Birthday Visitors

Mary Jane and Grampa

Betsy with Aunt Nita

 With Mary Jane turning one this week, her grandparents and an aunt sneaked into town from Arizona to say Hello.  Gramma and Grampa Kendall along with Aunt Nita have graced their presence in Chez Erb and have done a great job cheering up both Mary Jane and Betsy Jo.

Miss Jill and Mister John (aka Mommy and Daddy) actually could give Mary Jane a walk around the neighborhood this evening to look at Christmas lights on the houses.  That's always been a tradition for the two of them and they'd love to pass it onto their girls as soon as they are old enough to stay up late to see them.  At least the sun sets early enough now that Mary Jane gets an hour or so of outdoor darkness before she goes to sleep.

Meanwhile Cherry Bugg is not amused.  But is she ever?

The Pengoon Returns from Extended Vacation

The Pengoon can no longer rest idly in the back yard or sleep in the purple room during the summer. It's school time again! And the valiant penguin needs to return to Mary Star to lead his Academic Decathlon team to victory. Well, it's mid-August so maybe it's just leading them to study well. In any case, the Pengoon has left Chez Erb to return to San Pedro leaving certain unnamed stuffed animals quite relieved. They feel overly threatened by the fish-eating giant.

Eventful Week

Mary Jane has had a most impressive week at Chez Erb. For the past few weeks, she has been dabbling in the dark arts known as crawling. Her efforts were truly half-hearted as she would crawl for a step, lunge for a step, and then raise herself up before wiggling for another step. But now she can get from A to B in a strong (usually) straight-lined crawl.

Not only that but she also has learned her first mimicked hand gesture. She now raises her hands in glorious triumph knowing that we will cheer in response. Ah, first she raises the roof, then what?

Touchdown indeed!

Carmageddon Is Coming!

Ooh, nothing like the end of the traffic world! Since we live less than two miles from the 405/10 interchange (where it will be closed!), we'll get to see how badly traffic backs up.

Do note that's an old picture of the 405. The carpool lane has long since been installed through that section but it is only a few miles from Chez Erb.

The Never-Ending Dilemma of Chip

Poor Chip. Every since he came to Chez Erb over two years ago, he has been trying to find a way to fit in with everyone. Phillip, the elder statesman of the rabbits, chases him away even when Chip tries to say Hi. Cherry Bugg is his closest friend but she more tolerates him than anything else. They can exist in the same back yard or even the same room but she commands the territory and then he must run away. Even his sisters, Ruby Jane and Root Beer Float, don't command him the respect he desires. Root Beer Float, who used to be at the bottom of the rabbit pecking order, found a new rabbit to antagonize in the oft-innocent Chip. So she would chase him all around the back yard to remind him of that. Ruby Jane is much more understanding of him but she still doesn't talk to Chip when the other rabbits are around. It just isn't cool. And that's the problem with Chip. He's the rabbit who thinks he's a man but is really a boy. And he's just not that cool according to the other rabbits.

Oddly enough, Chip would remind the well-read person of the narrator in James Joyce's short story "Araby." The narrator reminisces about his youth and this girl he thought he loved. He once thought he was a man but realized at the very end of the story that he truly was still a child. Oh, what a slap that epiphany was for that Irish lad and how it must feel for Chip as well.

Chip does serve one important purpose in the Erb family though that the other rabbits do not: he is Mary Jane's body guard. When she cries, Chip will come hopping in to see what's the matter. And in the middle of the night, he sneaks into Mary Jane's room and will sit about two feet away from her crib and keep watch. It's great for Mary Jane to have a guardian because he will chase away all the bad monsters. She can sleep more easily at night with that valiant duty of his. Never mind that sometimes she awakens in the night and Mister John or Miss Jill accidentally kick him as they stagger through the darkness to get to Mary Jane's crib.

For his service to Mary Jane, that might make Chip a real man. Just don't tell the other rabbits that; they might get jealous.

Possible Rabbit Labor Unrest in the Near Future

Sources still cannot be identified but it looks like there will be a bunny strike later this week because they are afraid that the human masters are wanting to re-negotiate their food contracts.

Ruby Jane (pictured left) supposedly was holding a picket sign yesterday but the still as yet unnamed sources said that she later ate it.

News upcoming...

Grazing Bunnies on the Mar Vista Serengeti

Upon the Mar Vista Serengeti graze the fierce rabbits of Chez Erb. Quietly munching with ears ready to hear all those that dare chase them, mock them, or bite them on the butt.

Amazingly one brave cameraman sneaked into their territory and captured on film their silent munching.

Rain Forces Bears to Higher Ground

The rain has been coming down hard for days now and that is having an effect on the local wildlife. Suddenly in the back yard of Chez Erb, there was a brown bear sighting. Indeed, a veritable brown bear was climbing onto our patio table. Maybe she wanted a good flying leap at the oranges on the tree to the right hand side but no one knows.

Good thing this picture was taken or nobody would have ever believed it.

Bunny Civil War While MJ Awakens

A busier afternoon at Chez Erb than expected. This being a typical Saturday, the trio of Phillip, Chip, and Cherry Bugg were out and about in the back yard. Chip usually keeps to himself under the orange tree while Cherry Bugg and Phillip stay in their own territories.

Meanwhile Root Beer Float was brought inside to show off to a visitor. She was then locked up in Chip's cage. Ah... but Mister John and Miss Jill forgot something quite important... RBF knows how to escape. So she hopped up and over the 30 inch barrier (well, her father is the famous European show jumping rabbit Root Beer, Sr.) and she hopped out into the back yard to pick a fight... or two.

Alas, Root Beer Float does not get along with her younger brother Chip so they must have tussled. Then she and her aunt Cherry Bugg went at in a few different battles in the back yard. Oh those silly fur pulling battles.

Mister John got out there much too late but he saw the empty cage in the house and went outside to break it up. As he settled the rabbits' scrimmages, poor miss Mary Jane grew hungry and voiced her own opinion on this. She cried out loud demanding food which awakened poor sleeping Miss Jill who had been up for many hours. But all problems were averted as MJ got her food, RBF was put into her cage, and Cherry Bugg was assured that she was cute and smart rabbit.

Saturdays just aren't the same at Chez Erb anymore. Much more festive... Tis the season, I guess.

Life Is a Hammock

Some day Clyde in the back yard will be large enough that we can attach a hammock to him and we can swing back and forth while relaxing. We used to have one at Chez Erb but TOME (The Original Mister Erb) chopped down the elm tree to build a ham radio tower. There was still a hammock pole independently standing in the back yard for another decade or so after that.

To the right is a picture of Mister John quietly reading while lounging in a hammock in Saruni, the final camp in Kenya which we visited. Such a luscious green valley over yonder. Occasionally a herd of trees would make their way up the valley and eat some leaves.

Due note that the patio has a fifty foot drop and the camera lens came within a foot of rolling off it. Quite spectacularly Miss Jill made a triumphant dive/slide and caught the lens before it fell off to its destruction. Heck, this picture might have been just before that happened as Mister John was too deep in the hammock to get out quickly.

Ah, to swing back and forth... some day they will safari again.

Phillip Celebrates Spain's First World Cup Title

It was a raucus afternoon at the Erb household because Spain was in the World Cup final for the very first time. This of course means that Phillip, the Spanish rabbit prince, was ears up and ready to watch the action. For much of the first half, Phillip was nervous and just hopped about and spent some time in the back yard sitting under the orange tree wondering if the victory would come to fruition after all.

The second half was even more harrowing as the kicks went back and forth and still neither team managed to knock in a goal. The increasing amount of Dutch yellow cards barely assuaged his anxiety throughout the half. He kept hopping about thinking about those penalty kicks in the end. That's like judging a rabbit on his ability to run or hop and not how to coordinate a hutch. Water dish here, potty tray over there, potpourri near the back wall.

As the game went into the extra time (overtime as Mister John calls it), Phillip hopped into the bedroom to watch it with Mister John. The only problem was that Cherry Bugg was already in there and she clearly neither appreciates nor understands the "beautiful game." She, much like her Bugg kindred, think that soccer is a waste of great amounts of edible grass. So she tried to attack him but Phillip adeptly jumped up to the bed and stayed with Mr. John for the rest of the game.

To the rabbit prince's great satisfaction, Spain pulled it out with only a few minutes left before penalty kicks. "Viva Espana," he exclaimed before finally retiring to the back yard for the evening. He quietly prayed for his dear late wife Princess Jane and then sipped a sangria (with a carrot chaser) to relax for the rest of the evening.

Such is life at Chez Erb on some Sundays...

Smiling on a Sunny Day

It's a lazy Saturday at Chez Erb so Mister John is sitting around relaxing. Well, he did take the weed whacker to the sprinklers. And he did check the sprinklers which work... well, adequately.

The tub was fixed yesterday so Miss Jill can calmly sit in the tub while pondering things like "when not to feed the bunnies." That's ok, it just allows Mister John to stand around and smile like in the picture to the left. Happy guy. But methinks he needs a shave.