So Long Bunny, Happy New Year!

Best Wishes for a very happy New Year Everyone! This morning I was thinking to myself how overjoyed I was to finally close the door on this current year. According to a site I was reading regarding Chinese astrology, the year 2023 was supposed to be the “worst luck” for anyone born in the year of the Rooster, Horse, Rat or Rabbit. Immediate assumption – I was a Rabbit. Looking back on it, this past year lived up to that prediction. Up to this point in my running career, I had made it to every single starting line. Banged up at times, feeling under the weather, sure, but my ass was on that line to let the chips fall as they may. That streak was ended thanks to the “root of all evil” (as Tim over at Off Center & Not Even has accurately coined it) and a devilspawn tree. The 50K ultra trail race lost and still doing nightly therapy to try and get the broken elbow back to something closer to pre-break mobility. Then managed to blow my back out the day before the 50 mile ultra race. More recently, for the second year in the row we planned to head out to Arizona only to have Linda come down sick the day before.  Canceled it last December and had to delay our departure this year. As I began to mentally list all the shortfalls for the year I started visualizing giant ears, button nose and those monster feet of the Nevada Jackrabbit. 

Jackrabbit found at Henderson, LV in March 2023

Then I stopped and smiled – because that is EXACTLY what you do when you encounter one of those absolutely adorable creatures. My outlook changed immediately and a flood of counter offers came flooding in.

Hit the jump if you need a shot of cuteness to right any frowns.

The sound of my elbow impacting the tree still startles me out of a deep sleep. I’ll be thinking about the DNS (Did Not Show) at the ultra on every one of my training runs until I walk to that starting line for redemption this year. Barely being able to stand up to walk to the 50 mile starting line definitely frayed my nerves. The delay for heading south this year potentially cost me some late counts on my birding Average Year….quick..think of the Rabbit!

Jackrabbit found at Henderson, LV in March 2023

….but those setbacks don’t overshadow all the things that did go right. That elbow didn’t compound fracture and saved my skull which would have been critical that far out in the woods. I made it through the 50 miler and set a new bar for what can be endured and the birding this year was phenomenal even with the late season setback. Early tally puts my Average Year count at 340 species – 42 more than the previous year. Embrace the Rabbit!

Jackrabbit found at Henderson, LV in March 2023

There were plenty of other brightspots in the year. Unlike the year before, no family member remembrances (upd: unfortunately, we did have a difficult loss in our extended Intrigued family). The Haunted Trail was a complete success (Note, both the trail build phase and night walk posts were published this last week – link here and here). Even losing two months of hard training from the incident and the race itself, I still managed to set a new personal record of over 1,360 miles for the year. Best of all, Intrigued had another great year. Exceeded our monthly post quotas, wonderful followers and our reach continues to broaden. Needless to say, none of my wild ideas or adventures would ever come to fruition without Linda’s unending support (especially during the ultra races!). A tremendous thank you to Brad, Jan and Allyson for bringing us along on their adventures and all the rest of the Intrigued divisions that keeps this tiny enterprise afloat – yes, we even appreciate all of you in the legal department.

Jackrabbit found at Henderson, LV in March 2023

Being in a much more positive frame of mind, I even did a quick check – turns out I am actually a Goat and not a Rabbit on the Chinese calendar. Wow, must have really sucked to be a Rabbit in 2023 hehehehe. 

Before letting you go, just wanted to again express our appreciation to all our readers. Time is one of the most precious gifts we have and for you to share that with us is truly heartfelt. Best wishes for you in 2024 – be safe, be happy and especially this year, never let the click bait media and fear mongering politicians try to divide you. 

21 thoughts on “So Long Bunny, Happy New Year!”

    1. Ha, perfect! 2024 looks to be a good year if we can accomplish even half of what we are planning..and stay out of those rabbit holes (and roots). Can’t wait to see what you have for us in the new years as well.

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  4. That adorable Wiley Wabbit did a job on you in ’23. Who would have thought such a cute and innocent looking creature like a bunny could conspire against you with the tree root of all evil? I have a friend born in the year of the Rat who fared much worse in ’23. I was born in the year of the dog, so it’s surprising cats like me. Or maybe they pretend. Thanks for the shout out.

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    1. Wiley Wabbit or more like the Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog. We must fetch the holy handgrenade! Feel sorry for your friend, hoping things work out better for him in ’24. Does Spunk know you are a Dog? You might find yourself on the wrong end of the paw. You are welcome for the shout out. I need to get caught up on your posts, traveling south now and connectivity hasn’t exactly been consistent.

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  5. While many events of 2023 were less than pleasant for many at Intrigued (somehow the legal team escaped unscathed), at least we weren’t still working for a living! Thanks for the family shoutout! We are looking forward to being fully vested in the Intrigued retirement plan and having access to the corporate jet. Happy New Year!

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    1. Yes, you and the family had a much harder year (note, I did update my post with the unintended oversight). You are absolutely right on the retirement front – I laughed out loud today when it occurred to me I would normally be going back to work tomorrow after a long Christmas break – might must sleep in a bit to celebrate ha. The jet is currently in the shop getting a new Intrigued logo wrap, but when it’s done we’ll be sure to let you know. Happy New Year to you and the family!

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  8. Wishing a Happy 2024 to all at Intrigued! No more mishaps! Just peace, love, and joy!

    I enjoyed the Halloween video! This is a far cry from touching peeled grapes and wet spaghetti in a dark church basement as we did when I was a teenager! Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves! I especially liked the spider-covered ground and the creepy dolls! ❤

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    1. Thank you Cheryl and I will make the No more mishaps, peace, love and joy my new theme for the year! (especially the no mishaps ha). Glad you liked the Halloween video. It is a lot of work, but we enjoy seeing everyone have a good time. This is the second year for the spiders. The year before we had it projecting at people from the side – this year’s vertical approach worked much better. I have to admit, the vision of those dolls keep me up for days afterward ha. Appreciate you coming by and especially for checking out our Halloween extravaganza!

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    1. Thank you Sam! We are off to a good start here in Arizona, but admittedly down from last year’s progress so far – hard to beat Texas to get the year off right. Hopefully we can catch those up when we head down there in April. Best of luck on your birding adventures as well!

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