Crash! Boom! Crack!

I wrote a blog entry about how people are coming to my fenceline to look at the pigs a few days ago.   Well, today this blue van driving by ran into a power pole.  I can't say why this fellow ran into the pole, but  he might have been looking at the pigs. 

I was standing in my driveway loading 4 weaner pigs that I'd sold that morning when I heard a big, booming crash and bang behind me, and then the unmistakable CRACK of a big timber going down.

It snapped the telephone pole off about 2' above ground level, and the driver immediately jumped out and started running down the road.  Which is kind of funny, because I know the guy. 

Two police cars and an aid unit showed up pretty quickly.  I gave a statement to the officer and we all looked at the live power lines over my pigs.  I was secretly glad he'd hit the pole.  If he'd missed he would have driven through my fence and probably over a couple of pigs that sleep there, or maybe into the drainage ditch 30' farther on.  He could have been killed.  As it was the impact was at about 35 mph, with no braking. 

You can see a sow who's laid down right under the power lines.  i had to shoo the pigs away several times.  they were pretty curious.  Since the telephone pole is over my fence I was concerned that I'd lose a big chunk of it.  So I watched the whole process and kept the pigs clear. 

Not too long after that four power company trucks showed up and I was surprised to see them pull the stump out of the ground and reset the new pole in about 30 minutes.  the pole on the right in the photo above is the new pole; the lineman is just drilling the holes for the power line insulators.  the pole on the left has a big lean in it -- it got dragged off plumb by the wires and the weight of the other pole. 

They tried pulling on it a bit, but it's got a serious lean in it, and to fix it I think they'll have to pull it and redrill the hole.  they left it for now. 

The pigs were fascinated.