Falling not an option

I was determined to hang the new nest box, and I wanted it as high as I could get it. So I took a 8' step ladder, tied it to the cut off utility pole, climbed to the top of the ladder, and reached as high as I could. After drilling a hole through the pole way above my head, I inserted a long all-thread bolt through the hole. Next I carefully inched the 30 lb, more or less, nest box up the ladder. Standing atop the ladder I ever so carefully hoisted the box onto my shoulder. This operation took 2 hands so I had to balance, although I leaned against the cutoff pole for support. I kept lecturing myself, that falling was not an option. Just in case though, I had placed my satellite phone and a jug of water at the bottom of the ladder. My arms pained and ached and the box just pushed the bolt out the other side, so I climbed back down and went for vise-grips. That did the trick and I was able to mount the box onto the bolt. I was actually shaking when I was finished. After a short rest I climbed back up and wired a branch to the box. When birds nest in it, I'd like to photograph them perched on that branch. On this photo you can see my dike trail behind the pole and the electric line at its new location.

You'll be glad to know that the rest of the pole tops (with woodpecker cavities in them) I'm going to strap to the pole bottoms in their full length so this precarious situation won't arise again. I'd estimate this nest box is 13-14' above ground, which is an ideal height for Elf Owls.