OT Whats in your back yard?

I'm a meter reader for a power company.

Some houses plant shrubs in front of the meters to hide them so they don't have to look at the meter but I have dig thru them to read.

And a lot of places the meter is in the back of the house,and you never know whats behind the house.

Every thing from old cars,old tractors,full garbage bags and dogs.

I try not to look around to much but the dogs seem to notice me.

Anyone got a good way to make friends with these dogs?

Gary

Doesn't spend anything for it though, the meat is whatever looks really old and freezerburnt from the bottom of the deep freeze.

They did suggest peppergas for a while. But he found this method to be more humane, saving the peppergas for the...tougher cases.

You know, the utility company has an easement on all the properties. Complain enough about a meter in a bush, and the power company will cut the bush out. Wide enough to drive a combine through on both sides of the pole! They did for Dad on somebody else's place, anyway. We have pictures, I'll have to find 'em.

My meter is on the pole at the end of the sidewalk in front of the house, right beside the lane. Easy access.

Our REC made some people start calling in their meter readings to avoid hassling the meter readers. They do quarterly checks to make sure the customer isn't fudging the numbers. They also check that the meter reader isn't fudging his own readings.

Pays okay, 9 cents/mile, about 5 cents/meter. Those figures could be wrong, but that's what I thought he said. Comes to about $140/month. Not bad for one long day or a weekend, depending on how hard you run your car.

Former paper boy.

About those dogs. I've been told before the best way to make friends with a dog is to hold out your hat(if you wear one) and let them smell it. I guess it lets them know what you are. Of course that puts your hand real close to their pearly whites.

My job use to take me to a lot of different farm headquarters. When I got out of my truck there was usually a dog there keeping an eye on me . I just spoke to them in a friendly way and acted like I belonged there. Never got bit.

Pepper spray. Doesn't hurt the animal and they'll learn real quick to leave you alone.

I buy my 70+ year old mother a new can of it every year - it attaches to her key chain. She lives in town and thought I was being overly protective. Might have saved her lif a couple years ago when the worthless neighbor's rotteweiler broke out of yard and confronted her as she was getting into her car. She said the way he ran after she sprayed him you'd have thought the dinner bell rang.

Kelly

Harvest started with a bang and you could go for 15 days straight.Now its been rainy since Monday.

I got the beans done and 100 acres of corn. About 400 of corn to go.

I can store about 50,000 and sell the rest.

Contacted some corn in the spring for fall delivery. And have been contracting every week on this up trend.

Need to sell about 10,000 yet that I don't have room for.

It's been kinda drizzley, misty here in SE Nebraska for the past few days. Just enough moisture to make it miserable, but not enought to keep you out of the field. Talked to a guy yesterday who was actually GLAD his combine broke down so he could spend the day in the nice warm shop. Highs have been in the 40's, lows in the 20's, and nice 25 mph winds to go with them.

We are way to cheap to change all the meters.

Somtimes here in Iowa we are a little behind the rest of the world.

No really they are going to those type in the more unpopulated areas where driving cost are to high.

But where the meters are closer together to justify the gas they still read them.

Gary

My Dad grew up in NW Kansas, had one neighbor who would leave the phone off the hook because she was going to need to make a call...one night him and his brother snuck over, climbed the pole, cut the line into her house, and put a piece of rope in line. Phones worked great for about a month while they looked for the problem...