Welcome to the Heart of Winterland Acres
Welcome to the heart of Winterland Acres!
Winterland Acres is a small 10-acre homestead nestled about 20 minutes east of Prince George, in beautiful British Columbia, Canada.
My name is Rhiannon, and I’m a mama to two little human hooligans, ages 2 and 4 (who will remain anonymous around here). I’m also partner to The Contractor — father to the two hooligans and the builder of just about everything around this farm.
And together, we’re building a life that looks a little different from the norm.
A Journey Towards Self-Sufficiency
We are on a journey toward self-sufficiency — or at least as close as we can reasonably get while raising two small children, keeping a farm running and attempting to do approximately 47 things at once.
And we’d love for you to come along for the ride.
Here on the blog, I’ll be sharing our stories, experiences, DIY projects, tutorials, recipes, animals and whatever else I happen to feel like writing about.
There will probably be some beautiful homestead moments.
There will also probably be mud.
A lot of mud.
Our homestead is primarily centred around livestock, and we raise a little bit of everything. We have my beloved Royal British Guernsey goats, turkeys and chickens, Mangalitsa and Tamworth pigs, and, of course, the queens of Winterland Acres — our Jersey cows.
And if there is one thing we are particularly obsessed with around here, it’s dairy.
Dairy Is Our Game
There is something incredibly satisfying about taking something as simple as a pail of fresh milk and turning it into something completely different.
Butter. Cheese. Cream. Soap.
If I can make it from milk, chances are I’m going to try.
There is just something special about learning how to do these things yourself. Not because buying butter or soap from the store is particularly difficult, but because there is something deeply rewarding about knowing how to make it.
That is really what this homestead is about.
Learning the old ways. Learning new ways. Making things with our own hands. And slowly becoming a little less dependent on a system that doesn’t always feel like it was designed for families like ours.
More Than Just a Farm
Life here isn’t just about livestock.
I’m also a homeschool mama, homemaker, gardener, canner, hunter and perpetual learner. Our days are filled with little people, farm chores, school books, muddy boots, animals, cooking, cleaning and trying to keep everyone fed.
We practice traditional skills wherever we can — from preserving the harvest and canning food to making things from scratch and learning the skills that have been passed down through generations.
Homesteading isn’t always pretty.
Sometimes it’s exhausting. Sometimes the cows get out, the kids are melting down, dinner still isn’t made and you’re standing in the barn wondering why on earth you thought this was a good idea.
But then there are the moments that make it all worth it.
Fresh eggs.
A calf being born.
A full pantry.
Homemade butter on fresh bread.
Kids growing up knowing where their food comes from.
And the quiet satisfaction of looking around and realizing that you built this life with your own two hands.
Why We Do It
We feel incredibly blessed to live this life.
It is hard work, but it is also incredibly rewarding.
We believe there is value in slowing down, learning practical skills, raising our own food and becoming more capable and self-reliant. We want our children to grow up understanding the value of hard work, responsibility, family, faith and stewardship.
We also believe that more people should take a good, hard look at the way we live and ask themselves:
Is there a better way?
You don’t have to buy ten acres and a cow tomorrow.
You don’t need to raise every animal, grow every vegetable or make everything from scratch.
But maybe you can grow a garden.
Maybe you can learn to bake bread.
Maybe you can preserve your own food.
Maybe you can learn a skill your grandparents knew how to do.
Maybe you can simply start paying a little more attention to where your food comes from.
For us, this journey started small, and it continues to evolve every year.
And that’s what I hope to share here.
Not a picture-perfect version of homesteading, but the real thing.
The good, the bad, the muddy and the downright ridiculous.