Solved!
What is this contraption that was attached to a utility pole in my backyard?
A company that deals with tree care showed up the other morning and used some sort of pneumatic tool to drive this thing into the ground, capped it, banded it, and then painted it brown. It's a telephone/fiber optic pole. I've noticed one other pole in my neighborhood (a few blocks away) that had one installed the same day.
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It's something utility companies add to poles that are a little old or a little overloaded to prolong their life. Keeps them from having to tear up your yard to put a new pole in for a few more years. Often called an osmose c-truss
Yes, it's basically a brace. It does not take much at the base of the pole to add quite a bit of strength.
Probably not leaning. Poles can generally lean quite a bit. The measurements they take determine pole strength and compare them to safety factors for certain storm conditions (like ice and/or wind). If you can see a slight lean to a pole, sometimes that's by design. There might be forces pulling the pole the other way. But sometimes it's due to soil erosion or just pole age. This one looks to be in pretty good shape from the pictures you have here.
That was probably Osmose. They take samples of the pole and determine how it's doing. They seal the hole from the sample site. Some companies also use sealant for other reasons.
Most poles are owned by power company and then communications (telephone and CATV) companies lease space to attach.
This is a c truss support that the power company had a contractor for around and place. The power company evaluates each pole every year. This is put on to extend usage of the pole instead of having company come out and sink a new pole. There's also a sealant that can be painted on the pole just below the ground line. This will inhibite moisture causing rot. Poles from the 50's-60's were not treated very well for rot/water repellentcy.
Newer poles that are sunk, you may notice, will have a green tint. This would indicate pressure treated.
No specific purpose that I know of.
Like you said, perfect for yellow jackets unless you live in state where it gets cold, then they'll be dying off soon
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