Per bob haller:
look for ground wire coming down side of pole.

I think I found it: 6mm solid copper coming out of the breaker
box in two places. I was looking for that woven flexy stuff
that appears in so many photos - and the patina made it look like
an old telephone cable.

One runs through a wall, down behind a drain spout, and
disappears into the garden soil next to the house.

The other runs along the ceiling, into the furnace room, and
attaches to a cold water pipe.

I think I'll pursue gregZ's recommendation and find somebody who
can tell me if the system is actually working (in light of the
"Ground Fault" lights on various UPS'). Maybe the guy who
installs the cutover switch...although I have learned the hard
way that not just any electrician chosen at random is what I'd
call a craftsman.... Competence I don't know enough to judge...
but the appearance of some of their work makes me wonder -)

One thing I don't like is that the 6mm copper is bundled in with
an RG6 TV cable and several Cat5 Ethernet cables on it's way to
the water pipe. Unencumbered by any knowledge, I have to wonder
if a high voltage spike grounding out along that copper might
bleed over and fry whatever Ethernet or TV devices are on the
ends of those cables. Or can I trust it to completely take the
path of least resistance?

While looking for the elusive house ground, I noted that the TV
antenna we had installed several years ago has a long ground
wire, but no ground. The wire is just coiled up in the garden
soil next to the house under the antenna. I guess Job#1 (after
a call to the installer....) is to run that wire through the
crawl space and mate it up with a cold water pipe. ??
--
Pete Cresswell