Too Cool for School

Some Saturdays you just want to sit around in your shades.  I'm not sure if Mary Jane is signing any autographs today.  But if you're willing to blow bubbles in the back yard, she may be willing to follow you.

Naptime

Mary Jane has not always been the best of nappers.  Some days she'll just sit there, read books, sing, and lie in her bed for 90 minutes and then come out and act like she's napped.  But oh, Mommy and Daddy know she has not napped.  There's just that crispness of spirit and patience that a napping girl has.  But that's quite alright... sooner or later she'll drop that nap anyway.

But today Daddy decided to take control of the situation.  He lied down beside Mary Jane and they both fell asleep.  Silly girl never had a chance.  Well, Daddy doesn't know how long has was asleep before this sneaky picture was taken by Mommy.

Note: Daddy is being covered by Mary Jane's favorite elephant Sanjay.  He's in charge of making sure she gets to sleep.  Good ol' Sanjay.  One of the guys.

Driving Prepares You for Dancing

Mary Jane didn't make it too far today as she wanted to walk/drive her car down the sidewalk.  Alas, she stopped after about 10 strides in and then planked.  Yeah, nothing quite like prostrating oneself on the ground and planking some.  After that, MJ just sat down and thought about life.  So Daddy decided to do the same.

While sitting down, Daddy came across two different neighbors who were quite intrigued about the sit-down.  Was this a protest of some sort?  Was this a hunger strike on behalf of starving rabbits throughout America?  Was this about the inequity of the distribution of the money given to banks and automotive giants?  No!  It was just a day to sit down on the sidewalk and relax.

On a side note, look at those sunken cheeks.  Who stole the 20 pounds of that guy?  Oh wait, Mary Jane stole his Cheez-Its.  She better not have; imagine all that processed fat in that stuff.

Anyway, back to your regularly scheduled programming.

Bunnies Starve While Coach Mister John Is Away

Decathlon might be great for Mary Star students but it was quite difficult for the rabbits today who claim they haven't been fed in five days now. While that's quite a doubtful comment, they were quite unhappy with the lack of Saturday frivolity they normally receive. With Coach Mr. John doing his Mary Star medal thang, they were penned up in their cages. If it were up to them, they would have rooted for St. Francis or St. Anthony or someone else to make him come home early.

Root Beer Float (pictured on the left) also said the following, "THUMP. That little girl gets fed every three hours and we get it once a day? That's just wrong. We're cute and cuddly too. We need more feeding times!" She glared before finally adding, "But no baths please."

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.

Mister John Does Better than Watson

What, you don't recall the old American painting of that naked dude who fell into the harbor and was being attacked by a shark? I guess you didn't have Academic Decathlon a few years back. Well, get with it!

Anyway, Mister John had a good Saturday as he caught a nice big (plastic?) shark off the Manhattan Beach Pier. At least he said he caught it. Most people who catch shark are either lying or end up with one arm. (I think we'll need a bigger boat.) Anyway, he marched around with Miss Jill on the beachhead yesterday and had a very good time. It was a big foggy out so they didn't burn. I don't think the shark had to worry about it.

No word yet from Sharkey about whether he approves of Mister John's weekend activities.

Chip Only Wishes to Say Hello to Phillip

On a calm warm but comfortable Saturday afternoon, the boy Chip (right) hopped out onto the back yard grass to surmise the situation. He liked what he saw as there was no Root Beer Float to pick on him. There was a Cherry Bugg but typically she hops over to him to show dominance and he hops away. It's a bit embarrassing for him but he understands the rabbit hierarchy in the back yard. Or does he?

As he sat out there and pondered his existence, the Spanish rabbit prince Phillip (left) hopped by. Typically they're not out at the same time because two male rabbits of clearly different social strata should not be out in the backyard. However due to a quirk of fate (scheduling error, solar eclipse, door left open, time vortex), they were both out in the back yard enjoying a calming afternoon of sunshine, airplane noise, and tasty grass. Conflict? Hopfully not but who knows.

Unfortunately for Chip, disaster struck as he confronted Phillip to say hello. First of all, Phillip doesn't use English (or Thumpish) as his first language but rather Spanish. And Chip should have known to at least greet the great prince with a worthy show of respect. He did not. So as the picture to the left thus shows, Phillip chases Chip around the patio to show his displeasure at what just happened. Poor Chip just wanted to have a bit of fresh new conversation. Chip doesn't get to talk to other rabbits much since he stays inside every night.

In Chip's mind, this is what should have happened.


Chip: "Why, hello there?"
Phillip: "Hola, como esta?"
Chip: "I am well. How about the lovely weather today."
Phillip: "Hace color."
Chip: "Why, it sure is. I would like to eat some grass today. How about you?"
Phillip: "Si, vamanos."
Chip: "OK."

And off they would go to eat grass and tell manly tales of rabbitness. Alas, as the picture on the right shows, Phillip bit Chip on the butt to remind Chip of the rabbit pecking order in the back yard. I guess bites on the butt transcend any language, except maybe Thumpish.

In another twist, Mister John just stood back and watched it all happen like some sort of a Wild Kingdom narrator. He stood there idly by the tower fence (as we now call it) and watched it all happen. Of course there was also Miss Jill with the camera. If anyone is to blame for the vulgar display of power (guessing not many Pantera fans read this blog, if any), it must be her. Her taking pictures of this rabbit melee is akin to paying off bum fights. OK, maybe not.

In other related news, it really looks like Mister John needs a haircut. Or them all cut! Ha! That was so funny.

No one truly appreciates the humour of the bloggers of the world. Oh well, such it is.

The day passed on without further conflict.

Dirty Chip Gets Another Bath

Chip has been up to no good as has a dirty bottom once again. He has the typical Bugg trait of sitting in his potty bin for much too long. So back into the sink goes he! He fought it initially. "I'm not a stinky butt!" he exclaimed. (This is of course a direct reference to Cherry Bugg who is the archetypal "Stinky Butt") Alas, Mister John gave him another bath so for the rest of this calm Saturday, Chippers will dry off and ponder why Mister John and Miss Jill were "so cruel" to him. Meanwhile his aunt Cherry Bugg hops about in the back yard because it is Saturday, her day. On Sunday, what was traditionally the royal day for Princess Jane (RIP), Prince Phillip will be out with the Root Beer Float and Ruby Jane. None of them currently need baths.

Cherry Bugg Relaxes on a Saturday

Typically Saturday is the day for Cherry Bugg to hop around the backyard. But today she's staying inside to hang out with Mister John. Occasionally she'll try to bully her nephew Chip but other than that, it's a slow day.

Miss Jill is not here at the moment which makes Cherry Bugg's life happier. She gets to flop on the other side of the bed and watch Shrek with Mister John.

Chip Gets a Bath

Saturdays tend to be clean up days around the house. The typical mayhem of the work week ends and we look around and see all that needs to be cleaned. And that also applies to the bunnies! Chip usually has the run of the den and sometimes he too (much like the infamous Stinky Butt, aka Cherry Bugg) has a dirty bottom. Must be a family trait. For we all recall that Miss Bugg was a famed potty sitter. If I even so much asked her to move out of her potty, she looked indignantly at me and thumped in her potty. Not always a good picture. But that was Miss Bugg for you.

So today I decided to give little Chippers a bath. He had never had one before and you could tell. As soon as Chip was in the sink, he wanted out. Immediately those little claws were a-scraping. But the poor guy was in dire need of cleaning. Typically if a bunny has a mate (either like Phillip and Jane, Flowers and Miss Bugg, or Ruby Jane and Root Beer Float), their mate helps them with cleaning. If a rabbit does not have a mate like Chip, then there is no one to clean him. Alas, poor Cherry Bugg, she alloweth no one to come within ten feet of her lest she biteth them on the arse. So she gets a bath every few months.


Now poor Chip finally got washed down and then I put him in a big Dodger beach towel (and you thought there were no good uses for Dodger beach towels... ha!). He's currently drying off and hopefully we will think again about having a dirty bottom.