Safe and Sound

I am too darn tired to think about where i left off but i can't help wanting to write. Feeling that if i don't, it will all disappear from my memory.

Saturday morning started with out our flat deck, poor guy broke down the day before and while he watched his truck being towed he thought of us and called to let us know. That thought alone was priceless.

Gord arrived with his partner and wife Mae, this family was one of the many huge spokes in this giant wheel. Not only did they meet my worry of them having to make two trips for sheds now with ease they hired a moving company , gave us a donation and a beautiful red sectional to fill the big room in this house. Although while it was all going down it seemed over the top , it was a smart move by Mae as we had the help that day to move everything.

We held back the horse trailers for the crane truck to remove the first two sheds , a lot easier picking this time and they were on there way.

We had basically three small herds of pigs to load so we grabbed every piece of plywood we could muster and made a quick long shoot. I may have got a bit testy this time but i didn't want a repeat of the last time. As the pigs are being herded down the shoot they are watching every movement and seeing it as a threat. This triggers there natural flight response, and wanting to turn back. I had made it very clear to our herders no one moves , no one talks and not one foot moves an inch up ahead of the pigs. Charlie , Kay's son and i brought the pigs forward with our herding boards. (thanks to Deb and Jim for those!) 6 pigs in and lets get the next four. We again rigged up a shoot into the one we created and walla , now there in.

Casanova and Winnie were next and they would go in the last section of Kay's goose neck stock trailer. Pretty cool how those doors slide closed and we have three separate box stalls. These two are my house pigs and have had more exposure too what pigs deem as scary,so Winnie basically said okay and Casa followed. Dylan alone, we crated and set him in the trailer, he was pretty heavy that little guy. Kay would return home do her horse's and bring the pigs when we were ready. Treats of alfalfa were met with waggy tails i am told during there wait for departure time .

We let the moving truck in and filled it up along with the trailer Mae pulled behind her , in fact i think we loaded that twice. Tons of rubber mats, wood, couches and even the outside fridge made the trip. I sent some of our helpers along with the moving van and hoped they would have that emptied by the time we filled all of our trucks.

Crane truck returned and grabbed the last two sheds. They had also set in all the sheds we had moved the day before into there ideal locations. Everything is going better then planned. ( see my smug smile here )

Karen arrived with her horse trailer and that got the rest of my hay and feed from the barn and as much more wood as we could fit in there.

Our last pig moved was our Carport Penny. John's, Mom had offered up her van so in went a mound of blanket's , two cushions and lets get the ramp and get this girl up there. Word back from these limo drivers was Penny even took a look out the window.

Jingles custom senior doggy ramp has come in very handy for this entire move Jean and Smitty! Many of the horse trailers are step ups and far to high for little pigs legs to muster. This is how we got Penny into the Van.

We all headed out together after securing the cats and carrying out the aquarium for Tippy into my truck. We arrived to find the crane truck had slipped off the driveway once the shed weight was removed and they were fighting the hole they were in. I had drove half way with two cats howling and then my poor scared cats well... the smell of the inside of my truck was how these poor guys in the hole must of felt .

These guys are pro's and had the truck out within 30 minutes and no sooner did they pull out and the moving truck pull in did the pigs arrive.

I had been barking orders and was running around like crazy as i could see many of the houses came with out there ramps or ramps were set far too high and i was all over trying to fix things before the pigs arrived. Gads the moving van isn't even unloaded yet and the pigs have arrived. What smug smile??? I was all over the place, these pigs needed to be able to get in there houses and we will be loosing light in an hour. Everyone was great as i gave orders for some one to grab bales of hay for some of these sheds and lets get some wheelbarrows of dirt to fill in the height on these ramps!!

Now getting them from the horse trailers too there pens was a little hairy scary but we did it , whew.

It was dark when we unloaded Penny and everyone is here safe!

The next two days was back to the old place , we had tons of work to do . Cleaning of the house and materials i wanted had to be torn from the pen work. Gates and 2 x 6s that all can be used again, down the road. And a few trips to the dump.

The house and every room is opened boxes , stacked boxes, tools here and there, Tortillas mess in the corner and outside is a mess of wood that wasn't stacked and half dozen vari kennels to wash. Tools everywhere and i got to attack that tomorrow and get Penny set up properly.

I have much to be grateful for and so many to thank for helping the pigs and I move. So many good people giving up there time to come so far and work for the animals here. Bringing trucks, equipment and trailers that would all have to be cleaned once they got home. There gift here did not end when they left as there chores that didn't get done are compiled now as well. Clothes and jackets soaked right threw and the muddy mess we all worked in. A lot of old faces and a lot of new. Thank you all so very much!!!!!!!!

Leaving the old place was difficult and i went down memory road from picture to picture remembering our life here . Thanking the apple trees for the treats they provided our babies and filling the bird feeder there for the last time. I left a bag of bird seed there with a note and i pray the new owners feed my birds as they don't ask for much to fill our lives with song.

I went out to Willy's garden and removed some of his things and left some of his too. I called out to all the animals who i put into the earth there and told them to follow me. I took one little tree that had been uprooted, it would represent all of my babies lost there and our new begining here.

I realized something very important when I was at the barn. Looking out where i had watched Willy get into the alfalfa and when i sat out here with the horses at night. And remembering Mark leaning on the post having a smoke that I realized that i wasn't leaving any of them. I was taking them with me , as these memories are coming with me!

So I closed the gates, put the chain over and drove away.