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My child has been swinging in our front yard (NC, US) and worn away the grass, revealing this metallic stake (* See photo, note the acorn top for scale*):

I gently tried to pull it up, but it is lodged in pretty well, and I don't want to damage city property it could indicate a gas line or something important. I don't think it is a ground rod (it seems to be stainless steel).

As it is right under her swing I'd like to remove it as it is a safety hazard, but I think I probably shouldn't.

enter image description here

Alaska Man
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neuronet
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    It's highly unlikely to be any sort of survey marker. Those, in my experience, are larger, round and have identifying marks on them so future surveyors know what they're looking at. – FreeMan Dec 08 '20 at 18:58
  • We have a lot of drainage stuff in our yard (flood zone) could it be attached to some runoff pipes I wonder? My nightmare is to pull up corrugated pipe lol. Looking back though they never marked those with stakes :) Maybe I shoudl dig more like tnknepp suggested and take another pic. – neuronet Dec 08 '20 at 19:01
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    It's a common shape for a tent peg. These are meant for tough ground and will take quite a beating from a hammer. They are also well suited to windy weather. Just hook the nail remover from a hammer on it and pull it out. Should come out easily. The whole thing should look like this: https://outdoorextreme.nl/tent-haring-24-cm – Kasper Dec 08 '20 at 19:03
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    @neuronet there are plenty of uses for those other than tents. Around here, people use them to hold down tarps on their front lawn during the winter. The idea is to easily remove debris from the snow blowers once all the snow melts in the spring. Probably not a thing where you are but there are certainly other possibilities. – Olivier Dec 08 '20 at 19:25
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    Not familiar with acorn. Needs banana for scale. – psaxton Dec 09 '20 at 05:12
  • You could try digging down around it gently. In the short term can you relocate the swingset over a bit or is it fixed ? Was the swing always there ? If so it could have been for holding down matting under the swing. – Criggie Dec 09 '20 at 05:52
  • kudos for asking first, even if it should turn out to be a tent peg or something similar. – arne Dec 09 '20 at 08:54
  • I use that sort of tent peg to guy down the swing, also the trampoline if strong winds are forecast. They're easily missed in long grass – Chris H Dec 09 '20 at 16:01
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    If the stake were wooden you might have a whole new set of problems. – DMoore Dec 09 '20 at 19:17
  • If its larger than it seems to be in the photo there is a possibility it could mark your property boundary. – StayOnTarget Dec 09 '20 at 20:51
  • Was there a swingset there before? The peg might be for securing a swingset's leg (so that hard swinging doesn't cause one leg to raise off the ground). When I was a kid (and there were no parents around), we'd have contests to see who could get the swingset leg to go the highest. – Flydog57 Dec 10 '20 at 01:03
  • @Flydog57 The swing is hanging from a tree I probably should have specified that in the question. :) – neuronet Dec 10 '20 at 14:17

2 Answers2

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Looks like a run-of-the-mill landscape stake to me. They're used for securing plastic edging, fabric, etc. Could also be a tent peg. It's a horse apiece.

enter image description here

I'd give it a few taps with a hammer to loosen it, then try prying it out with a spade or the hammer with a block under it.

isherwood
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    A few taps with a hammer on the head from each **side**, not down. ;) – Alaska Man Dec 08 '20 at 19:20
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    Down is fine. In fact, that's the best way to break the shear connection that usually results due to corrosion. Mine were extremely rusted. It's not usually difficult to hook the flange in soil. – isherwood Dec 08 '20 at 19:22
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    I have always had better luck side to side as it makes the hole bigger. I find down just sets it more firmly into more compact soil. Many times i have to tap it back and forth while pulling up. – Alaska Man Dec 08 '20 at 19:27
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    I actually had to look up "[a horse apiece](https://english.stackexchange.com/q/149062/107198)" trying to figure out what in the world you were trying to say, and I'm a pretty travelled and fluent native English speaker. This seems to be a quirky expression that is only really understood in a few corners of the US (or maybe just in Wisconsin?). I don't think it really adds anything to this answer and I feel we should generally refrain from highly dialectal English here. – J... Dec 09 '20 at 12:32
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    @J... I've certainly never come across it in British English, but I quite like it – Chris H Dec 09 '20 at 16:02
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    @J... On the one hand I understand your argument on the other, Hey I learned a cool new phrase.:) (as a side note I lived in Wisconsin for 7 years of my life, never heard it). – DRF Dec 09 '20 at 16:05
  • @DRF Fair point, I suppose we all like to learn something new. I've come to understand that the phrase is widely understood only in northern Wisconsin (and into bordering Minnesota) - evidently it's blank stares in the south of Wisconsin. – J... Dec 09 '20 at 16:23
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    This is it. Given its height it was probably used for a weed mat at some time. A lot of times there is mulch over it and the stake is an afterthought. – DMoore Dec 09 '20 at 19:18
  • Love the new colloquialism, and the picture was super helpful as it clearly was that type of stake. The stake was likely placed there a long time ago, as it was about an inch into the topsoil under the grass. – neuronet Dec 10 '20 at 14:22
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Most municipalities and counties maintain a central resource of buried utility line locations. Here in New England it's telephone 888-DIG-SAFE. In most of the U.S. you can start with telephone 811.

They probably do not know exactly where the lines run onto your property, but they will tell you what to look for, and if that stake is one of theirs.

isherwood
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A. I. Breveleri
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    Thanks: I mention in post I'm in NC, US. Will look up the 811 thing here that is a great tip. Indeed: https://nc811.org/ – neuronet Dec 08 '20 at 18:50