Glencairn, he stuck around today, never left the back yard -- he follows the humans (Little Kid in particular) everywhere. We took the wire top off an unused bird cage to make him a reasonably dry temp den, he hops in & out the big access door at will. He returned to it & took a nap once, and was literally "boinging" around in it (as best his little ass could "boing", anyway) when he saw Little Kid when he woke up, before he hopped out & ran over to her. Almost like "OMG, it's my friend! HIHIHIHIHIHIHIHI!"
He's been following her around the yard all afternoon & evening like a puppy. Wherever she went, he hurried to catch up. It's just the most adorable damn thing, and it seriously makes me question whether or not he's actually a wild rabbit. He sure looks like a cottontail, fully brindled, fading milk blaze, very thin ears (can see through them in sunlight) But his behavior is very much not wild. If Little Kid sits on the grass, he runs right up into her lap and cuddles up, nudges her hand with his forehead to be petted, etc. I took a picture of him when we released him outside, I'll try to get that posted tonight or tomorrow.
I'm very curious to see if he's waiting for her in the morning. I'm almost positive he will be, but you never know if he'll hop off into the sunrise.
And it's a guinea pig countdown now. "5 days until we get guinea pigs, yay!"
Queen of English Language Mangling, Master of the Edit button
Nyiah, He does sound like he isn't really all that "wild". It sounds so cute and I bet little kid is thrilled that he is following her and wanting to be her friend. It will be interesting to see if he is still there tomorrow and how long he will stay around following the kids and being friendly.
Peter Cottontail left the yard a few days ago and hasn't been back that we can tell. We'll still keep an eye peeled, but hopefully he's moved on to a more vegetation-dense yard around here for protective cover (we have an open spot in the back yard canopy that hawks & falcons come down through) The overgrowth under the deck is good for now, but I don't think it's enough for long-term bunny livin'.
In the meantime, Spyder followed through on the domesticated rabbit promise. We'd been discussing it for a long time already, but were having a hard time finding anyone close (licensed breeders) that had any left. We checked the shelters, they do have them, but some had trust/behavior issues from poor care and we just didn't think it would be fair to the kids OR bunny. We'd planned on guinea pigs in lieu of a rabbit, and had gone in to price what we needed at a local store. They actually had both guinea pigs AND rabbits for once, which was an awesome stroke of luck. They typically partner with shelters to adopt out animals of all kinds, but the rabbits were the last couple that a breeder had that weren't show quality. We went back a few days later and the rabbits were still there, so we took our time interacting & observing, and walked out with a fluffy butt -- a Lionhead.
He's a happy little dude, he binkies a lot in his cage. He's yet to come all the way out, but he does come out about halfway to eyeball the area before going back in. And if you're sitting near the cage when it's open, you better be petting him, or (assuming your hand is in the cage or near the door) he's going to bonk your hand with his head until you do, "Pet me! PET ME NOW!" I've spent quite a bit of time in the last few days petting him, he's partial to a full body nose-to-butt light & slow pet. Do that for about 5 minutes & you get a snoozing pancake bunny all splayed out on his belly, lol.
Queen of English Language Mangling, Master of the Edit button
He sounds adorable! I love the word for the happy bunny dance. I didn't recognize it (at least not in that context), but as soon as I started reading the description in your link I knew exactly what it was. It is very funny to watch and better to know that they are doing it because they are showing their happiness. That desire to be pet sounds just as cute. I think that is a universal animal demand for "Pet me NOW". My cat used to do it and my dog does it and then I was thinking back to all of the pets I've had over the years and I can't think of any that didn't do that when they wanted attention. It is a good feeling when they do that because it shows that they trust you.
The excitement at hearing the banana bag rustle that you described in the birthday thread sounds just as cute. Really, I love bunnies, so it all sounds cute anyway, but the way you describe it I can actually picture what he does.
It is sad for the kids that the yard bunny is gone, but hopefully it found a wonderful spot that also provides shelter and safety to set up camp in, and maybe you will see him come back for a visit once in a while.
The first parade went very well and the homecoming dance was a success, now today for the first marching band competition parade. This weekend has been exhausting. I am so tired already, I'm not sure how I'm going to make it through today, but I'm so excited to see the kids march in their parade today!
Post by Glencairn on Sept 17, 2017 23:03:29 GMT -6
The first weekend of marching band and competition parades is done and the kids did awesome! Now to make it through all the rest. I am hopeful that they won't be so busy and exhausting, though.
Quin got her first 2 college applications submitted tonight! The only cost ended up being $24.00 to have her SAT scores sent to the schools. Both schools that she applied to have the application fees waived for a bit. One was the end of this week and I forget what the cut off for waived fees was for the other school (Quin told me while I was at work doing a handful of other things all at once), but she got her application in before the cut off. That saved a lot for us. The fees aren't huge, but enough that it is nice that we were able to not have that added cost.
Quin still has to get her transcript sent, but she is waiting on that because the school doesn't even have them ready to be sent to colleges just yet and she needs a teacher recommendation letter for one of the schools and that will have to be sent in within a week or so. Otherwise, she is so excited to have her applications in. One is her current first choice school and the other is a second or third choice, and now she is just crossing her fingers.
Last Edit: Oct 13, 2017 23:06:14 GMT -6 by Glencairn
Between the rabbit, the household & family stuff, and screening in to several product usage tests and research topic panels, I've had a busy last month or so. I honestly didn't realize how fast it's gone, Halloween's almost here already! I should have a nice little extra cushion for Christmas purchases out of these, though, the panels' compensation is rather generous.
I'm not exactly sure who a few companies running panels are for, but the one for tech-infused clothing has been very interesting so far. They seem to be really taking participants' privacy & expense concerns into extreme consideration. I'm doing one for Consumer Reports, but I really can't figure out what their angle is. Another is for pets, but no one can figure out who the company is or exactly what pet they're focusing on because participants have everything from cats to horses. It's interesting, though, and people have some seriously adorable animals out there! Another is for beer drinkers, I think it's one of the niche companies trying to flesh out a new brew idea. All indications seem to be they're trying to figure out what oddball beers/microbrew stuff people can't get enough of.
The rabbit's settled in very well. He's so high-energy, and so very attention-demanding that he might as well be a hyper dog. I'm seriously considering getting a kitten harness and taking him for walks around the back 40 to burn off energy, lol. Or maybe for just in the house, he's an intrepid little explorer inside. A little too much so, heh.
Queen of English Language Mangling, Master of the Edit button
Nyiah, I've seen pictures of rabbits in harnesses online, but I'm not sure if they were kitten harnesses or specifically made for rabbits. It's a great idea, though and I bet that bunny would love to be able to run and explore the yard. Even if it is only for the range that a leash will allow.
That research panels sound interesting and like you get to see some really neat stuff. Even better is that they offer some money to use for holidays and such.
We got Quin's FAFSA application all finished and submitted tonight. Now we have to call one of the colleges tomorrow to see if they have any space available for their Fall Campus Visit day this coming Saturday. We didn't know about it until today and Quin really wants to go if possible. We were planning to schedule a visit for a bit further out (a few weeks or so), but this is already going on and it is a day that Quin knows she doesn't have to work. Russ does have to work, so he won't be able to go with us and that sucks.
So, now we are crossing our fingers that there is space available for Quin to still be able to go for the visit.
Well, we were able to register for the preview day at Augustana College and get fit in. Russ and I both ended up getting to go, too. The campus is beautiful and the buildings are all pretty amazing. My college didn't have anything as nice as the ones at this school. Some were much more modern and some were historic buildings with modern upgrades.
The academic information in regard to classes and majors offered are just what Quin is looking for in a first school. The first one is for pre-vet and the second 4 years will be for veterinary medicine, unless she does well enough to qualify for the 3/4 track, which is 3 years pre-vet and a dual 4th year pre-vet & 1st year veterinary medicine then final 3 years of vet med. That is hard to get into, though, and based on what we were told, most vet med programs only allow 5-7 advanced track applicants in per year. Not 5-7 from each school, but total from the entire country. It is insanely competitive it sounds like. But, the academics at this school as a whole sound (and look from my research) to be pretty impressive. In my research, I found that this school is one of the top 40 schools in the country for science programs. With as many colleges as there are in the U.S. that is really fantastic.
Quin is still interested in re-visiting the school that was her first choice, but she said that after visiting this school, it is definitely her current first choice and the one she is planning to focus her work on getting into. We talked to her admissions counselor and he is wonderful and helpful. He answered all of her questions and she talked to him about her grades and transcript and he said that she should send in her unofficial transcript now and also send the official one in December when it is released, but based on what he has seen already he thinks she will be "an easy rubber stamp yes" (his words) to get in. I know that got her hopes up really high and she will be devastated if she doesn't get accepted, but looking at their admissions requirements and test scores for who will likely be accepted, she is on the top end of the scores, so it shouldn't be a problem (fingers crossed).
Quin just got an email today from the school that is now her second choice school. She was awarded a "Future Panther Merit Award" scholarship of $2000. Panther is the schools mascot, hence the name. She is really starting to appreciate that schools are interested in having her attend and that she isn't so much begging to be let in. Though I would have thought the 10 to 15 pieces of headhunting mail that she gets every week, all from different schools, on top of all of the emails would have been a bit of a clue.
She was just really excited to get that scholarship and is hoping that her first choice school will have opportunities like that as well.
Quin was having a ridiculous time with her school counselor not being willing to correct and update her transcript with the counselor saying that she wouldn't do it until the semester ended at the end of December, meaning that Quin didn't have an up to date correct transcript to send to colleges. The old unofficial one lists a class that she was never in and didn't list one of her dual credit college classes or her teacher's aide period (that she found out she is getting a half credit for!). The college admissions counselors had told her that they liked what they saw of her records so far, but that a decision on admission wouldn't be made until she could submit an up to date official transcript. The high school counselor didn't care and wasn't going to budge on getting it fixed until late December/early January.
So, Russ called and talked to her and told her that it needed to be fixed and made available because she, personally, was actively hurting Quin's chances of getting accepted to schools and the one she really wants is a smaller school and really competitive to get into, and that the sooner she could get her transcript in, the better her odds for being accepted. He explained that waiting until January wasn't one of her options. Suddenly she was "Oh, I'll get right on that and make it happen." and Quin got an email about 15 minutes after Russ talked to the lady (based on the time Russ called and the time stamp on the email) letting her know that it had been fixed and she could access it now.
It takes a day or two to get it through the program that they use called Parchment, but Quin just got it this morning and immediately sent it off to the colleges. It will take another two or so business days before the college gets it (I have no idea why it takes so long since it is all done online) and hopefully she won't have to wait until spring to find out if she has been accepted.
I got a car!! My Jeep finally bit it permanently and I needed something. I was borrowing my mom's "extra" car that my parents weren't using while they were up at the family cabin in northern Wisconsin, and that really helped. Right after I borrowed it the alternator went out and needed to be replaced (I think that is what it was, something to do with the alternator anyway) and so I ended up borrowing one of the businesses work vans for a few days until my mom's car was fixed. This whole time Russ and I were looking all over for something cheap-ish to get us by, but that was still going to be reasonably reliable.
My Jeep was great. It was a 2002, but a few years ago it started overheating frequently no matter how religiously I was taking it in for maintenance. None of the mechanics that I took it to had any idea how to fix it long term, either. They could "fix it" and it would be fixed for a 4 up to as long as 6 or 7 months and go back to overheating again. This happened repeatedly. We just had to be super careful with it and watch the temperature gauge closely like we had been doing and cross our fingers. Then a few weeks ago it started making a very ominous knocking noise. Took it to the mechanic again and he said that it was something that required a new engine and that was going to cost as much as it would to just buy a different car. So we started searching.
One of the sites we were looking on popped up an SUV that I loved, but was a bit out of our price range. We were looking to buy outright and not finance and take on a car payment. I kind of forgot about it and continued looking. Russ did not. Since it was fairly close and he happened to be in the area of the place selling it doing service calls for work on Saturday he decided to stop by and check it out. He looked it over and took it for a test drive and really liked it, so he called and asked if I wanted to come out and see it. I did and I loved it.
I knew we couldn't afford all of it (it was only $2900, but still just out of range) so I called my parents and asked if they could help with a small loan. They could and so I was able to go back to the place and buy the car.
I am now the very happy owner of a 2005 Acura MDX. It has a little bit higher miles, but the interior and the body are in amazing condition. Everything I read about them and heard from friends who have Acuras indicates that as long as I continue to do regular maintenance and upkeep, it will last for quite a while. So far I absolutely love it. It has seat warmers and the map display as well as seat memory buttons and a sun roof and a good amount of space for carting stuff around if we go on a road trip or something. It also drives so smoothly. I was used to my Jeep, which was fine, but definitely not as smooth a ride as this. Hopefully this car will last for a long time just because I like driving it so much.
That rocks, Glencairn! I did a quick google of that make & model, it looks like a pretty good SUV all around in terms of bang for the buck. And aesthetically, it looks damn sharp inside & out. You're going to drive around the holiday season totally in the seasonal mood & feeling like a boss :)
Well, I depleted a substantial portion of my Christmas fund & bought a snowthrower. I'm really sick & tired of shoveling the driveway all winter & so is everyone else. There was no way a gas-powered one was happening on my budget, but electrics were within range. This should do fine, we just need it to clear the driveway faster. It's a longer one that takes about an hour to completely clear solo with a shovel, sometimes double that depending on snow depth and heaviness. I told Spyder I'd ordered one and said "Merry Christmas!" He got very excited, lol. I know he wanted one, but I don't think he expected we'd get one just yet. We did have to run out to Lowes and get a new outdoor power cord, though. A 10 amp cord wasn't going to do for a 13 amp machine. Something I should have checked before I ordered so I could order both at once, oops.
If the forecast holds out, we should be able to do more than just turn it on & make sure moving parts work, on the 18th or 19th. NWS here seems to be convinced we'll be getting a good clip of snow that weekend.
Queen of English Language Mangling, Master of the Edit button