[Seahawk]

Interesting thread. I am working from home today because we are completely redoing our kitchen (down to bare walls) and all the new stuff arrives today and needs to be inspected, etc.

I have some skills but am so sorely lacking in others (carpentry for example) that I'll save up to pay someone to do it right. As well, I'll hire out some jobs just because there are only so many hours in a weekend and if I'm dicking around with dry wall or plumbing no one is getting all the other farm stuff done.

My problem now really is the mundane stuff around the farm. Without my kids here to help it is no fun at all. It is lonely in fact. My daughter works in Arizona and my son just left for his junior year in college. We had a great summer together but it only highlighted the fact that he'll too will be on his way soon enough.

After many thousands of hours on tractors the last twenty years, the thrill is gone...I have begun to rue getting on tractors to mow, etc.

Not *****ing, and I still enjoy working at the shop at my own pace. A tell tale for me was a spreader rebuild I did this summer. It is a 800lb rotary spreader that fits on a three point hitch behind the tractors. I have had it for 15 years. It needed it's second "refresh" this summer. It sees pretty heavy use in over seeding, fertilizer spreading, lime application, etc. I clean it after every use, but the little bits get corroded and worn.

Seven year ago when I did the first refresh, I took everything down to bare metal, primed, sanded, primed again, sprayed the parts the exact color twice, etc. I put on new nuts and bolts, gussied it up. It looked new.

This summer: down to bare metal, primer, primer and primer. No sanding in between coats, no gucci paint job. Any nut, bolt or washer that looked serviceable was re-used. Just the way it goes.