Alex and I have known each other since we were about 10 years old.
We played Saturday night broomball together as kids at the Russell Arena and were friends for a very long time.
We started dating when we were 17 years old and have been together ever since.
We've grown so much over the last 15 years that it's weird to think of who we were back then.
After high school, I went to university for a year before deciding to take a year off and then go to college in Kingston for 3 years, while Alex went to college in Kemtpville.
Alex is a heavy equipment mechanic (you know those big CAT shovels and bulldozers, that's what he fixes) and I'm a registered veterinary technician.
In 2014, Alex had the opportunity to purchase 80 acres from his parents and in 2015 we decided to build. My dad is a contractor for a living and it made more sense for us to build then to buy in the village.
We are extremely grateful for what we have and what we are able to call home. It is a huge privilege that we don't take for granted.
At the time, I worked at a local veterinary hospital and Alex worked on the east side of Ottawa and then in the oil sands as a mechanic.
Now fast forward a few years
Alex still works full time as a mechanic but now in Kanata. I worked at another small animal hospital for a few years, was an instructor in the veterinary technican program at Algonquin College and also worked with a mobile unit in the veterinary world. I've currently taken a bit of a step back from working in the veterinary industry since our daughter was born in October 2019, just before the pandemic (I went down to part-time and then left the industry completely in September of 2022).
Like so many, 2020 pushed us into a new way of thinking while being in lock down.
Alex happened to come across a video of Gabe Brown and regenerative farming and that was the beginning (watch it here) We learned that there is another way to farm, that we can be sustainable as farmers, for the environment, for our family and for the community.
Since then, we've decided to really take a run at making our dreams possible - we'd always wanted to farm full time but never thought it would be possible with our smaller acreage (relative to other local farms) and how conventional beef farming takes place - but learning more about regenerative agriculture and restoring ecosystems lit that spark inside of us again.
Our daughter is now 4 and we also now have a one year old son. The duality of having a 4 year old that really feels all of her emotions and a bustling babbling one year old can be hard to hold space for at times, especially while trying to start a farm.
A couple weeks ago we were getting ready for the bus. I had asked our daughter to put her shoes on 5-7 times patiently but to no avail. We were about to be late for the bus, so my mom voice and feelings of anxiety came through and I said 'Put. Your. Shoes. ON!'
She looked up unfazed from what she was doing (playing with a rock that somehow made it inside) and said 'oh my!' 😂
We had a good laugh and then she went and put her shoes on as if I had only asked her once.
There's nothing like a child to get you all wrapped up and triggered one moment to then bring you right back down grounded the next.
We want to bridge the gap between our food and where it comes from, because honestly it's too damn easy to go to the grocery store and not support local
Eating local food is so much more than something to eat and we're hoping to be able to connect you to local food and to community because they really do go hand in hand.
Even though our dreams are big, we are actively working on not hustling our way through life, but instead working on living in the present as much as possible, we want this to be sustainable.
So when we feel like we're getting nothing done and the days seem to be running away, we remind ourselves that we are exactly where we need to be and that there is no rush.
It will all happen when it's meant too
-Caylie, Alex, Matilda and Emmett
