Today marks three weeks since Steve and Dave have moved to the farm! I have learned a lot, and I’ve watched the remarkable transition they’ve made ~ from so scared of everything that moved to, well, not so scared! Here’s how it went:

After the first week, Dave began to slink about their cave-crate while I was cleaning litter, refilling the food and water bowls, and talking or singing to them. Steve stayed tucked into a milk crate that was against a back wall of their cave. A few days later, Dave decided to sit calmly in the connecting doorway between the two crates and watch me. Steve stayed tucked into his milk crate. A few days more, and Dave was walking to the re-filled food dish to eat while I was finishing my tasks. Steve stayed ~ you guessed it ~ tucked into the milk crate. A few days more, though, and Steve was sitting UP in the milk crate! I was thrilled.

After that, the signs of their increasing comfort level with me ~ and their awareness that I was the one with the food ~ multiplied every day. Ears were perked forward, paws were washed, yawns were huge. And then one morning, Dave was waiting for me at the corner of his crate that was as close to the door as he could get ~ and Steve was out of his milk crate with no signs of running back in when he saw me.

I watched them for two more days, looking for those same signs of comfort, then yesterday, I took in their breakfast and just left open the door to their crate, saying a quick prayer that they would remember it was a safe space. Well, they knew that because they spent the day, not out in the farm as I had assumed they would, but behind the crate, coming out only to peak out the door. By this morning, though, they had found the little barn across the way from the room they’d been occupying. In one of those wonderful moves by the Universe, that’s exactly where I wanted to transition them to for the coming winter! I put their food and water in the work room of the barn, and there they ate breakfast.

One last note to the story: I’ve been tossing used cat litter in those places where we used to see Momma Groundhog and her babies. We’ve not seen them for at least two weeks, and now, Steve and Dave can help ensure that Momma Groundhog stays gone! What a much better way to say farewell!