A pleasant 4th, pig sales, yard sale prep, a wedding

Mama and I were up fairly early the morning of the 4^th. We had to get the piglets into the building, separated from Tilly, so we could catch them for the Wycoff’s and the Cantrell’s. Brittany and her mom were there just after 8 a.m. They wanted to get the three males to take and raise for meat. The other four went to the Cantrell’s. Mama told me it would be easy to run the piglets back into the building as long as Tilly was eating – and she was right. As long as I stayed at the far end of the pen, the piglets ran to the building once Mama began to round them up. I put a piece of wood over the opening to the pen and cornered all of them in the little building. I had to put a few screws in the wood since the piglets would launch themselves at the blockage to try to knock it down. That was pretty entertaining. Once the Wycoff’s were there and we had the kennel they brought in place, Mama and Brittany started handing out the piglets. It was not a quiet affair. The piglets were squealing as though they were being tortured and Tilly was “barking” and grunting to let us know how irritated she was, but we managed to get the three we wanted into the kennel and carried to the vehicle.

When Kimberlyn and her daughter-in-law and grandchildren came we had only to catch the four that were left – not a problem. So, Mama took the grandchildren on a small tour of the farm for a few minutes before we actually transferred the piglets into the travel kennel. While on the tour Mama discovered that one of the piglets in the pig sty had gotten trapped in the back of the shelter. It was not quiet; neither was Mama. I had to take some sheets of metal loose so I could reach in to extract the little one. It protested loudly, as did Molly, but I think the little ones visiting with Kimberlyn were more frightened by the urgency in Mama’s voice than anything that was coming from the pigs. You know how excited Mama can get. It all ended well and all of the piglets in one litter are gone now. Mama’s hope now is to transfer Molly and her litter to the hog building lot and put Tilly in the pig pen. The pen is a muddy mess that I will have to tear down, level out then rebuild – if we feel it is needed.

As we waited on the Cantrell’s to get to the farm I loaded items from the shop area onto our small trailer so they can be taken to Bowie tomorrow to be put in Norman’s yard sale this weekend. One of those items is a claw-foot tub we bought to use in Victoria’s house. It was on its side on a pallet in the driveway getting cleaned up after a year of sitting. I looked really good after we got some bleach to it and scrubbed a little. When Kimberlyn saw it, she thought she and Kenny could use it to redo their bathroom. Sometime today we will know if it will fit where they need to place it. If so, they will buy it. I will be happy to see it go to a good home. I also plucked up the propane tank and loaded it on the trailer to be sold at the yard sale – hopefully. I needed the items moved so the shop was clear for the concrete to be poured next week – while I am gone.

All that was done by 11 a.m. Then we rested so we would be up for the wedding. Seth and Gabriella had their wedding yesterday. They are already legally married but I think having the formal ceremony made everyone feel better about the union – especially Seth and Gabriella. It was a casual affair without too many attendees. They had it a house in the country that is used as a “resort” or weekend getaway. It was a nice venue. Victoria took a lot of pictures for them. It will be fun to go through the pictures and see what came out. It was hot but not unpleasant since there was plenty of shade – and the house was airconditioned. Everyone that stayed has a good time – especially with the fireworks at the end.

Mama is on her way this morning to get Jake.