Trouble on the Line

[LostArt]

My son came over this morning for a visit. I asked if he had breakfast. He said no, so I started fixing it and was about 20 minutes in when BANG. No lights. BANG again. We both looked at each other and said, "Transformer."

The Boss had gone fishing so we walked out to the grill to finish the eggs. I walked back in and it looked like something hanging on our feed. I reached for the binoculars and my son said it probably isn't our feed. I said, "Probably, but I see what might have happened." I handed him the glass and he said, "Yep. You might want to call mom."

Didn't take Progressive Energy long to get to us and we are on the southend of the county. They are usually pretty good with time.

My neighbor came over and asked if we had power. I told her I called and they would be here shortly. It usually doesn't take them long. She asked, "Wonder what happened? The weather wasn't bad." I handed her the glasses and pointed to the transformer/arrester. She said, "Well, your husband did say he wanted some gone, eh?" I grinned and asked her, "Want to stay for some fried skwerl Marsha?"

[Pootnaigle]

Ummmmmmmmmm Jus how many Ltng arrestors duz them guys use enyways I dun seed 2. I mite tern you in to Peta fer building skewrl traps. Poor poor baby skewrl.

[BigClive]

It's just as well you didn't invite the linemen in for tea. One of them looks like he could eat for America. :D

[T-Man]

Breakfast. . .just about the right time for one of those critters to do their deed. Outages first thing in the morning on a otherwise clear day is wild life for almost certian. Easy job too, you pretty much can refuse and not have the tub jump off the pole or catch fire.

I had an outage like that one afternoon and went back to see what the cause may have been. . .There was a rabbit laying at the base of the pole and he had some serious scorch marks on his furry lil self. . . . . .A hawk had hauled him up there for lunch then lost control and dropped him across the arrestor blowing the fuse. I think the bang ruined what was going to be a real good meal.

Clive, I think the dudes rain gear or hi-vis jacket just makes him look big:eek::p

[LostArt]

Heh. Ya'll are funny. :D

I did wonder why they didn't have to come up to the house. Husband told me that if the skwerl had been up near the transformer side near the jack they would have had to come up to the house. And it would have only been us and our next door neighbors that would have been out of power. He also said I probably heard the two bangs when the skwerl touched the arrestor and then again down the road.

At the end of our drive was another pot that was black. I've not notice it being black before, but I can't say it happened then or not. But, the truck did stop at that pot to look, but then went to the end.

I did get tickled at my neighbor, Marsha. "Why didn't they stop here?" I only answered, "They will figure it out." About 30 minutes in, they couldn't get the hotstick to work---and got up in the bucket---I heard the click. "Well, we should have lights now Marsha."

She said, "Really?" I went and turned on the garage lights. "Yeah, I heard the click. Didn't you hear it?" She grinned and said, "No. But, I wonder why they didn't have to come and get the skwerl down?" I had kept looking at the skwerl and how it all looked and said, "I'm not sure, but he must of fried on the side that didn't take just this feed off. I'll ask Bob when he gets home. Because I want to know why." She only nodded, smiled and said, "Well, this was an interesting morning, eh?" I grinned and said, "Only to us." :D

[LostArt]

At the end of our drive was another pot that was black. I've not notice it being black before, but I can't say it happened then or not. But, the truck did stop at that pot to look, but then went to the end.



Not a burnt pot the Boss says. Just a painted one. "It's painted black?" Why black?" His remark, "Why not? Most of the time when we rebuild them and they are painted. We use whatever paint we have on hand. Rust resistant." I told him I never noticed black ones before. He said years and years ago they were black.

Learn sumptin' new all the time.

[Pootnaigle]

Ummmmmmmmm so yer sayin they dint get the skwerl down? Ummmmmmmmm thats poor goins on there gurley. Ummmmmm now a hongry buzzard or a hawk or ummmmm an alligator will try n get the thang n make it happen all over agin.

[LostArt]

Ummmmmmmmm so yer sayin they dint get the skwerl down? Ummmmmmmmm thats poor goins on there gurley. Ummmmmm now a hongry buzzard or a hawk or ummmmm an alligator will try n get the thang n make it happen all over agin.

Well, Marsha did try to get them to come over by waving and pointing up at the pole. I have to grin. I thought to myself, they ain't coming over here. One woman standing there waving and pointing while the other one; me--- laughing at her. Remember, this is my neighbor that yells and blows the horn at bikers on the side of the road. I think they do that up yonder in Michigan and down South FL, but we kinda just take things in stride here.

Yes, Poot, they left the dead carcase hanging up there. I thought the same thing. But, all the Boss said was, "We are going to keep having this problem as long as we have all these long tailed rats here."

[T-Man]

The way it works is the stupid ones fry and the smarter ones watch so sooner or later ya ought to have a bunch of law abidin tree rats. . .NOT.

Did any of you ever have one that bit the top phase of secondary and die clinched to the wire by it's mouth? I had one hanging there and a mother said it was distrubing her kids. When I got there I couldn't knock it off with the extendo stick so I went up there and saw it's teeth were clinched around the hot phase and the belly had touched a bare section of the neutral. The critter was stiff as a rock. The children were all down there watching me. I grabbed my nine inch kliens and yelled to the kids, "look there is another one!". They all turned around and I bashed the buck teeth right out of the buggar. The kids all turned back to see me toss him down off the pole. Show over.