Thursday, July 30, 2026

Good evening from Briden Farm.

This morning began much as many mornings do, with breakfast, the dishes, and getting ready for the day ahead. The rain had settled in, promising to water the pastures while slowing things down a little.

Before long, my niece Marilyn stopped by.

She had gone to the feed store yesterday looking for feed for her hens, only to discover they were sold out. Knowing I’d purchased feed in bulk for the month, she knew where she could find enough to get her through until the store was restocked.

That’s one of the nice things about country life.

Neighbours—and family—have always helped one another.

Later in the morning, another niece, Michelle, and her husband John arrived to pick up some of our Briden Farm heritage pork. John and I actually grew up together, so every visit brings back a few memories along with plenty of conversation.

They stayed longer than I’d expected.

I’m glad they did.

We sat down with a cup of tea, talked about life, and before long we found ourselves making another batch of goat cheese together. It’s always enjoyable sharing something you’ve learned with someone who’s interested in learning it too.

Before they headed home, they offered me a ride over to the barn. Along the way we picked up the mail, and Michelle also brought along a couple of loaves of bread I’d asked her to pick up for me.

At the barn we checked on the sheep, goats, rabbits and quail, milked Patsy, and took a little extra time to introduce them to the animals that call Briden Farm home.

After the chores were finished, they dropped me back at the house, where the evening chores still waited.

The chickens, birdies, broodies and chicks, Maple and Brooke were all looked after before I wandered over to check on the pigs in their new woodland pasture.

Yesterday’s work had certainly been worthwhile.

With fresh ground beneath their feet and a rainy day to enjoy, they looked exactly as the old saying promises…

Happy as pigs in mud.

As the day came to a close, I spent some time in the kitchen preparing supper. The meal itself became a reminder of just how far Briden Farm has come over the past few years.

Our own heritage pork, slow cooked until it was falling from the bone.

Mashed potatoes made with today’s cultured cream experiment instead of butter.

And homemade goat cheese, seasoned with garlic, onion, oregano, salt and pepper.

The pork surprised me. I wouldn’t normally think of pork as having a deep, rich, earthy flavour, but that’s exactly how I’d describe it. It simply tasted… natural.

The cultured cream gave the potatoes a light tang and enough richness that I never missed the butter.

And the cheese…

Creamy, full of flavour, and quickly becoming one of my favourite things we make here on the farm.

Looking around the table tonight, it struck me that this wasn’t an extraordinary meal because it was fancy.

It was extraordinary because, little by little, Briden Farm is producing more of what appears on the plate.

Perhaps that’s one of the quiet rewards of homesteading.

Not perfection.

Not self-sufficiency in every sense.

But the satisfaction of sitting down at the end of the day and tasting the results of months—and sometimes years—of work.

Brian

Briden Farm