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The Slice: Identified flying object

Kathy Konek saw the question about discovering a weather balloon.

“Yes, we found one in January of 2013 while out snowshoeing,” she wrote. “Had to climb a tree to get to it.”

Kathy lives in Naples, Idaho.

The lightweight sensors unit, which transmits radio signals during flight, is about the size of a pint milk carton. It is adorned with a message emphasizing that it is not dangerous. “Harmless Weather Instrument,” it says.

The package asks that you return it in the postage-paid mailing pouch provided, so it can be reused.

That’s what Kathy did. “Did not hear anything back from them though. Didn’t expect to. Back in the early ’80s I remember one of the neighbor kids found one. Lived in Hillyard at the time. I think he thought he would get some big reward. Probably disappointed when he didn’t.”

The spider who came for Halloween: “I don’t know if you can stand one more arachnid story, but here’s mine,” wrote Jill Vanos.

“About four years ago we had a beautiful orb weaver take up residence under the eaves just off our front porch. As the end of summer drew closer, she slowly moved her base of operations until she was in the corner above our front door side-light. She was always very well hidden during the day until the morning of October 31.

“There she was, right in the middle of her web, staying front and center as the trick-or-treaters rang our doorbell. If the kids didn’t notice our live decoration, we made a point of showing her off. Almost everyone, teenagers includes, thought it was super cool. She died just a couple days later, but we are still amazed at the timing of our special Halloween decoration.”

Looking for one thing and finding another: “In 1994, I had an emergency room visit for what I thought could be a gallbladder attack,” wrote Marlene Moser of Moscow. “An ultrasound of the gallbladder revealed a small stone or polyp in the gallbladder – and also a mass on the left kidney. It was a malignant tumor, renal cell carcinoma. Several days later, I had surgery for removal of the kidney and the tumor.

“Yay for ultrasounds! Thank God for incidental findings!”

Today’s Slice question: What local pumpkin patch would the Great Pumpkin choose?

Write The Slice at P. O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210; call (509) 459-5470; email pault@spokesman.com. Keith Gehr and Marcy Desmond were among the readers who reported that the state of Washington could fit into British Columbia 5.48 times.

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