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!

Chip Claims He's Not on the Potty Train

Even though Chip proceeded to drink a half-bowl of water in front of Miss Jill and Mister John tonight, he claims he is not planning on going potty on any furniture. Alas, poor Chip is locked up for the time being because a nice tasty computer extension cord is in the room and sometimes he gets hungry.

Meanwhile, Cherry Bugg had the backyard all to herself today. Most of the time she flopped under trees but she did show some vivacity toward the late afternoon.

Sisterhood Strong in Backyard

Root Beer Float and Ruby Jane have released the following statement regarding the new mini-fence in the back yard which prevents them for eating the new flowers: "We, the sisters Root Beer Float and Ruby Jane, do solemnly swear under great oath of dignity that we, the aforementioned rabbits, will not participate in any rabbit-like activities, parades, or festivals until the autocratic government of Miss Jill and Mister John remove the fence of great offense which disallows said ability to hop and enjoy the variety and tastes of roses and hydrangeas thus disallowing one of the main tenets of the Rabbit Constitution which states unequivocally that 'all Rabbits should be provided with freedoms of food, liberty, and the pursuit of thumping.' That is all." The two have not responded to any queries from either the public or the local magistrates.

A Brief History of Flowers and Miss Bugg

Now that Miss Jill and I have a scanner, we realized that we cannot have a Bugg blog site without the two initials monarchs of the Bugg realm: Flowers and Miss Bugg.

On Valentine's Day in 2002, I adopted Flowers (left) and gave him to Miss Jill as a present. When I went to the pet store in South Pasadena that day, all the other bunnies were disinterested but not my Flowers! He hopped to the edge, looked up at me, and asked me if I had any food. How precocious! So I selected him as the first member of the Mister John/Miss Jill collective.

Miss Jill gushed with happiness but was unsure as she had never been rewarded with a rabbit before. So Miss Jill decided that Flowers should have a partner. We returned to the pet store and selected his sister, an even more precocious girl by the name of Miss Bugg (right). At first we thought that Flowers was a girl but as the vet later told us, Flowers was just hiding his wares.

Cherry Bugg is the younger sister of Flowers and Miss Bugg. Root Beer Float (RBF) and Ruby Jane are nieces, as they are the children of Root Beer Bugg who is currently touring through Europe on a hopping tour. We are currently looking for Root Beer Junior in case you find him anywhere.

Possible Joint Sharing of Rabbit Power

Alas, no definitive decision has been made regarding the controversial tie in the Bunny Election in November. Princess Jane and Cherry Bugg reached a tie in your overall voting which makes things even more confusing than your typical Minnesota re-count, Alaskan senatorial trial, or even your Illinois gubernatorial shakedown. Both sides have not resigned themselves to any sort of lower position for backyard rule. Jane still clings to her mantra of "Divine Right of Rabbits" while Cherry Bugg still clamors for "Change You Can Hop For."

As the stalemate drags into the New Year, this also affects the magistrates of the neighboring edifice. Mister John and Miss Jill cannot understand why both parties cannot compromise in any detail. Both parties claim that the two humans are either supporting or hindering their positions. Cherry Bugg claims that she never receives apple sauce when she is inside while Princess Jane claims not to have her cage and never gets to sleep on the same bad as Miss Jill and Mister John at night. (Miss Jill and Mister John could not be reached for comment about either accusation.)

Currently the edifice merely hosts "lesser" dignitaries such as Ruby Jane and Root Beer Float. The ever-hungry Root Beer Float currently is sitting in the den cage eating every last pellet in the food bowl; conversely, Ruby Jane camouflages herself behind the brown curtain and rests patiently on the grey tile floor. Neither of them have any comment. Personally, I think they are both anarchists who want neither candidate to succeed and leave all the carrots, grass, and hay to them.

Ironically, Root Beer Float wishes everyone a Happy New Ear!!!