Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

[LaughingFeather]

Oh No. Let's hope she shows up. The feeling of having to watch your birds for vandalism is awful. I'm watching for a egg stealer.

 

[TurtlePowerTrav]

Jess, I hope she is just riding out the night somewhere. You guys may want to rethink that dog in a year or two thing.

 

[cieraphoto]

I can't stop laughing at this.

That is hilarious!

I think someone may have just stolen one of my chickens. I'm baffled! I put all the chickens away and latched the coop and run doors right after dark. Head count and everything. While reading to John I heard a noise but assumed it was just the structure settling or something. Didn't want to worry. Then after putting the kids to bed about 20 minutes ago DH said "Honey, why are the chickens out?! One just walked by the back door...." So I grabbed a flashlight and ran outside and sure enough now all the chickens were outside between the run and the house, and the run door was swung closed but no longer latched. Willow, one of my EEs is missing but all the other chickens were accounted for and they were all together. We looked everywhere and she's missing. I hope it was just a weird coincidence and maybe I'm crazy, maybe she's hunkered down in the dark somewhere we can't find her and will be back in the morning. I'm totally weirded out though and think it smells of HUMANS

Oh no! I hope you find her

 

[RainMom]

Rainmom - how heavy is your shed and how far do you need to move it?

it's 8x10, and has 8 foot walls
the peak of the roof is 10 ft.
Moving it about 25 miles

 

[hallerlake]

I am not taking sides on the ADD/ADHD debate. This is an account of my son's story.

He was diagnosed with ADD at 15(which is late). The Dr offered to put him on meds, but we were against it. He suggested giving him a cup of coffee every morning. We got the iced coffee mixes and tried those. His focus improved off the charts. Started to do better with grades. Between the caffine and his running he is doing great. My wife also has adult ADD and she does not medicate for it. She just goes a million miles a minute and changes mental gears without using the "clutch". Squirrels are quite common in our household(not the fury kind).

For some, yes meds are the only way. For others there are alternatives. Finding out what works best for your situation is what is key.

So long as paddling isn't one of the alternatives.

 

[Zgoatlady]

I think someone may have just stolen one of my chickens. I'm baffled! I put all the chickens away and latched the coop and run doors right after dark. Head count and everything. While reading to John I heard a noise but assumed it was just the structure settling or something. Didn't want to worry. Then after putting the kids to bed about 20 minutes ago DH said "Honey, why are the chickens out?! One just walked by the back door...." So I grabbed a flashlight and ran outside and sure enough now all the chickens were outside between the run and the house, and the run door was swung closed but no longer latched. Willow, one of my EEs is missing but all the other chickens were accounted for and they were all together. We looked everywhere and she's missing. I hope it was just a weird coincidence and maybe I'm crazy, maybe she's hunkered down in the dark somewhere we can't find her and will be back in the morning. I'm totally weirded out though and think it smells of HUMANS

I'm not sure how your door locks but could the wind have blown it open? I sure hope you find her.

 

[hallerlake]

I can't stop laughing at this.

 

[hallerlake]

I can't stop laughing at this.

 

[FirewifeJess]

I'm not sure how your door locks but could the wind have blown it open? I sure hope you find her.

Thanks. I will take a pic tomorrow of the latch. I hope it was just a strange happening and she's out in the yard scared tonight. Rather that than dead

 

[Greg Richardson]

Renton residents trying to solve mystery of disappearing birds

By Tracy Vedder Published: Feb 22, 2013 at 5:57 PM PST

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RENTON, Wash. -- It's like a Hitchcock move, only in reverse. Rather than flocking in epic proportions, the birds in a Renton neighborhood seem to have disappeared.

And like any good mystery, neighbors have a culprit in mind.

The landscape in Paul Oullette's backyard looks empty. He's traded out his bigger bird feeders for smaller ones, and they're still stubbornly half full.

"Our birds are gone. Why?" he said.

Winter is usually his busy season for birds, but not this year.

"You get more and more birds because they're hungry, there's no food out there," he said.

This year the flickers and finches, as well as the hummingbirds and chickadees, are rare visitors.

"I spend usually $30 a month on bird seed, and I haven't bought any now for three months," Oullette said.

And Oullette's not alone in missing the birds. His neighbors in Renton's Rolling Hills subdivision noticed the same thing: The feeders are full and the birds are gone.

Neighbors think they know why the birds have disappeared. They think it's the fault the new water meters that were recently installed.

The "smart meters" automatically transmit data about each home's water usage five times a day. The machines could save Renton as much as $800,000 a year.

"So the payback for this is pretty phenomenal," said Renton spokeswoman Preeti Shridhar.

In spite of the savings, smart meters across the country are spurring backlash, with local groups claiming everything from inaccurate billing to human health hazards. Residents also worry the low-level radio frequencies hurt wildlife.

Renton leaders insist the meters are safe.

"One of the things is we made sure that the frequencies that these meters used are FCC approved and regulated," Shridhar said.

Oullete wants the city to implement a moratorium on any more meters until someone studies their effects on wildlife. The city's Utilities Committee will look into the issue during a Monday public hearing.