Coughing

Last night I went up up our attic because I stored various seed sprouting trays and lights up there out of the way. While I was up there I distinctly heard someone cough. The attic in this old Victorian brick is large. It has narrow tall windows which we keep closed in cold weather. Extremely loud mufflers and sirens can be heard if they pass in front of the house. Other street noises do not penetrate our attic. Birds getting into our eves can be heard. Both of my loud mouthed schnauzers going at full pitch on the ground floor cannot be heard unless the attic door is open and even then they are not loud; you would almost have to be listening for them to hear them. My wife and both dogs were on the first floor when I was in the attic. My wife was working in the kitchen and our dogs would have been confined to the kitchen, library, dining room area. So who coughed? Brings to mind the night we were entertaining a guest in the library and the southern wall bookcase coughed, quite distinctly and loud. It was snowing that night and my guest insisted we were being snooped by someone. I said you can't hear people from outside unless the windows are open (they were not) but he insisted so we went out into the snow around the library. There were no tracks but our own. Unless bats cough loudly, I have no idea what or who coughed in my attic while I retrieve gardening supplies.

Strange talking in the hallway

I still have it. Its loud, its garbled, it still seems to be coming from a section of wall adjacent to the master bedroom. In an area where a dumbwaiter once existed. Its an inside the house wall. I'd swear it sounds like a shortwave radio or walkie-talkie. It doesn't last but a few minutes, sometimes, just a few seconds; but what can be causing it? This voice, seemingly male, has punctuated the silence of the upstairs hall , off and on, for several months now. Its a mystery I cannot find an answer for and its driving me batty. I have no close neighbors on any side. My closest neighbor is across the street from me. The nearest neighbor behind me is a quarter mile away. I have a warehouse where I store things on my left side and a wide lawn and old block, two stall, garage seperates me from my neighbors on the right. My dogs hear the voice and react to it by running to that upstairs wall and barking. This is not to be confused with the downstairs wall next to the library that the younger dog frequently backs at. I have recorded the voice but its no clearer on play back then it was originally. For this event there has to be a logical explaination. Does anyone out there who is knowledgeable about short-wave or walkie talkies have any idea how anything in this old 1857 structure could possibly be picking up such signals? Or do I actually have something paranormal?

Lost water

In regard to the half million gallons of water the county billed me for. No one could account for where the water went. My insurance company did pay for it (bless their hearts) and then sent me a paper stating that if it is ever found it belongs to them (the insurance company). If I ever find it I will gladly turn it over to the insurance company. Word of warning: If your water meter ever says you used some utterly unbelievable quanity of water; be prepared to pay for it because water meters are infallible. Enough on this expensive silliness.