So what to do when you’re retired? …

So how did DT spend his holiday?
Building a fence … or attempting to.
No different than any other day recently.

This gets to feeling like … exercise.
I’m allergic to that stuff: my skin turns red and starts leaking fluids.

The old fence had rotted at the base and was tipping over. Can’t just let it go – the propane tank is on the embankment plus the problem of dirt washing down onto the driveway … to say nothing of wiping out Ms DT’s flower garden.

Luckily, I’m paid by the project, not by hour.
Not that it makes a difference in this case. As Ms DT states: “Do you want to eat?“

Did I mention that in my household, I always have the final word:
“Yes, dear“

So the old fence was pulled out. Turned out the fence was further rotted out than I thought … nothing salvageable.

Borrowed a neighbor’s tractor – I need to buy one of these – and did some dirt removal.
There’s more clay in there than I expected and this is a Class 0 tractor. When I buy one, I’ll need a Class 1 … digging into that put a strain on the hydraulic system … but it worked. Made things a bit easier than digging by hand.

But I came close to ruining things – like stressing the hydraulic lines – when I found out that not only were the old fence posts embedded in concrete, but the installers laid down a concrete-filled trench. Most of the footings eventually came out – big chunks they were – except the corner post at the edge of the house/driveway; the one right where I wanted to set the main anchor post.

It’s not a valid plan if it doesn’t have to be changed in the middle of the project.

Gonna need the dirt for backfill once I’m done.

I know I’m in as good a shape now as when I was 25 so the railroads have done something to make their ties heavier. I don’t think those 2x8s are only wood either – wood doesn’t weigh so much that I can’t carry two 8-footers at a time …

I had a tool for digging 12″x2ft holes … but I decided to opt for this new-fangled thing called an auger. Funny thing – the tractor doesn’t have sufficient up/down motion on the rear to dig a deep hole and pull the auger back out.

That sucker weighs near-on 150lbs … and for some reason, that seems excessively heavy.

So the routine is to back into position … and the seat doesn’t rotate. No parking brake, so place the transmission into neutral and set the scoop down to hold the tractor while running, get off the tractor (which is too small for me, my boots get hung up and my knees bang into levers and such), go back and adjust the auger height – by lifting the mechanism while pulling and resetting the cotter pin, get back on the tractor, engage the PTO into low gear while disabling the drive gear, engage the auger (did you catch the seat doesn’t rotate? Need to dig while twisting backward while sitting forward), dig as far as it will go, reverse the process in order to reset the auger – by lifting the mechanism by hand while pulling and resetting the cotter pin.

Tim the Toolman Taylor had it right: “Too much power is just enough”.

Repeat as necessary … to find there’s insufficient up/down to dig a deep hole … which means now, dammit, I need to use concrete along with gravel to set a sufficient base.

But so far, somehow … I’ve saved Ms DT’s rose bush. The plants on top are Russian Sage – just now coming to bloom … as is the lavender on the other side of the driveway.

This sure feels like that thing they call “work”.
I need a job so I can rest from my days off.