As soon as the snow melts, it’s like a switch flips—suddenly we want to do everything and finish everything that’s been sitting on our homestead to-do list all winter long. The longer daylight hours and warmer weather make it hard to stay still, and the projects start piling up fast!
Thankfully, amidst all the busyness, we’re lucky to have good friends close by to balance it all out. Whether it’s gathering around a bonfire, watching playoff hockey, or celebrating birthdays, we always find time to connect.
We’re not big on watching the regular hockey season, but when playoffs hit—we’re in. That’s when it really feels like the players give it their all. High stakes, high energy, and pure effort. We cheered on Al’s Maple Leafs as they knocked out my Ottawa Senators (ouch), only to watch my Panthers take down his Leafs in the next round. It’s always a good time—lots of close calls, loud cheering, and post-game bonfires with a drink in hand.
We also celebrated Stefan’s birthday with a delicious dinner. Mandy made a keto lasagna, and I helped with the classic version for the rest of the crew. Funny enough, Al thought the keto version was cabbage rolls—but either way, he went back for seconds! Must’ive been good!
With these growing goat kids and their hardworking milking mammas, we go through a lot of hay—about an order every month. This time, instead of going through our usual supplier, we bought from a nearby family who had recently sold their goats and were preparing to list their property. The hay was good quality and the price was fair, so it worked out well for everyone.
We also picked up another load of wooden posts from the organic farm where Addy works and started dismantling the old chicken and turkey housing. We’re salvaging as much usable wood and fencing as we can—nothing goes to waste around here!
The next day, with the new electric chainsaw in hand, we tackled a few trees that were damaged or leaning from storms. Addy cut several of the larger logs into seven-foot posts to use later and processed the rest into firewood and smaller branches set aside for wood chipping.
The weather has been cooperating just enough for us to get a few more things done outdoors. We were able to dry a load of laundry on the clothesline—which always feels like a small but satisfying win. We also had hopes of enjoying the back deck, so we cleared and tidied up the little greenhouse out there. But, true to springtime in New Brunswick, the breeze turned colder than expected and the bugs were relentless. So, that relaxing deck time will have to wait just a bit longer.
Addy worked hard to get the Sky Hopper ranch finished, and it’s nearly done! Since we’re planning to breed rabbits this year for meat, we realized they’d need a bigger, more secure space to live and grow. So, we started building a pallet shed that measures roughly 8 by 16 feet. The goal is to create a roomy shelter that will protect the rabbits from the elements and predators.
Once the pallet shed is up, we plan to convert the old rabbit hutch into a larger quail hutch and move it right next to the new rabbit shelter. This way, both rabbits and quail will have their own comfortable, sheltered areas but still be close enough to make caring for them easier.
One of the best parts? Rabbits produce cold compost that can be added directly to our garden beds, which is fantastic for soil health. Quail droppings, on the other hand, create hot compost, but that’s perfectly fine — their hutch will be close to our two-bay compost pile, where their nutrients will break down and enrich our future garden soil. We’re excited to see how this setup will help build healthy, thriving garden beds in the seasons ahead.
Addy spent some time working alongside Steve on the organic farm, helping to build a brand-new chicken coop — and it’s a big one! Measuring about 28 feet long and 12 to 14 feet wide, it’s quite an impressive structure. Even though it was mostly just Addy and Steve working, progress went quickly. Addy learned a lot from Steve, especially about building on uneven terrain — a skill that will come in handy since much of our own property is similarly uneven. This hands-on experience was invaluable, especially as we plan to build a similar coop on our homestead in the near future. It’s always rewarding to gain new skills while helping out and preparing for the farm’s next big project.
Milking and Cheese
With Mandy heading out on a business trip in early June—and Addy starting full-time work at the same time—things are about to get extra busy around here. So this past week, Addy got some hands-on training with the morning milking routine. He did great! The milk jars he filled ended up with green painter’s tape on them—not by design, but because that’s what he could find in the moment. It’s turned into a bit of an unintentional label system
Milking is going smoothly overall, though the growing kids have started causing a bit of trouble. Some of the mamas have little scrapes or “owies” on their teats, and if we don’t catch it in time, the whole day’s milk gets contaminated and becomes animal food. Luckily, the chickens and guardian dogs are more than happy to help with that “problem.” Next year we plan on having another area for weaning the kids when they become destructive. They are all mostly 8 weeks old this week! Time flies.
On good days, we’re getting about ¾ of a gallon (just over 3 liters) of milk daily. So the preserving continues! This week we made a chive-flavored farmer’s cheese, thanks to our healthy perennial chive patch in the garden. We also whipped up a batch of cream cheese, with plans to turn it into a cheesecake. If it turns out well and freezes nicely? Even better. Stay tuned!
Speaking of the goat kids hitting the 8-week mark—today was banding day for little Pippen. He was sold as a wether, and to be honest, I finally remembered to bring the banding pliers and bands with me during morning milking. After we finished, Addy held the little guy while I got it done. A quick spray of iodine, a careful placement of the band on his dangly bits, and that was it. Pippen was incredibly brave—no fuss or reaction at all. As soon as Addy set him down, he trotted off to nurse from his mama, then munched on some hay like nothing had happened. Now we’ll just monitor him to make sure everything stays clean and heals properly, and that nature takes its course.
We were fortunate to find a local girl to help us with farm sitting—and what a relief! One morning, we spent some time with her, walking through the basics of our daily routine: training her on the milking machine, going over goat care, feeding and collaring the guardian dogs, and checking in on the rest of the animals. She has prior experience with animal care and, more importantly, seems to love them just as much as we do.
Thanks to her support (and Josh’s backup help), we were able to leave for a long weekend—our first real break away in a while! Overall, her first time managing the farm went well, and it gave us the peace of mind we needed to enjoy some time off. We’re hopeful that this is the beginning of a great working relationship—and maybe even a little more breathing room for us going forward.
Glamping and MiraCon
It was a big weekend—our first time taking the travel trailer out in two years! Addy had worked hard the week leading up to it, de-winterizing and tidying it up after its long stint in storage. Hitching it up went surprisingly smoothly—we actually remembered all the steps!
We spent the weekend glamping alongside Al, Constance, River, Skye, and their dogs. Once we arrived at the campground, there was a bit of a mix-up with the site setup. The grounds lady was… less than clear about where she wanted us to park. Addy thought she was asking him to squeeze the trailer in parallel between Al & Constance’s trailer and another one—which would’ve been tight. Thankfully, Al jumped in to help, and that’s when Addy realized she actually meant for us to park almost back-to-back. Whoops!
The weekend had its moments of fun despite the wet and chilly weather. Al was impressed by our outdoor kitchen grill and used it to whip up some amazing smash burgers for dinner the first night—absolutely delicious! In between MiraCon festivities, we shared drinks, meals, and some seriously intense playoff hockey. We even managed to enjoy our Nespresso machine (because yes, we’re those glampers), and had Kristel and the girls over for a cozy Sunday night dinner.
We’d definitely go back to Sunrise Campground in Miramichi—just hopefully during warmer weather! It’s a beautiful spot right along the river, but without much of a windbreak, the breeze made those low temps even chillier. Still, we were glad to be in the trailer and not a tent. Bonus: the grounds lady accidentally undercharged us, so that was a nice little win too. A great weekend at a great deal!
The main reason we were in Miramichi that weekend was for MiraCon! I’m a Jedi Master with the New Brunswick chapter of the Jedi Council of America/International, and we were invited to attend as Special Guests. I honestly didn’t realize that at first—I thought we were coming in as part of a charity group. So imagine my surprise when we arrived and saw our booth placed right next to the celebrity guests! Pretty surreal.
But before we got to bask in any Jedi glory, Mandy was hard at work pulling off some serious “Con Crunch.” She poured a ton of effort into finishing my Baylan Skoll cosplay (and absolutely nailed it), and threw together a Jedi Padawan look for herself. We really should know better than to leave things to the last minute… but at this point, Con Crunch is practically tradition.
A huge thank-you goes out to the amazing women who brought so much energy and life to our table all weekend—you truly made the experience unforgettable.
As part of our appearance, we had a lightsaber demo scheduled for Saturday afternoon. Now, full transparency: we hadn’t choreographed or practiced at all—real life, work, and travel just got in the way. Thankfully, Danika stepped up in a big way as our Master of Sabers. She’s trained with the Los Angeles chapter and has been honing her saber skills for over four years. With her guidance, we managed to pull together a solid performance—and apparently, it was good enough that we were invited back to do a second demo on the main stage Sunday!
We also made time for a fun kids’ saber session where little Jedi got to take some swings. Watching their excitement was a highlight for all of us.
Courtney and Addy are no strangers to the convention scene. Back in BC and Alberta, she, Jessie, and Addy used to roam the cons doing cosplay photography. For MiraCon, Courtney brought one of her dream cosplays to life and even donated some amazing items to our raffle. Meanwhile, Mandy and Constance held things down at the booth and beyond, keeping everything running smoothly behind the scenes.
One of the best moments? Ty Olsson drawing the winner of our grand prize custom lightsaber! Ty’s been in so many shows and movies we grew up watching—it was awesome having him take part. What a guy!
As the dust settles from a whirlwind of campfires, comic conventions, glamping getaways, and goat-wrangling, we’re left feeling incredibly grateful for the full and varied life we’re building here. Whether it’s turning pallets into projects, milking goats at dawn, or channeling the Force at MiraCon, each experience is a reminder of how much joy can come from living creatively and intentionally—even when it’s chaotic. From rebuilding rabbit hutches to rolling lightsaber demos with fellow Jedi, every moment this past week has been packed with energy, teamwork, and community. It’s a beautiful kind of busy.
To our friends, family, and followers—thank you for coming along on our crazy adventures. We know it’s a wild mix of homesteading, fandom, food, and farm animals, and your encouragement means the world to us. If you’ve made it this far, we truly appreciate you taking the time to share in our journey.
And of course, what’s a good story without some visual proof? Here’s a gallery of photos from everyone—goofy, glorious, and everything in between. Until next time, may your goats be gentle, your fences stay up, and the Force be with you.
