Packing It Up...Burning It Down

The start to the strategic packing of the trailer has begun!

There are 4 quadrants in the trailer and we are weighing everything and totaling how much weight is in each quadrant to make sure the load is properly balanced. Next week we'll have a scale for the tongue of the trailer...we got to keep the tongue weight at or below 700 pounds. I'd like to keep the overall weight below 4000 pounds. I don't think that will be a problem. 

Maintenance on the pulling machine has been accomplished!! The van's oil and transmission fluid have both been changed. The van also has a brand new oil cooler and a brand new transmission cooler and the boys have been awed by Tom's car maintenance abilities...good homeschooling going on at the Raye's!

We've also equipped the Orange Beast with strap on towing mirrors, so Tom can see beyond the *Silver Saint* (Saint...because it's doing the heavenly job of moving all of our stuff!).

We have a beautiful pair of Orioles that have been pecking away at the tulips in the front yard. We have a nesting Robin, with 3 eggs, under our deck. The rose breasted gross-beaks are back...my favorite, I call them the Valentine bird because it looks like they have a huge heart painted on their white breast. One Valentine has been following us on our daily walk. He hangs out in the corn field and Stella screams with delight when she spots him.

We had a huge pile of scrap wood from an old house and barn that were on the property before we got here. A couple of years ago we had them pushed into a pile. We called our neighbor (he's on the Town Board) and got a fire permit and then we notified the Sheriff's dept. It all went smoothly.

Now on to a day filled with more sorting/packing/cleaning/purging...in addition to all the other *normal* chores :)