Swamped

Posting has been and will remain slow for a bit; we're swamped with preparations for the big move.

I finally got to see the new property in Michigan this weekend; still hard to believe we bought this thing sight unseen, on the word of my father in law that it was "absolutely perfect" for us. And now that I've seen it...I wholeheartedly agree. It's hard to imagine a property that's a better fit for us, all the way around.

We're frantically packing boxes, while making all kinds of other last minute preparations. The plan is to load a 24' U-Haul truck on Monday-Tuesday before Thanksgiving, with all of the FARM stuff. All the T-posts we've been ripping up, fencing material that can be salvaged, dozens of hay and straw bales, tools, stock tanks, brooder lamps, and the myriad other things we've accumulated that are too dirty or too bulky to be packed with our household goods. I will drive that truck up on Tuesday before Thanksgiving, towing our old pickup truck (great for hauling stuff around the farm and around town, but I'd never trust it on a 300 mile drive). Mrs. Yeoman Farmer will follow the U-Haul with our minivan, with kids taking turns getting to ride in the big truck with me.

We close on the MI property on Wednesday, the day before T-giving. After closing, we will unload all the farm stuff into the Big Red Barn and return the U-Haul.

Friday and Saturday after T-giving, our family and friends will help us put up fence posts and gates, so we can establish a basic pasture and separate the sheep from the goats from the chickens in the barn.

We'll drive back that Sunday, and then spend the next week packing all our household goods. We'll load another U-Haul, then drive it up towing my 1975 Fiat Spider (great car, but I'd never try to drive it 300 miles...especially not in December). Again, MYF will follow in the minivan. If all goes well, we'll have everything unloaded on December 1st.

It's still uncertain how we're getting the livestock up here. A neighbor has a large livestock trailer, but it must be pulled with his own truck (can't hitch it to a U-Haul). He may be able to drive up with us on December 1st, and then I'd ride back to Illinois with him the next day to retrieve the last of our vehicles. But that's still up in the air.

And somewhere in the midst of all this packing, I need to get the last of the turkeys and laying hens butchered. All this adds up to little time for blogging, but I will put up some posts with updates as we get closer to the big move.