TheBanyanTree: Rodents

[Laura]

We had yet another power surge this afternoon.  Shuts down all the 
computers, which the kids are using for school work, and makes me have to 
go around the house resetting vcrs, dvd players, and the dang microwave 
clocks!  These power surges are always accompanied by a faint BOOM from a 
couple of streets over.  

Larry finally got fed up with this happening two and three times a week, 
and thinking that maybe we have a faulty transformer in the neighborhood, 
he called the electric company.   

Did you know that it is not physically possible to contact a human bean 
at the electric company by phone?  I guess they figure you might complain 
'er sumfin.  

The feller at the electric company was nice enough to return Larry's 
call. He explained that for some reason, the squirrels are able to 
contact the power cables AND hook their tails around a grounding wire at 
the same time.  !!***ZAP***!!  Fried squirrel!  Hee,hee.  I hate 
squirrels.  

While I like the idea that they can fry themselves while getting on the 
power lines to drop their damn walnuts in my yard, I really don't like 
the interruption of power everytime one of them is stupid enough to get 
itself killed.  The power feller said they were going to go check on the 
area where it keeps happening (sure enough, two streets up and one over), 
and see why all of a sudden the squirrels are able to get fried.  

I suspect one of the big pine trees has finally pulled a power line down 
low enough that the nasty rodents can get to it from the grounding wire.

That should be an easy fix.  It will be nice to not have to worry about 
the computers getting shut off suddenly and unpredictably.  

<grinning evilly at the thought of fried squirred at the base of a pole>

-- 
Laura
wolfljshus at insightbb.com
http://home.insightbb.com/~wolfljshus/index.html