Looking for Advice and Experience

[greybeard]

Personally I intend to still have money at the end of my life and there will be more of it if I don't hire out things I can do myself.

At or near the end of your life, which one will you have more of? Time ..or money?

I wish someone had presented me with that very simple and direct question when I was younger.
I'm at that point now. I and my wife wish I had the time back instead of the $$ in the bank.
$$ can be recouped and re-acquired--time cannot.

You can beat Mother Nature to standstill if you have enough money to throw at her, but she'll eventually (and always) get tired of that game and call in her old ally Father Time.
Throwing money at a clock is a futile endeavor.

 

[Bruce]

Ah but the unanswerable question is "how long will I live?" How much money you need later in life depends on the answer to that question and getting more money in later years ISN'T so easy.

My mother and step mother both died a few months shy of their 75th birthdays. My stepfather probably about the same. My mother's sister made 92 mostly in good health. Dad is doing well and will be 89 in October, his brother is 83 and in good health. Their father died 2 weeks shy of his 96th B-day. My wife's mother is doing well at 84, her father turned 92 in March, doing fine. His sister will be 100 in October and still drives in the daytime. Their oldest sister made 96, oldest brother only 91, next brother 97.

So, how much money do I need to not live in poverty in my later years?? Your guess is as good as mine and that is why I would rather die with some money in the bank. However your point is not lost on me, time is gone with every tick of the clock and there needs to be a balance between what we do with our time and our money.

 

[Red the butcher]

So you don't need fancy t post with cattle panels although they are the easiest to pound in. Most of my post are small trees that i debarked. I go every 8 feet and just use wire to attach them to the post. And i just use fencing wire to put the panels together. It holds 300 pound hogs in just fine.

 

[Mike CHS]

I think we completely hijacked @CntryBoy777 thread but we aren't talking about the same things. You want to save time by hiring someone, that's fine but you don't get to keep accumulating it. I'm not worried about money so why would I want to pay someone to do something that I chose for this point in my life to do myself?

I'm not rich by any means but we planned for this phase of our life and that included putting up our own fence as that is the way we want to spend our time. The time spent doing that isn't lost if that is how you want to spend your time.

 

[greybeard]

I think we completely hijacked @CntryBoy777 thread but we aren't talking about the same things. You want to save time by hiring someone, that's fine but you don't get to keep accumulating it. I'm not worried about money so why would I want to pay someone to do something that I chose for this point in my life to do myself?

I'm not rich by any means but we planned for this phase of our life and that included putting up our own fence as that is the way we want to spend our time. The time spent doing that isn't lost if that is how you want to spend your time.

Understood Mike. I did exactly the same thing, and for the same reason.

 

[CntryBoy777]

No worries about any "Hijack". It seems to me that my whole life dollars do not "Flow" in my direction, but "Flees". I'm not complaining, but "Life" has seemed to elude me also. I've been dealing with health issues since I was 4yrs old, and have plenty now that are "Knocking at the Door". It is like that old George Jones song that says....we are "Living and Dying" with the "Choices" that we make. When one gets on down the road, it is easy to look back and re-think things a bit, but at that "Time" in your life you were working to "Build your Dream", and hindsight is 20/20, but we are always forced "Forward", because "Life' goes on....with or without each one of us....the clock still "Ticks" and the world still "Turns"....and there has never been a human being "Powerful" enough to stop, or slow it down either. There is one constant with "Life" and that is "Death", any that refuse to face that fact are only fooling their own self.

 

[Red the butcher]

Pops always told me there are 2 things you can count on in life, death and taxes.

 

[CntryBoy777]

On to the fence stretching.... ...this is the beginning of the stretch....stripping the verticle wires so the horizontal wires can be wrapped around the post and then twisted back to itself. Of course it is always good to have some help when doing this.... ....so KiKi stepped in to help speed up the process....Not.......but despite the distractions and obsticle, the twisting began. I found it is best to wrap the bottom wire first, because the fence is moveable and can easily be lifted so the wire can slip under and during the twisting it is easier to twist it with the hog-nosed pliers. After wrapping and twisting it I would go to the top and twist down, just my preference. I don't bend for long periods of time very easily any more, it doesn't really make a difference when starting, but it does to end the pull.
...this is a little tool that I came across to twist wires with and it really worked well in the spaces where there was room for it to spin, but around brace posts and brace wires it was the hog-nosed pliers that did the job. Also, this wire is 14gauge and I haven't used it on any heavier gauge wire, so unsure about the difficulties that may present. When using this welded wire, in stripping the verticles, there will always be little barbs that are left on the wires and they can present some difficulties in the twisting and also will grab, scratch, and stick you while working with it. ...this is the completed twist. Since I tend to overkill things, there should be a minimum of 4-5 twists around the wire, but I just wound the length I had. ...this is a different post, but it does show the finished product of starting the stretching process.
I should mention that if you are using this wire for fencing, be extra sure that the horizontal wires are on the animal side of it. This will help it to last a bit longer and keep the wear and tear off of the welds. So, to the stretching.... ...I used ratchet straps to pull this with, certainly not ideal, but it did get the job done.
...this is ending the stretch and in doing so ya want to begin with the middle wires and alternate from the middle out, continuing until the last 2 wires to be done are the top and bottom. If you are unsure just how much wire is needed, make sure ya have enough to reach....it is easy to clip some off before twisting, but ya can't add to it if it is short. What I did to locate the Tpost placement was to measure the space between the closest posts of the 2 "Hs" and find the middle, then I worked from that point out every 8' until the wooden post was within 10' of the last Tpost. On short spans, I divided the space into equal parts for the placements. ...this is the completed stretch. During this whole process I learned so much, and I must remind ya that this is my very first time of installing a fence in this fashion. This procedure was used in each of the sections of the entire fencing project. I will post the finished portions in the next post, because I wouldn't be able to fit them in this post.

 

[Red the butcher]

Looks great!

 

[CntryBoy777]

Here are the sections, now.... I was looking and it was pretty dark when I finished this final stretch and haven't taken a pic of it finished. This piece is going to be problematic, because of the land slope, and the water flow washes. I don't have a pic, but the bottom of the fence is about 8" off the ground in some spots. My original way of fixing it is with wood, but funds are tight, so going to attach piecs of fence to the bottom by twisting...and long enough to touch the ground. If it is too loose and can be pushed thru, I'll put some stakes in it. All in all, I think it turned out much Better than I expected. Now for the finishing touches.....but I can See the LIGHT, and it isn't a Train....