Thank you! Will do- I can't believe how huge those roots were. There were roots over two feet long

Make sure you post pics back here when they bloom next spring! Do you know what varieties you have? Just wanted to add, if you divide them into the typical 3-5 eye divisions with a good feeder root or 2 they will be fine to move again without dividing next fall.

Thanks- I will- I don't know what they are but I will post in spring! That was only a third of what I dug out- I wound up planting in 2 4x 4 raised beds, a 4x 4 bed near the house that will have to be dug out in spring and still have to put 9 divisions on the south side of the woodland edge. I'm worried about those because I couldn't prepare the soil at all. The others have good untrampled mixes.

Peonies are pretty forgiving. As long you're able to dig out the area you're concerned with and break up the soil a bit larger than the root going in it should be fine. Just make sure the area you plant in isn't boggy, they don't like staying too wet. Looking forward to seeing your photos in the spring!

that's the spot where the peonies were, and where we now have firewood- and the deer there is the reason why we can't grow much in our garden!

Yeah, the deer normally leave peonies alone but mine were munched on last spring. They're pretty annoying and can decimate a garden pretty quickly. One thing that I found that keeps them away is fishing line. This only works if your garden area is out of the way so kids and people don't get caught up, but I use tall garden stakes, the metal ones that look like bamboo, several yards apart around the entire bed. Wrap fishing line around each stake, a circle around the entire space at around knee height and another around shoulder height. The deer hit the line and it scares them away much more effectively than a fence that they can see and jump over.

That's wonderful, Sara! Glad you were able to save them!