The stick of doom

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Maybe this is a micro-Pit, I dunno.

So on the way out of my neighborhood to the larger world, I drive by a house. It’s an older “red colonial” - smallish 1-1/2 story built in the early 1800s and painted that dark red barn-ish color. They’re scattered around here, and I like seeing them. This one was, I think, occupied by an older person the first couple of years we were here, and then had a small fire around the woodstove and in being rebuilt, was left vacant and for sale.

That was more than a year and a half ago - I think the fire was just after the holidays two years back. It’s unusual for any house to remain unsold around here, but this is a difficult one. Besides being “vintage” it’s now fronting on a slightly busy feeder road and has only a smallish irregular parcel around it.

It’s being maintained and there have been various trades in and out over the last year, most recently what looks like a complete septic rebuild (which could have had something to do with it not selling - that’s a $10-20k job.) Real estate agents, people I assume are the owners and children, trades, cleanup people… see them all the time, at least a couple times a week.

But.

For nearly a year now, a large V-shaped branch has been hanging over the phone/cable wires, right in front of the house. It’s maybe 2-3 inches across at the butt end and six feet long, with two equal arms. It’s right there. You can’t miss it. It’s probably too heavy for the wires to carry, all things considered. I was sure that the first heavy snow/icing we got last fall would bulk it up and pull the wires down, but nope. A mild winter might have forestalled that.

But it’s still there, and we got our first notable snow storm today.

I just can’t figure out why no one, in over a year, has removed it. It’s not a hard job. A very tall person could do it from the ground; anyone else could use a pole clipper or a stepladder to assist. It’s not on or near the power wires, which come in the other corner of the house. It’s unsightly and surely reduces the “curb appeal” for sale. It’s a risk to the phone and cable wires.

But there it hangs, month after month. Strange.

2

Why not take the initiative and, when someone is around the place, go over and point it out? Better still, since the branch might cut electrical service to the neighborhood, go over there and just do it yourself if it can be done easily and without danger to you.

I’m for real here. In my immediate neighborhood we have two drainage ditches. One is County, one is CalTrans. Neither entity seems to feel the need to keep them clear. So piss on them, the neighborhood folks keep these ditches open. We talk about the moment when some officious bastard comes by and tells us to stop. I want to be there for that exchange!

BTW, good thread title.

3

Things like this annoy me too. But suspect that it may not be a power wire, and if it falls, will only take out the cable/phone to the house. And not disrupt the neighborhood. If you know it is a power wire, I would report it to your utility.

4

The phone and cable companies aren’t any happier when their lines get pulled down then the electric company. There should be a number you call to inform them (probably easier with the phone company, assuming your cable company is one of the behemoths you’re more likely to end up in a call center somewhere far away).