Let's Go With the Big One

Riley and I opened the door and were confronted by this. It is directly outside our front door, about three feet in front of our step. I had a hard time not walking right into it, so you can imagine Riley's confusion. I was very curious why this lone pole would need such strong defenses. Is it leaning? Shaky? Due to be torn down? Whatever the reason, they pulled out the big guns for this one.

When Riley and I got back from our walk, I noticed that there was a faint paint smell coming from the pole and its armor. I came to the rather brilliant conclusion that it was recently painted, and hence, it needed a fortress to prevent people from walking into a wet pole, as people are wont to do. I felt much better about the whole situation. But I did wonder why there was no "wet paint" sign anywhere. I guess the waist-high fencing was presumed to be adequate, while still subtle in nature.