Satisfaction

[widefat]

At the current stage of my life, I derive significant satisfaction out of working outside. Any project, but I think I primarily enjoy cleaning up and clearing my property. It was once a very nice farm, but the last owner was not able to keep it up, and nature took over. If given the choice, I will choose a chainsaw, tractor, and mower. We are also renovating the farmhouse; I love working on the house, but still prefer the outside work.
Please take this the right way - not tooting my horn here - but I commute to the city and work in a white collar, professional environment, I have lots of (too much probably) education, make good $$$, blah blah blah. Maybe it is residual from my childhood - my parents told me that I didn't come in the house until I became a sullen teenager.
I cant wait to hang it up and spend my days in muck boots.

 

[kcflhrc]

I live in Muck Boots at work and at home. Telecom tech for 40 years. I make good money but the older you get the tougher the outside work gets. Working outside at work and working outside at home are entirely different things. I have to be out in it when I don't want to be. For example, it's 8 degrees this morning in Eastern Kansas. I wold much rather be home right now in front of the fire place. But nope, someone wants fiber installed to their house today.

 

[widefat]

I live in Muck Boots at work and at home. Telecom tech for 40 years. I make good money but the older you get the tougher the outside work gets. Working outside at work and working outside at home are entirely different things. I have to be out in it when I don't want to be. For example, it's 8 degrees this morning in Eastern Kansas. I wold much rather be home right now in front of the fire place. But nope, someone wants fiber installed to their house today.

Very true - I doubt I could do the aforementioned outside work as a living, 5 or 6 days a week.

 

[kcflhrc]

Very true - I doubt I could do the aforementioned outside work as a living, 5 or 6 days a week.

You would be surprised what you can do if you want to eat. But yeah, at 57 it definitely takes it's toll. But then again, it keeps you in shape also.

 

[SirMaxwell]

I live in Muck Boots at work and at home. Telecom tech for 40 years. I make good money but the older you get the tougher the outside work gets. Working outside at work and working outside at home are entirely different things. I have to be out in it when I don't want to be. For example, it's 8 degrees this morning in Eastern Kansas. I wold much rather be home right now in front of the fire place. But nope, someone wants fiber installed to their house today.

Would you mind moving a bit quicker there Billy and snap to.... :cool2:

 

[Industrial Toys]

Do what you want sooner rather than later. My neighbor's wife never let him be at their weekend farm as much as he wanted. Heck, he would have liked to live there. He had a shed, that for the last ten years had a terrible dirt and stone floor. Last fall, he finally had a beautiful concrete floor poured and I assisted in a project to shore up rotted off poles, being a pole barn. He then went on a vaction, where he met with an accident and died. He never got to enjoy his shed.

I'm glad and feel very fortunate that I got to spend, possibly the best years of my life, here in the country. You see people coming here all the time in retirement, building or buying their dream home, and a few short years later see the for sale sign up.

As far as cleaning up. Yes, I have enjoyed that for decades here, but I acknowledge it's not exactly natural. Getting back to my neighbor, he had bees and wasn't exactly on board with me turning my place into a golf course or park.

BEFORE

AFTER

Just one small part of my clean up efforts. It does afford me immense satisfaction.

 

[SirMaxwell]

As a country boy (grew up in a village of 5 families, married a farmers daughter) growing up, all I wanted to do was get out. I worked hard, worked my way through University, took additional classes in bleeding edge of digital circuits and the burgeoning computer industry. Made it into the desired engineering, white collar, clean offices, air conditioning, secretaries dressed to the nines, oh and office politics, meetings about up coming meetings, projects that fed other projects (grrr 6th Sigma) but did nothing, days spent congratulating on success's but never discussing the fails......a couple anger management classes later, one judge ordered, and it turns out, guess what, I am happiest working without structure, often alone, outside.

Spent the last 40 ish years in the mining industry, hi tech divisions of course, but 90% field and traveled the globe many times.

Now, just want the mud to dry a little so I can go dig up some stuff, get the fields cut. Sow some corn. Plant the food plots. You know, country boy stuff.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

As a country boy (grew up in a village of 5 families, married a farmers daughter) growing up, all I wanted to do was get out. I worked hard, worked my way through University, took additional classes in bleeding edge of digital circuits and the burgeoning computer industry. Made it into the desired engineering, white collar, clean offices, air conditioning, secretaries dressed to the nines, oh and office politics, meetings about up coming meetings, projects that fed other projects (grrr 6th Sigma) but did nothing, days spent congratulating on success's but never discussing the fails......a couple anger management classes later, one judge ordered, and it turns out, guess what, I am happiest working without structure, often alone, outside.

Spent the last 40 ish years in the mining industry, hi tech divisions of course, but 90% field and traveled the globe many times.

Now, just want the mud to dry a little so I can go dig up some stuff, get the fields cut. Sow some corn. Plant the food plots. You know, country boy stuff.

I found the transition from a job where the rewards were immediate...like farm work, where you can see how much you plowed, etc. or a grocery store where you could see how many shelves you've stocked, to a white collar job, where what you do today may not show results for weeks or months... was a bit difficult at first. Yard work, working on the house (used to be a painter) and woodworking filled in the blanks. Nothing like making grass clippings and sawdust to help you solve your problems.

 

[Thomas]

Like the song in a way Hotel California... you can check out but you can never leave.

 

[bigtiller]

When my grades started slipping in high school, my dad told me I have 2 choices. I can work with my brain or my back. I wish I would have thought that advice out a little more. Now that I am retired, I can't imagine my brain hurting as much as my back does.

 

[SirMaxwell]

When my grades started slipping in high school, my dad told me I have 2 choices. I can work with my brain or my back. I wish I would have thought that advice out a little more. Now that I am retired, I can't imagine my brain hurting as much as my back does.

Oh, I can easily imagine. Heck, imagine, is the wrong word. Not to mention a type of stress known only to the white collar. Oh and riding bikes that go no where, climbing stairs that go no where, lifting weights that move nothing...

 

[SirMaxwell]

I found the transition from a job where the rewards were immediate...like farm work, where you can see how much you plowed, etc. or a grocery store where you could see how many shelves you've stocked, to a white collar job, where what you do today may not show results for weeks or months... was a bit difficult at first. Yard work, working on the house (used to be a painter) and woodworking filled in the blanks. Nothing like making grass clippings and sawdust to help you solve your problems.

That's it exactly. I worked my way through Uni in construction. Started by mixing the mortar, by hand. Ended after 6 years framing houses. Every day you could look back and see the accomplishment. This morning I drove over a culvert, near one of my small lakes (5 acre), and felt pretty good about building that culvert. You can take the boy out of the country, but...

 

[fried1765]

Do what you want sooner rather than later. My neighbor's wife never let him be at their weekend farm as much as he wanted. Heck, he would have liked to live there. He had a shed, that for the last ten years had a terrible dirt and stone floor. Last fall, he finally had a beautiful concrete floor poured and I assisted in a project to shore up rotted off poles, being a pole barn. He then went on a vaction, where he met with an accident and died. He never got to enjoy his shed.

I'm glad and feel very fortunate that I got to spend, possibly the best years of my life, here in the country. You see people coming here all the time in retirement, building or buying their dream home, and a few short years later see the for sale sign up.

As far as cleaning up. Yes, I have enjoyed that for decades here, but I acknowledge it's not exactly natural. Getting back to my neighbor, he had bees and wasn't exactly on board with me turning my place into a golf course or park.

BEFORE View attachment 594709

AFTER View attachment 594710

Just one small part of my clean up efforts. It does afford me immense satisfaction.

THAT is absolutely BEAUTIFUL !!!

 

[2LaneCruzer]

That's it exactly. I worked my way through Uni in construction. Started by mixing the mortar, by hand. Ended after 6 years framing houses. Every day you could look back and see the accomplishment. This morning I drove over a culvert, near one of my small lakes (5 acre), and felt pretty good about building that culvert. You can take the boy out of the country, but...

Man, I thought I was the only living person who ever mixed mortar by hand. I mixed mortar on a construction job, where we were laying storm sewer and grouting the joints...with the mortar I mixed by hand. The guys carried it in 5 gal. buckets (yep, they were HEAVY). My Dad came by one day (as I recall, he was the Superintendent on the overall job), and the next day I had a little gasoline powered mixer! The Summer finished out good though, spent a couple weeks "dumping" trucks. All I had to do was measure with my string where they were to dump, and sit on my butt for the rest of the time, since I was the only one on the dump site.

Lost my toe nail that Summer; picked up an air tamp and squeezed the trigger and it danced all over my foot. As my Dad used to say, "You shouldn't fool with something you don't know nothin' about.."

 

[oosik]

We moved down from a 22 year stint in Alaska. Most being in Anchorage. That was in 1982. I've been out here in the boondocks now for 38 years. I gotta admit - I rather enjoy being able to sit here in the nice warm house, drink my cup of mud & look out at all the cold & snow. For almost 38 years - almost every single project around here meant going outside. Spring, summer, fall & winter. It has been a real blast for those 38 years. With age I've learned to enjoy a nice warm house too.........

 

[SJay]

Love working outside - with the right gear on. A few weeks ago one of my coworkers introduced me to hand warmers - game changer. Never to old to learn something new

 

[Jstpssng]

Love working outside - with the right gear on. A few weeks ago one of my coworkers introduced me to hand warmers - game changer. Never to old to learn something new

If you really want to feel the heat, put a handwarmer in your shirt pocket right over your heart. It's just like having central heating.

 

[Industrial Toys]

It's one thing to HAVE to work in ugly conditions. No one wants to blow snow in an open tractor in a blizzard. But, if you enjoy nature, that experience is part of it. You really miss a big part of the experience of nature sitting in a climate controlled cab. Whether it's mosquitoes, rain, heat or cold. And experience is what being here is all about.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

It's one thing to HAVE to work in ugly conditions. No one wants to blow snow in an open tractor in a blizzard. But, if you enjoy nature, that experience is part of it. You really miss a big part of the experience of nature sitting in a climate controlled cab. Whether it's mosquitoes, rain, heat or cold. And experience is what being here is all about.

In 1960, I signed on a harvest crew; spent most of the time on a 14' open cab Baldwin Gleaner combine. We cut some 7 foot Rye, that had been hailed on, was down on the ground, moldy, but really dry. We put pickups on the header, and cut the stuff. The chaff was almost unbearable, having to eat all that straw. I couldn't open my eyes the next morning, until someone helped me with a wash pan and some water.

While I agree in principle with your statement, this is one experience I would rather have not experienced at the time, and certainly wouldn't do it again.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I worked with monitoring equipment in chicken barns and quickly ruined $600.00 Gas Permeable Contact Lenses, from the abrasive dust, so your experience stikes a cord. I did kind of qualify it, with saying "HAVE" to, as in, have no choice. I was cold way too often as an electrician as well. Always worked in cold unfinished places, got the heat and light going, and left, for the next cold place! Mostly as an apprentice making a minimum wage of $3.50/hr. No fun.