Idaho
Burrowing owlets are starting to emerge in eastern Idaho – East Idaho News
As I pulled onto a series of badger holes, a female burrowing owl popped out of one of the burrows and began cussing me. Her significant other quickly flew in as an owlet joined the couple on the edge of the burrow.
Soon, the male flew off to do some hunting, two more owlets emerged from the hole, sprinted to mom and cuddled up to her. One of them appeared to have recently hatched and stayed close to mom while the other two owlets did some exploring. They would go down the burrow and then come back out to chase a beetle or another insect.
When a swainson’s hawk flew high overhead, the female and all three owlets dove down the burrow. After about half an hour, the male returned to the burrow and was soon joined by the female and one of the owlets. The owlets again rushed to see the female when the male left again, almost knocking her over. Once again, the smallest owlet always stayed close to the female.
After watching them for almost two hours, I drove to two other burrows where I saw pairs preparing to make a home two months ago. It appeared that the females were still sitting on eggs or the owlets were not old enough to come out of the burrows because the males were standing guard near the entrance holes.
If you know where burrowing owls are nesting, now is the time to watch them closely. The owlets are very playful and interesting to watch as they develop their hunting skills. These small owls are the only birds to nest underground, and the female incubates the eggs while the male supplies her with food and protection. While sitting on the eggs, the female will develop a “brood patch,” where there are no feathers on part of her belly so the eggs can stay warm by direct contact with her skin. Females can hatch up to nine eggs.
About 80% of their food is insects and the adults will decorate the burrow by picking up animal dung to attract insects and make a quick meal for the nest. The male may capture small animals to feed the family as it grows, but the owlets quickly learn to catch beetles and grasshoppers for themselves.
I will continue to watch these nest areas and be entertained by the growing youngsters. Hopefully, a badger will not find them before they learn to fly.
It is now time to put most of your bird feeders away, except for hummingbird feeders. Most birds have an abundance of food naturally and if we continue to feed sunflower and other seeds, we create “lazy” birds that lose their ability to find their own food. This spring, I had a group of male red-winged blackbirds become dependent on my seed feeders until I emptied them and left them hanging. They finally left after cleaning up all the seeds they had wasted on the ground.
Hummingbird feeders should be filled with sugar-water, mixed about three parts water to one part sugar. Red dyes are not necessary to add to the mix – they will find the feeders with the sweet offering.
Good luck and enjoy the great outdoors safely during the summer.
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Shanea Fulks is the owner of Seven Sisters Closet Revival, a new consignment store at 260 South Woodruff in Idaho Falls. Take a look inside in the video above. | Rett Nelson, EastIdahoNews.com
Do you want to know what’s happening in the eastern Idaho business scene? We’ve got you covered. Here is a rundown of this week’s business news across the valley.
BIZ BUZZ
IDAHO FALLS
New consignment shop in Idaho Falls offers vintage clothes for customers and booth space for sellers
IDAHO FALLS – Curating vintage clothing is Shanea Fulks’s passion, and she’s sharing it with the community through a new business venture.
Seven Sisters Closet Revival opens Saturday at 260 South Woodruff inside Parkwood Plaza in Idaho Falls. It offers racks of vintage clothes for customers and booth space for others to sell their items.
“You get a rack with shelves, and you can come in throughout the week and sell things,” Fulks tells EastIdahoNews.com. “The things you’ll see in the middle of the store are pieces that I have curated. I hand-pick all the things I bring to the store.”
See some of the items in the video above.
Fulks says she’s had multiple people walk in already who are excited about the shop.
The store will have a grand opening this weekend. Fulks is partnering with the Greater Idaho Falls Chamber of Commerce for a ribbon-cutting and open house at noon on Friday. A local band will be performing during the event.
Then on Saturday, a grand opening celebration will begin at 2 p.m. Several vendors and live entertainment will be available. Fulks says she’s looking forward to interacting with the community.
Fulks has been selling items from her personal collection online for years. After helping a mother and daughter find a formal dress during an interaction at another shop in town several years ago, Fulks says she realized there was a need for a store like this.
After about a year of working with real estate agents, Fulks says the Parkwood Plaza space formerly occupied by a beauty salon called Blush became available, and it was an ideal fit.
“It’s just been a whirlwind and we’re just trying to get it going,” says Fulks.
Fulks’ interest in fashion stems back to childhood. She lost her dad and stepdad to suicide at a young age and grew up in a household that struggled to make ends meet. As a result, she says they bought clothes at Goodwill and other secondhand stores.
She remembers being made fun of because of the clothes she wore. In time, she learned to embrace her uniqueness and developed an interest in vintage clothes.
“I’ve just always been attracted to old sweaters, military jackets (her dad served in Vietnam),” Fulks says. “I like to help people feel confident wearing something unique, even if it’s not trendy. Be bold and wear whatever you want.”
The idea of making the most of your circumstances and embracing who you are is inspired by her experience with suicide, and it’s reflected in the art that’s on display in her store.
“Part of the theme in my store is ‘Stay. We need you,’” she says.
The business name refers to her family. She comes from a blended family of six girls and four boys. When she and her husband were married, they had a daughter — the seventh sister.
Fulks says she’s looking forward to offering great deals to customers. She has two sons with autism who love art, and she wants to host art-themed events for people with special needs. She’d also like to host tea parties and other events in the future.
“I want people to come and feel like they belong,” she says. “I’m going to allow people to do karaoke. When you’re here, I want you to feel like you can have fun.”
Seven Sisters Closet Revival will be open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
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Gov. Brad Little has signed House Bill 533, which would remove the need for license plate stickers on Idaho vehicles.
The legislation, introduced earlier this session by Rep. Jon Weber (R) of Boise, eliminates the requirement for registration stickers on Idaho license plates. Weber stated during the bills intorduction that officers can verify the status of license plates without the stickers, potentially saving the state around $300,000.
During the bill’s introduction, some lawmakers argued that it could increase the workload for law enforcement.
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The new law is set to take effect in July.
For the second year in a row, House lawmakers will consider urging the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn its ruling legalizing same-sex marriage.
The nonbinding resolution, which carries no legal weight, says the decision in Obergefel v. Hodges violates the longstanding religious definition of marriage between one man and one woman.
“The current definition of marriage that allows for same-sex marriages is a defilement of the word marriage,” said Rep. Tony Wisniewski (R-Post Falls), who sponsors the measure.
The resolution further states that the Obergefel decision “arbitrarily and unjustly” rejects the historical definition of marriage.
Idaho voters passed a constitution amendment in 2006 that defines marriage as between one man and one woman, which was invalidated by the Obergefel ruling.
Wisniewski said regulating marriages should be a power left to the states.
Rep. Brent Crane (R-Nampa) agrees.
“If you want to get things … closer to the people with respect to some of these more complex social issues, I think the best place for those things to happen is in the states,” Crane said.
Doing so is a risk, he said.
“You may have states that choose to acknowledge [polyamorous relationships]. You may have states that choose to have relationships between adults and younger children,” Crane said.
Cities in neighboring Oregon and Washington, for example, are considering giving those in polyamorous relationships legal recognition.
But he said that risk is worth it to allow other states that choose to only recognize traditional marriages.
Four lawmakers on the House State Affairs Committee opposed the resolution.
Rep. Erin Bingham (R-Idaho Falls) said she’s tried to balance her own religious beliefs with those of others while considering the measure.
“I do feel like that it is important for us to work together, to find ways to compromise and to live together in peace and mutual respect,” Bingham said.
The resolution now goes to the House floor for consideration.
House lawmakers last year passed a similar measure, but it never received a hearing in a Senate committee.
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