Storm Repair Update

Just off the phone with CenterPoint Energy. They are not liable for the damage to my fence "call your insurance company" ... "we are only liable for the damage to our poles, our equipment" But they are going to come out and repair the hole from the transformer hitting the ground and the tracks from their pole hole machine that tracked through the wet saturated yard.

A friend of my neighbor's (cousin) showed up early yesterday with a large trailer, the truck to pull it and two different size chain saws. By 9am they had the tree nearest the pole, completely cleared. By 3pm their yard looked like this ... completely cleared.

Compared to this just the day before.

My neighbor on the left of me, opposite this photo, had Spectrum come out to assess their situation. He was able to get her back online temporarily until those three cable area moved to the new utility pole. He said he was headed for Kentucky today where there is serious tornado damage from Sunday night. 

"My" AT&T guy showed up at 4:20pm ... he was scheduled between noon and 4pm. I could tell as soon as I saw a van and not a truck with a lift on it, like the one last week, that he was not going to get anything done.

I had that feeling Sunday after my call to AT&T. Although I described in detail what the situation was, numerous times, I just had the feeling he did not get the clearest idea what I was describing.

So, the AT&T guy pulled out his company iPad and started taking photos from my house all the way down to the other side of the neighbors house. Each employee brought up the same issue ... they only deal with "their cables" and there are three different companies on the pole that needs to be moved. 

To get anything done you would have to have an account with one of those companies. This guy didn't argue but it was borderline arguing over the wires that go from my house to the pole. He told me as I held up the small wire "that isn't AT&T Fiber" ... well it is and I told him I watched the installer when he did it last November. Then he pointed out while standing at the fence and holding that bundle of small cables I had zip-tied ... there were two Spectrum cables from prior owners. He wouldn't hang those. Ha Ha ... typical business in today's world. 

Why do I get the feeling it will be complicated getting that bundle of cables back up in the corner of my house under the overhang?

So what they called the "dig" work orders have been submitted by Spectrum and AT&T. The AT&T guy said from the looks of things he thought they would be out here pretty quick to clean up this mess. 

So they are on the clock ... let see how long it takes to get things back to normal. I still have internet service because even if the cables are strewn and close to the ground, I am still connected to their AT&T Fiber system.

In comparison, in November 2021, between 1:30 AM!!!! until 3:00AM ... they had cut the tree from the large cables, spliced their electrical wire and had the cables and wires hung back on the utility poles by the time they left at 3:30am ... Both electrical wires and internet/tv cable. Watson, Henry and Walter inspected their work after they left.

I am pretty sure they were with CenterPoint Energy because they hung those two high cables back to the poles. I do remember in my fading memory neither AT&T nor Spectrum had to come out to do any work.

It was "O-Dark-Thirty" but the hounds and dog were able to inspect their work.

While waiting for AT&T to show up, I had time to mow the backyard with the push self propelled mower. It looks much nicer mowed with that instead of the riding mower. I might be driving that too fast for a nice smooth looking cut. With the gate zip-tied so the hounds and dog can use the backyard I didn't want to go through the gate on the other side. Plus I needed something to soak up time while I waited.

I also had a lot of time to think about trees and fences. To continue to live here with all those trees in the back and my neighbors huge old oak tree to the left corner of the backyard ... I am going to need a stronger fence than what I have.

Initial thought ... a black chain link with steel posts and the steel horizontal post. Easy to repair damage, definitely not as costly. Would it look good with my house and yard? Or I could have a company cut all the trees behind my fence and clear out that berm, then plant wild flowers or even some shrubs along that berm to block the field and the view from the road that leads out of town.

Then on top of things ... I have received a couple of texts the past two days from one neighbor that talks to the other because they grew up together right here in these houses. I am starting to see the "tone" of who's to blame and who should have cut those two trees down ... the home owner or the utility company.

To add a small amount of fuel that that "tone" ... when I mentioned to the neighbor yesterday that if one tree was completely rotten and the far side of his yard and the tree that was nearest the pole was hallow on the inside when they cut it up ... most likely I am guessing that last standing large tree in their yards is rotting and is due to fall across the cables ....

Where we would be playing this same game again ....

He answered "that tree is probably rotten or rotting" but said nothing about taking it down. INSTEAD he pointed out to me that I needed to cut down SOME of the trees on that berm that he thought were dead.

Do you get the same feeling of the blame game that I do?

One problem with that berm ... my property line goes "up" that berm but not "over" the berm and behind those trees. The back side of that berm belongs to the owner of the field. Yet years ago the neighbor cleared out their berm that looked just like mine, all the way to the edge of the field.

So who knows.

The hounds and dog were great yesterday with all the area visitors near their yard. They are loving this cool enough weather to leave the windows open all day and night. Ava is as tall as my knees now and starting to run from one side of the backyard to the other, either chasing Watson or getting him to chase her.

Oh, I am up for any suggestions on the fence, a different fence or tree conservation. Leave a comment.

It is already another beautiful morning here in "the tropics" of Southern Indiana.