There are two times of day when God most reveals His beauty to us, His creatures . . .

At Sunrise...

...and At Sunset

The sun peeps over the hilltops and sheds its warm rays into the sleeping valley below. As it warms and wakes the world below things begin to change–the birds burst into song, the wooly blanket of fog raises to its heavenly heights, and the dew begins to sparkle and makes the world look like it is decked and adorned with diamonds

So too, when just before the day is done and the sun is shedding its last rays over the hill tops and the birds begin to sing their good night lullabies and the blanket of fog tucks the world into bed, there is a time that we ‘round here call “the golden hour.” This happens when the sun is low, and just before it sinks to rest every thing looks golden.

So now that the day is done
and every eye and mortal tongue
sleep peacefully in their beds,
The question still remains
did we do vain and earthly things
or did we strive to praise Christ’s name
in everything we did?

By Stephen Bradrick

Photographs taken by Stephen Bradrick

Frost

Photographs taken by Stephen Bradrick

The Last Rays of Summer

As I looked at this picture I realized that in many ways it sums up the month of October. Here, through the window, the last soft rays of evening light pour in and spill over the rack of warm coats. It seems almost as though the sun wished to point them out and warn us of the cold night to come before it slipped over the hills leaving us amid cooling shadows. During the month of October, we enjoy our last days of warm weather and also enjoy our many nights of wintery chills. And once again the wood cook stove is stoked, giving forth its radiant warmth.




This month has been one of big change at Bradrick Family Farms. We successfully completed another year of farming and now our little spread is settled down for the winter months. If you have read my profile you will know that I am currently working on my B. A. in business and public policy. As a part of my studies, the Lord opened up the opportunity for me to take part in a business internship for the next two semesters of school. As of October second, I have been working in Dallas, Texas as an Executive Assistant to the C.E.O. of RealManage.

RealManage is a Home Owners Association management company. It is a young, fast-growing company with six branches stretching from California to Florida. This opportunity will give me the ability to work side by side with a seasoned business man, gleaning and learning from him every step of the way. I am specifically assisting him with the company's sales and marketing process, doing the back end management of all the branch sales data as well as working on opening new markets and executing marketing campaigns. So for the next six months I will not be living in a cozy little farm house, riding the range on my cow pony, or getting my hands durty doing farm work, but rather I will be living in an apartment, navigating Dallas traffic, and stuffing my brain full of business knowledge for implementing in the management of Bradrick Family Farms.

Since I will not be on the farm to keep you posted on farm happenings, my brother Stephen will be using his skills in photography to help you stay in touch with daily farm life. I hope that you have wonderful winter feasting on Bradrick Family Farms meat, and I look forward to picking back up as lead farm journalist when I come back in the spring.

Until then, your friend,
Phillip Bradrick

CAUTION: Slug Crossing

One of the largest specimens of wildlife that roam the range at Bradrick Family Farms was spotted today crossing the driveway. After holding up farm trafic for the better part of an hour, this slimy creature slugged its way to safety on the far side of the road.

Wood Cutting

Every year, as the summer draws to an end, and as days grow shorter, and nights grow colder we take to the woods to spend the day storing up wood for the winter. Now if you are one of the many people who heat their houses with gas or electric heat you truly miss out on one of the most satisfying days of the year. That is, wood cutting day. Well let me fill you in on today, our first wood cutting day of the season.


After a good nights rest and a morning of chores and preparing equipent for the day's labors, we headed out to the woods pulling our sixteen foot stock trailer. In it we had all the necessary tools for the task: chainsaw, axes, splitting malls, gloves, ect. For the next twenty minutes we wound up our valley and off onto logging roads to a remote place where cull logs had been left from a recent logging opperation. Daddy fired up the chainsaw and began cutting off rounds of wood.

The race was on: man and machine against malls and muscles. We were feeling our oats but we knew the name of the game was endurance.

As round after round was cut, Stephen and I began hauling them to the trailer and splitting for all we were worth. First it was one log, then two, then ten. The trailer began to fill with split pieces.

After we had exausted one area of accessible wood we moved to another. Although our backs began to ache and sweat covered our foreheads the satisfying feeling of a large log cracking and splintering under a powerful well placed blow was enough to keep us going.

When ever we paused for a moment to catch our breaths we could hear the drone of the chainsaw, and knowing that every second we paused caused us to fall behind, we again pushed on.

Although it felt like days, after four hours of intense labor, our trailer was filled to the gills with aproximately three cords of wood. (Which being translated means a whole lot.) As we straightened up after throwing the last log in, we could not help but smile at the amount of work our three man opperation had just accomplished and the months of warmth we had just stored up for the winter to come.

Rain

After weeks of warm, sunny, dry weather the grass at Bradrick Family Farms began to slow in growth and its vibrant green color began to fade to weaker shades and seem to cry out to heaven for rain. When the grass runs low we have to suppliment our cows and sheep with grass hay or alfalfa and this creates more work and expenses for us. So we too looked up to the God of heaven from whom all good things come and prayed for rain. In His perfect time He opened the flood gates of heaven and poured down on both farm and farmer pure, cool, refreshing rain. And then, with Job of old, we marveled at God's wonderful provision.

"But as for me, I would seek God,

And I would place my cause before God;

Who does great and unsearchable things,

Wonders without number.

He gives rain on the earth

And sends water on the earth. "

Job 5:8-10

Heavenly Highlights

As a farmer, one of my most faithful companions and co-laborers shines down from the heavens above. To us, the sun is an absolutely essential part of our farming endeavors. That sphere, guided by the Omnipotent Hand, faithfully morning after morning rises to greet us, shine light on our way, and provide the solar heat necessary to make our vegetative valley brilliantly flourish. Without it we could not grow grass, which means we could not provide you with quality “grass-fed” meat.

Although the sun runs its course from east to west day after day, it continually finds new ways to express its brilliance and declare the glory of its Maker. Here on the farm, we particularly enjoy watching the sun at sunrise and sunset. Often the sun rises, veiled in misty dreaminess, and shines its shafts of light into our fog-laden valley as if groping to pull this vapory blanket from the sleepy lowlands.


And then, when work is over and the day comes to a close, the sun frequently bids us farewell with a dazzling show of color. Now you have to understand that being a tough cowboy I am generally not too excited about pinks and purples. But when they are projected onto an endless screen and given character by puffy clouds on which the sun’s last gleams dance and play, the scene is absolutely breathtaking. So, sit back, relax, and enjoy some of them with me.

Back In the Saddle

After a wonderful two week vacation and trip back to the east for my brothers wedding it feels good to be, once again, back in the saddle. I reached home one week before the rest of my family in order to keep things going on the farm. In hopes of breaking up my loneliness as the sole cow poke on the ranch, our dear friends the Bittners stopped by and spent most of the day playing with horses and picking black berries. As you can see I was not the only one in the saddle that day.

Stephen Bittner (age 15) stayed for two whole additional days to help me finish a suprise project for my sisters and mother. For several years they have been hoping that I would build them some rose arbors for their climbing roses in our berry garden. Well, with the right materials and some hard labor some respectable arbors arose. I was very thankful for Stephen's great assistance because positioning these large arbores into place was definitely a two man project.
P. S. Don't spill the beans. They get back late tonight and won't see them untill tomorow morning.

A Last Farewell


This is our last night at the Bradrick Family Farm. Phillip arrives tomorrow to take over the reigns and begin the process of hopping back into the saddle again. I can’t believe how fast the time has gone but what a time we have had! From escaping sheep to fishing the Wynoochee River to sightseeing Aberdeen via an ambulance (my own personal tour) to harvesting a bounty of wonderfully fresh organic vegetables to bike riding at Ocean Shores and so much more! You know I realize that as fast as I tend to talk I could never fill enough pages to describe our wonderful, amazing, and enjoyable time at the farm. There are just too many terrific memories but I will highlight a few more for all those inquiring minds out there.

This last week we had one of the cows make a secret escape to the neighbor’s field directly behind the farm. Amazingly enough cattle can jump, not very well mind you and kind of in the same vein as a chicken that tries to fly, but they can jump or at least this one did. Somehow this crafty cow climbed and circumnavigated not one fence but two. Well, if these guys are going to be that smart what chance can old cowpokes like us have? So somewhere tonight there is one cow boasting of his “Great Escape” among the neighbor’s cattle. Who knows, maybe the sheep are supplying the cattle with wire cutters? Either way, I’m beginning to think the phrase “the grass is greener on the other side” is actually code for, “Break out tonight at 10:00 pm…meet at the red barn…pass the word!”

A few days later we took the kids to downtown Montesano to see the Grays Harbor Courthouse. It is a wonderful old building with a dome similar to the one at our state capitol in Olympia. The inside is filled with these huge paintings or murals depicting the founding of Grays Harbor and even Biblical scenes. As we were acting like typical tourists and clicking away our cameras, an attorney leaving the building decided to play tour guide and show us where a deputy tried to stop a fleeing inmate with a shot from his gun and instead shot the door. This kind man was so sweet and so funny because you would have thought he was describing the shootout at the O.K. Corral. In fact, when that story ended he went to the hair raising escape of another inmate (I’m beginning to see a pattern here) who jumped from the 3rd floor of the courthouse. Even though he broke both ankles he still tried to hobble away before the police finally caught him. By now I’m thinking if we just hang out a little longer we might be able to catch some real action shots on film or at least see Wyatt Earp. I think this town should put up a new welcome sign with a catchy town slogan like, “Montesano - Home of the most attempted escapes made by man and beast alike!”

How can anyone not spend two weeks at the Bradrick Homestead and not have a great time. Thank you Bradricks for giving us such great memories and if you ever need farm sitters again, all I can say is, “Sign us up!” Thank you for giving me the opportunity to have so much fun blogging on your site Phillip! It has been a wonderful experience. One only has to spend a few minutes here to see why you love it so much and what a blessing from the Lord you and your family are to so many people. Welcome home!

May all your trails be happy ones,
Mrs. B and her posse

A few tears in the farming process

Sometimes teams are made up of individuals each with an agenda of their own. Other times you see teams that work together for a common goal. It’s not hard to realize that those teams, the ones with a united vision, are usually the teams that have the most victories. I shouldn’t be surprised by this and yet it is easy to forget even when the coach of the team has to depend on its members to carry forth towards the goal regardless of whether or not the coach can lead in person. Here is an example in point.

I told some friends the other day that sometimes there are things you blog about and other things that you just leave out. However, after today’s Holy inspired message at church by Pastor Pollock, I had a reversal of decision. You see last week I had a valuable lesson in pride, humbleness, dependence, and trust. I wasn’t even going to blog about it because I felt embarrassed. Yet, if I can’t share lessons that the Lord has shown me then perhaps I have lost sight as to what my purpose on earth really is. I must bring glory to God in all things and this is one of them.

We invited some dear friends over to the farm after church so the kids could enjoy some time together. We were having such a grand time playing at the river, feeding the animals, playing with the dogs, and just visiting around the garden that we soon decided one afternoon wasn’t enough so they spent the night. My friend has two boys and they were relishing the idea of rising early and doing farm chores and being real cowboys for a whole day! So at dawn we wiped the sleep from our eyes and made our weary bones move in the direction of the back door. Everything was going great! The boys were loving every moment of their adventure and even poor Janet (my dear friend) was being a true trooper to walk out to the pasture to help me get a horse to round up one of the sheep.

My desire (and I must emphasize that tell-tale word “My”) was to show off my peeress with the equine family so I quickly snagged one of the horses named Comet. By the way names of horses should be dead give-a-ways as to a horse’s temperament but I’m optimistic by nature which basically translates to “very slow to catch on.” As excitement in the air grew with anticipation of wrangling one of these sweet critters I mounted my mighty steed. Now there are times when one must show an animal who is boss and then there are other times when the animal shows you who’s really the boss. This would be one of those times.

Comet wanted nothing more than to have the morning spent in grazing bliss among all his buddies in the East pasture when I decided to spoil his plans for the day. I had ridden Haley a few days before and it was so much fun and I was looking forward to some more “fun” when Comet, true to his name, took off like a streak across the starlit sky. Only this sky was a bumpy pasture and Comet decided to show some of his buckaroo skills bucked with all his might. You know it just dawned on me where this word must have originated from. A buckaroo was one who either stayed on a horse during the bucking or was the one who flew off during the bucking. I, unfortunately, was the later. In my pride I said to myself, “I know that I will never get bucked off a horse because I never have.” Does that sound as ridiculous as I think it sounds? Yet, I really felt that since I had spent my younger years jumping horses and doing vaulting with horses and never falling off, why should I do so now? Gee, maybe that could be considered optimistic but really I was simply being prideful.

With a bolt and two or three bucks I soon realized that my hypothesis was wrong and the truth of Newton’s law of gravity was soon to be proven. What goes up must come down. I just failed to come down in the saddle. In fact, I don’t even remember feeling the saddle. But as I flew over Comet’s neck and on to the ground two thoughts passed through my mind. One, I now know for sure how Humpty Dumpty felt when he fell off the wall and Two, I kept seeing a giant bottle of Elmer’s glue. Now I’m not sure if I was thinking that I would have to be glued back together or whether I was thinking that Comet would look really good as a bottle of glue but either way one of us was heading to the glue factory. Once again I took that prize.

As I laid on the ground in complete embarrassment and humiliation beyond belief I was trying to think of what to do next. Everyone is gathered around this “buckaroo” and asking all those questions at once; “Are you all right?” “Can you move your legs?” “Where does it hurt?” “How many fingers am I holding up?” Of course all I’m thinking is, “Good I can move my legs so maybe if I click my heels together all this will be just a bad dream and I’ll be back in the house waking up to a nice cup of tea.” Problem number one – I have no ruby slippers and problem number two, this was real not make believe. Finally, as I am beginning to catch my breath I reassure everyone that I am fine and under no circumstances was anyone to move or touch me until I felt it was safe to move. After laying there for about five minutes (which felt like five hours) one of the boys poignantly points out, “Well, you can’t lay there all day.” I knew that but I was considering exactly how long I could stay out there before moving. With Janet sitting by my side, Leanne and Matt grabbing cell phones, I finally relented to the fact that I would have to call 911. I would have to resolve myself to God’s Holy Spirit to move upon my pride and humble me once again. Yet, this is where my amazement came to fruitition when I saw how the “team” worked together despite the absence of their coach.

Leanne and Matt immediately took hold of the situation and opened gates for the ambulance, caught the horse, gave medicine to the lamb, called Daddy at work, called all the necessary people to cancel appointments, and took care of the farm while I was whisked away to the hospital in Aberdeen. My team won a great victory that day and I learned a very valuable lesson. Everyone falls in life and as Pastor Pollock pointed out in Ecclesiastes 3:7 today “There is a time to rend and a time to sew; a time to keep silence and a time to speak.” I speak today because sorrow does allow us time to see with heaven’s eyes and not our own. We stop seeking worldly pleasures and desires and we seek God and His comfort, His truth, and His purpose in all things. I share that my pride got in the way of enjoying a day on the farm and caused anxiety and fear for my dear friends. Yet the paradox is that it served to open my eyes to my sin, it served to bring praise to my lips in seeing my children work as a team in a critical situation, and it served to bring a voice to these silent lips. May we remember that pride cometh before the fall – literally!

Oh, and before I forget, I am feeling better and I have no bruises or broken bones. I’m sore and in time that will heal but for now Comet has a reprieve from the glue factory and the doctor’s have managed to put this old Humpty Dumpty back together again. Praise God for He truly is faithful and merciful.

Many Blessings,
Mother Goose and her little goslings

Green Thumb

Today was the perfect day to spend in the garden. It wasn’t too hot and it wasn’t too cold. If you haven’t seen the Bradrick garden then you’re missing out. The Kitchen garden and the greenhouse sit directly outside the back door. The greenhouse is filled with lovely smells of basil, thyme, and rosemary. The cherry tomatoes are almost ready to be picked as bunches of green novices’ crowd each branch making it hard for the plant to lift its leafy arm. The bees’ love the lovely purple flowers that decorate the low climbing thyme which make the greenhouse hum with the working song of these busy insects.

The kitchen garden is filled with all kinds of wonderful vegetables that make for a virtual salad bar before your very eyes. Red leaf lettuce and Romaine lettuce bunch together near rows and rows of juicy carrots. The beets and garlic and chives all clamor for more room as beautiful nasturtium blooms at the end of each row. Even sage and Echinacea perfume sweetly amongst the chives and various flowers. The far rows contain broccoli and the purple and green leaves of large heads of cabbage. It is hard not to get a recipe file flipping through your head as you pick each vegetable. As we weeded the garden I kept seeing steamed broccoli with cheese sauce, fresh sweet and sour coleslaw, and tossed Caesar salad! I don’t think it’s weeding that works up an appetite; it’s all the food you have to pass by on each aisle!

Tonight I think we will have a chicken Caesar salad with fresh baked rolls and raspberries and cream (thanks for the suggestion Cecily!). I would write more but I think I hear my stomach growling and those of my two hungry cowpokes. Goodnight and may you have a dinner fixed with loving hands and a loving family surrounding your table.
Whatsoever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord. Colossians 3:23

Ahoy Mates!

Yes, you heard right. I start this blog with a hearty ahoy because of our recent experience of canoeing down the Wynoochee River. We enjoyed fishing on the river so much that we decided a nice canoe ride down the Wynoochee would be just the ticket for a time of relaxation after a long day of chores on the farm.

The Bradricks graciously loaned us the use of their canoes while they’re away and I’m afraid we took full advantage of their wonderful offer. After figuring out the logistics of such an adventure we decided that Captain Bryan and the kids would go on the canoe ride and I would drive back to the farm to make them a delicious dinner to greet their triumphant return. So with lots of rope in hand we proceeded to tie the canoe to the top of the van. Sounds simple enough. Of course, with the Bryan family ordinary tasks do take on gigantic proportions. So with rope and more rope and then some more rope (just for good measure) the canoe was finally secured for the next hurricane or a drive to the river, which ever came first. We all hopped into the van and we off to find the perfect place to unload our precious cargo.

After driving 5 miles up a road that seemed to be heading along the Wynoochee we finally found a spot that lead down to the river. With canoe and crew dropped off and a kiss and a wave the good canoe “Grace” set sail for a leisurely drift down the serenely cool water of this enchanting river. I barely made it to the van before I heard a short scream and squeals of laughter. No doubt their fun had already begun!

I drove back to the farm with the purpose of making a rib-sticking dinner for their return to home port, knowing that these fine old deck hands would be thirsty and hungry from their grand adventure. I prepared the casserole and the salad and I even had dessert ready for their return. As I puttered around the house I began to notice the time. Do you remember the old “Gilligan’s Island” television show? The theme song went something like this “…the crew set sail that day for a three hour tour, a three our tour. The weather started getting rough, the tiny ship was tossed. If not for the courage of the fearless crew the Minnow would be lost, the minnow would be lost…” Well, three hours had passed and the Minnow or I should say the “Grace” had not returned.

Now I’m thinking that five miles down a river should take a couple of hours at most including scenic stops along the way. Yet, my fearless crew hadn’t returned after three hours so that was about the time that I began to imagine all sorts of ridiculous things. I could see the men on the Titanic going down bravely with their ship. I saw dear Leanne standing on some island in the middle of the river awaiting rescue from some passing ship. Wait a minute, this was only a river and not the Atlantic Ocean and I was pretty sure there weren’t any icebergs in the river! Realizing that my imagination was allowing the enemy to bring worry and fear into my heart, I began to pray. Just then the phone rang and it was Bret (aka Mr. Bryan) saying, “Hi honey, didn’t want you to worry, we are fine, the trip is taking longer than we realized so it’s a good thing I brought the cell phone along. It’s also a good thing that I wrapped it in a Ziploc bag because we’ve already flipped over twice!” I was not relieved by that statement. “Where are you? Is everyone alright?” I asked in a not so confident tone. He replied in a much more confident tone, “Oh we are fine. I’m not sure where we are but I do know we are at a spill dam and we have to portage the canoe around the dam. Hit a log once and flipped over and then we got too close to some overhanging blackberry bushes and we leaned too far to the left and fell in again. But Matt saved Leanne’s sandals and the paddles. We should be home soon.” With relief I praised God and then asked, “But how did you know the Bradricks phone number? I didn’t think you had it with you?” “Oh, I didn’t have it but Matt found it written on the oars!” Praise God again!

I felt better until another hour went by and then I began loose confidence in the Lord again. Soon the phone rang and my dear husband is saying in a not so confident voice, “Hi, uh, I’m not sure where we are because we thought we would be home by now. Do you think we could be on a different river? Could you check and then call me back?” Well, needless to say, that was the one thing I never even considered. Suddenly, my imagination is running wild with visions of the Grace and her crew sailing straight into Grays Harbor and out to sea! I race to the internet to bring up some maps. Of course, I don’t even know the street that I dropped them off on and I’m endlessly pressing the west button on Map quest to see if I dropped them off on the expressway to the Pacific Ocean. Five minutes later I hear, “Hi mommy”, at the back door and I realize its Leanne and the rest of the crew from the Grace. After lots of hugs, laughter, stories, more laughter, and passing out of towels Leanne shows me a small log they found on the river that had been chewed by a beaver. “Matt rescued it twice for me!” she exclaimed. I was so proud of my son. My men not only went down with the ship twice, they raised her twice, and they saved my daughters sandals and her chewed up stick. Can’t ask for better memories than that! What heroes! By His grace we are saved – Halleluiah!

May all your seas be smooth,
Captain and Mrs. B and crew

Fishing For Fun

You know the saying, “The early bird catches the worm”? Well, this morning we decided to get up early and head to the Wynooche River to do some fishing. Of course, plans always seem great the night before but then in the morning when the alarm goes off you begin to wonder if this grand plan was really such a good idea. Yet, despite our initial reservation about leaving such warm and comfortable beds we grabbed our jackets and poles and headed for the river. This morning was foggy but not too cold and we were excited about the possibility of catching some fish for dinner.

By the time we walked over to the river a couple of fisherman were already there casting their lines into the swift flowing river. We rigged the lines and began fishing right away. Matt was using a lure, Bret had some bait, and Leanne and I shared a pole. Each cast brought anticipation that we were one step closer to a fresh fish fry at the farm. Soon Matt caught the first fish. He was from a large school of fish. Unfortunately, that would be the “Preschool” size so he had to release him. A short time later Matt caught another fish but this one was only about five inches long so it had to be released as well. We knew we had some chores waiting for us back at the farm so we couldn’t stay too long. As the time wore on I prayed for my son that the Lord would help him catch a fish. I knew how much it meant to him and I was hoping that he wouldn’t be disappointed. Fishing really has a way of allowing time for reflection and I can understand why fishermen love it so much. It’s very relaxing. For two hours we enjoyed the sounds of the rushing water and the reels as they spun with each cast.

Oh, were you wondering if we ever caught a fish? Well, yes, but not in the usual way. We did fish for two hours but after Matt’s two “returns” no one else got a nibble. As we packed up our gear and headed for the trail up to the road Matt noticed a small land locked area of water that had baby fish in it. As he looked closer his eyes caught a glimpse of a foot long trout. We have no idea how it got stuck in this little area of water so we released him into our net and then into the frying pan at home. I know it sounds like we cheated but didn’t Peter use a net to catch fish? Somehow we felt like Peter in the boat with Jesus on shore saying, “Cast your net on the other side.” We weren’t catching anything and yet, like Peter, Jesus directed my son to look in the pool of water to find his fish. Only Jesus can answer a mom’s prayer like that! Isn’t God good?

Counting Sheep


Bret (ie. Mr. Bryan) crawled out of bed at 6:30 am and my eyes awoke to filtered sunshine peeking thru the fog. Since I’m near-sided and wear contact lenses I have to grab my glasses to see my way around. I sleepily headed towards the office at the back of the house and stood adjusting my eyes to the early morning. You can see the beautiful grape arbor from the back window and the west field from here. Everything was quiet and as I stood enjoying the scene before my eyes what do you think should appear?

The last thing I expected to see was a neat little line of lambs marching across the garden towards the front yard! It took a second or two to register that this wasn’t a dream and then I was running upstairs calling to my two young cowpokes, Leanne & Matthew, to come quickly because the sheep were making an organized escape!

So with everyone grabbing shirts, boots, coats, and scrapping the sleep from their eyes we ran outside. Leanne was the first one out taking the dogs with her to make sure the sheep didn’t head towards the road. Matt soon followed as did Papa and then I came carrying the most important sheep catching tool of all…a fish net. Don’t ask me why but it looked big and Matt was going to use it when he went fishing and I thought, well, I don’t know what I thought. It was early and I wasn’t thinking too straight. What a site we must have made! But Praise God we herded these jail birds back to their pen without too much trouble. By the way the electric fence works great, Bret tested it by mistake. It sure woke my hubby up in a hurry!

I then saddled up sweet Haley and headed out to count the sheep and make sure we weren’t missing any. Praise the Lord for all His sheep were accounted for. We then rounded up the little one who needed some medicine for his sore. Matt handled the web fencing with expertise and Bret held the sheep while Leanne played nurse and applied the medicine. The sheep are so cute. I know I said that in the previous blog but it’s true. They may not be the smartest creatures on earth but they are cute!

Soon we were off counting cattle (just to be safe) and finishing up animal chores before heading in for a well needed cup of coffee and a piece of toast with jam and some fruit. After a few showers we were able to sit down and enjoy reading 1 Corinthians 7 and Proverbs 23 and 24. The Lord refreshed our spirits and gave us some sweet time in His word to strengthen us for the day ahead. We learned to apply our hearts to wisdom and to seek after righteousness. Just as He cares for His sheep so we are learning to care for the sheep of Bradrick Family Farm. It takes work but it is a joy to see all their sheep safe and sound. I know the Lord feels the same way about us too. May we all walk in the safety of the Lord and seek refuge in His perfect will.


Mrs. Bryan and fellow wranglers of Montesano

First Impressions
(Guest Blog Post By Mrs. Bryan)

We left Ferndale, Washington this morning anxious and excited to reach our destination…namely the Bradrick Farm. It’s a funny thing how you find yourself in a different driver’s seat and begin to understand what it feels like to anticipate watching over another man’s sheep (and cows). We have asked friends to watch our farm with all its odd assortment of critters and never thought what it might feel like for them when they come to watch our place. So with feelings of excitement and a bit of fear we drove south for our big adventure.

We arrived at the Bradrick Farm a little after 1:30 pm and immediately we were greeted with the excited barks of old Dutch the Dalmatian and two stick carrying pups, Arrow and her brother Badger. What a joy to have such a welcoming committee! After ten minutes of endless “throw and retrieve” and realizing that this game really has no end, we headed over to greet the rest of the animals. The cows looked us over with the “I wouldn’t touch you with a ten foot pole” kind of stare and kept their distance. They are in the far West pasture and have plenty of good grazing to make them healthy and happy. This was definitely the Contented Cow Club of Montesano.

Next we wandered over to the sheep and saw the cutest critters you can imagine. I’ve warned Phillip that when they returned we may have each of sheep named. There is just something about sheep that makes you think cuddly thoughts. Yet, I have to admit I did have a juicy lamb chop dance before my eyes too!


After petting the horses and checking out the amazing barn swing we saw a sight I will never forget. Arrow and Badger were taking turns swinging by their teeth on the rope hanging from the rafters! They looked so funny waiting for the rope to swing their way and then jumping up with all their might to snatch the rope in their mouth and then twirl around. We laughed and laughed to see two dogs getting into all the fun. Just as I turned around to walk away the rope swung away from the dogs and hit me in the back of my head. I twirled around to see two dogs innocently staring at me as if to say, “It wasn’t me, it wasn’t me”.

Upon finally entering the house and finding bread, cookies, sweets, and fruit to greet us we settled down to some classical music and a nice cup of coffee. The farm is beautiful and the only thing that would make it more enjoyable would be having the entire Bradrick Family with us as well. We look forward to tomorrow and our first day roping’ steer, branding sheep, and rounding up strays. O.K., maybe I’m getting carried away, but so far we really do feel like cowpokes on the range. Adios Amigos and many blessings from the Bradick Family Farms.

Mr. & Mrs. B and their cowhands

Bradrick Family Farms From an Outside View!

Having a farm with lots of animals is much like having children. They are a great responsibility to care for and cannot be left alone to fend for themselves. So when ever it becomes necessary for our whole family to pull up the tent pegs and leave for some time it also becomes necessary for us to find someone to watch our farm and care for the herds and flocks of hungry herbivores.

This year the big occasion that is taking us away from the farm for a few weeks is my older brother Peter's wedding. He is marrying a wonderful girl from North Carolina... which means the wedding is in North Carolina. So we had to scramble to find someone suited and willing to watch our farm during our absence. By God's grace, just the right family offered their aid. So for the next two weeks they will be stepping into our shoes and experiencing the joys, sweat, and sometimes tears that come in the farming process.

So during our absence the Bryan family will not only be watching our farm but will be giving you their personal account of what it is like to spend a week or two at Bradrick Family Farms.

A Belated Introduction

An introduction to some of our farm's most playful and helpful friends is long over due. On our farm we have three dogs. First, I will introduce my personal favorite dog and furry friend Arrow. She is a fun-loving Border Collie . She is a great help (well most of the time) with the sheep. Though she is only about 35 pounds, the sheep quickly learn to respect her because of her compelling nips which she sometimes has to give to get them to move.

And here is her brother named Badger. He does his best keeping up with his crazy sister and keeping guests supplied with a ball or two for them to throw.

Last, but not least, is our spotted friend Dutch. This purebred Dalmatian looks more like a Lab with spots. He is a very vital part of our farm, barking at by passers and lazing in the shade.

Dogs at play...