadpool—it was his first-ever con, and he was absolutely rocking it. And guess what? He won!
Easter weekend for us was full of food, family, and friends. On Friday, we celebrated Kailem’s birthday and had an early Easter dinner to accommodate their work schedules. It was such a great visit—especially getting to see how far they’ve come on their shipping container tiny home build. We hung out and relaxed in their nearly finished space, and it’s honestly amazing to see how they’ve transformed a blank slate into a cozy home. The journey’s not over yet, but what they’ve built so far is already something to be proud of!
Yes, the Bunny made a stop at our house! We woke up to some sweet treats and flower bulbs—because nothing says “Spring is coming” like the promise of blooms. On Sunday, we wrapped up the weekend with a potluck-style Easter dinner with friends. The spread was mouthwatering: roasted chicken, ham, stuffing, a cheesy potato bake, garlic parmesan sweet potatoes, spinach salad, rolls, and, of course, plenty of gravy. We shared wine, stories, and lots of laughter—a perfect way to end a full and joyful long weekend.
Warm weather means it’s time to get outside and tackle the ever-growing list of repairs and improvements—especially the ones courtesy of Winter wear and our mischievous livestock.
The first photo is of Ronin and Shogun’s run. I reinforced the fencing with extra boards after multiple escape attempts and a bit of enthusiastic chewing. I also tried to make it look like the whole thing was planned out (spoiler: it definitely wasn’t!).
The next four photos show the does’ pen. The original fencing held up fine for the adults, but after a rough winter and plenty of abuse from the herd, it had more than a few gaps. And those gaps were basically green lights for the little ones to sneak through. I used some pallets I recently picked up from Fabricville, reinforced the area, and added the fencing to the outside for more stability and durability. It should hold up a bit better now, fingers crossed.
Speaking of abuse—one morning before heading out, I caught Bron in the act of breaking part of his fence. The two photos show a before and after of the quick fix. Let’s just say I’ve learned my lesson about deck screws versus proper construction/project screws. Always learning, especially when you’re in the DIY trenches!
The last two photos are of the Bunny Door. It used to be light and a bit flimsy, but it worked… mostly. Now it has more structure and weight—it actually feels like a real door! Hopefully, the wind won’t be pushing it around like before.
Our property has started to look like a bit of a project explosion now that the snow has (mostly) melted. I have a bit of a habit of collecting and reusing materials—it’s great for saving money, but it does tend to spread everywhere. So, I decided to tackle it bit by bit each day, organizing and creating a central area to store everything neatly.
The goal is to have it all covered and protected from the elements, while also giving me a clear idea of what I actually have to build with. As you can probably guess, the snow and rain were pretty rough on some of the supplies—tarps just aren’t cutting it anymore.
I built a wood storage structure to hold the beams and boards, plus a spot for storing plywood, sheet metal, and whatever other materials I end up collecting. I’m also working on a dedicated spot for all the pallets, and eventually, I plan to move the old wood from the 100+ year-old barn and church into a more weatherproof area. One step at a time, but it’s already feeling better out there!
We’ve been on the lookout for a plastic kids’ playground for the little ones—but do we really need one? Honestly, it seems like every time we’re with them… we are the playground! 😅
We try to spend time with the goats in the morning during their breakfast and again in the evening before bed, whenever we can. There’s truly nothing like a little goat therapy to start or end your day. These kids are tenacious, spunky, and absolutely hilarious. Whether they’re jumping on us, chasing each other, or just being their goofy selves, they’re always keeping us entertained!
One morning, we had a bit of a scare. We were sitting on the couch, sipping our coffee and watching the news before chores when we suddenly heard a scream. The front door was closed, the TV was on—so we muted it. There it was again. A kid in distress.
Mandy sprang into action—still in her PJs, bare feet jammed into boots—and ran up to the goat area. Of course, the gate picked the worst time to feel like it was taking forever to open. The cries were coming from the main shed. We rushed inside and saw that poor Gwen had her front right leg stuck in a gap between the pallets we use to separate the stalls.
Mandy carefully scooped her up and freed the leg. Thankfully, Gwen was okay—just scared, calling out for her mama, but walking just fine. What a relief! She is one of the does we are keeping this year. That was the end of morning coffee that day—our chores got an early start, whether we liked it or not.
Alas, as much as we love all the goats we can’t keep them all. They had a photoshoot to put their best hove forward in finding their forever home. They all have amazing personalities and we have done our best to socialize them with humans. We’ve had many friends and their kids visit and handle the goats so they are used to being around us. In order of the photos below: Princess Peach, Blossom, Hercules, Goliath, Pippen, and Mary! All of them will be a month old on the weekend. They will be ready to be weaned on June 25th so we’ll still have some time with them.
Like we said—the weather is warming up, and with it comes big garden dreams! Well… mostly dreams of infrastructure at this stage. First up: the fence. That’s going to be a major project. We haven’t measured the exact square footage yet, but the area we want to fence in is sizable. It’s a top priority—we need that protection in place before planting season is upon us. Ronin and Shogun may be adorable, but they’re also serial garden invaders.
Once the fence is sorted, we can finally transform the carport’s metal frame into the high tunnel we envisioned our first summer here. If we can get it done, it’s going to be a total game-changer. Our growing season is usually around 100 days (on a good year), but with the high tunnel, we can extend that window—and give heat-loving crops like peppers, eggplants, and summer squash a real shot at thriving.
We’re also planning to remake some of our existing garden beds, add a few new raised ones, and just make better use of the space overall. A proper fence means vertical growing potential too—hello trellises!
Excitingly, our friend in Stanley with landscaping experience has offered to split a load of gardening soil with us. And our neighbors down the road have an aged compost pile of cow manure they’re happy to share. Gardeners will know—this is exciting stuff! Aged manure is practically gold. We’ve got no shortage of fresh poop around here, but well-composted cow manure that’s been sitting for a year or more? That’s prime planting material.
We haven’t started any seeds yet this year—the timeline for our projects is still a bit uncertain thanks to the weather. We might still get some going, or we may end up buying plant starts instead. Either way, our main focus is laying the foundation for the garden this year. Getting the infrastructure in place will pay off in the long run, setting us up for better, bigger growing seasons in the future.
More plans are on the horizon—whether we actually get to them is another story! We’d love to move the ducks and goose to a larger area, with a couple of pond forms (Addy scored them on FB Marketplace!) and some pea gravel for better drainage. Their “Duckie Bunkie” is still working well for now—it’s secure and spacious enough—but we’re dreaming a bit bigger.
As for the chickens, it’s time for an upgrade. We need a better, stronger, and more secure coop. Our dream—maybe mostly Mandy’s—is something walk-in sized, with easy-to-clean roosts and nest boxes that make egg collection simple. It has to be insulated, well-ventilated (but not drafty), and most importantly, as predator-proof as we can possibly make it.
The goats—right now, we’ve got a herd of 16! That’s 2 bucks, 3 bucklings, 1 wether, 5 does, and 5 doelings. Can you imagine if we didn’t manage to sell any of them? Nah, let’s not go there! But even if everything goes to plan, we’ll still have about 10. That means we’re going to need a larger browsing area. We’ve got big dreams of building a pallet barn with built-in feed and hay storage. Yup—BIG dreams! And while we’re dreaming, we’d love to clear at least 6 acres to eventually turn into grazing and browsing pasture. The goal now is to take our time and build smart… but we’ll never stop dreaming big!
Thanks for sticking with us through another whirlwind two weeks on the funny farm! From surprise cosplay wins and Easter feasts to baby goat drama, fence repairs, and big garden dreams, it’s been a full (and muddy) start to the season. We’re slowly chipping away at our long list of spring projects, and while progress can feel a bit weather-dependent, we’re hopeful that by next update we’ll have some solid outdoor wins to share. As always, thank you for following along—it means a lot to us. Until next time, here’s to warmer days and getting our hands (and boots) dirty! 🌱🐐💪