That time again

What is this?

What could it possibly be?
It's the secret access hatch in the front yard.

Every year I have to go out there, heave it aside, get down on my knees,

waaay down on my knees,
and flip open that blue lid to read the water meter.
And since the numbers on the meter aren't all that big, I have to practically get down in there to read it. Which you can see is a tight fit.

The special pleasure is this happens in the dead of winter, when things are either nice and frozen out there, or completely muddy. Or both.

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