The Fragile Balance (of Life)

Well, friends, we have most certainly been a bit delayed since we’ve last posted a blip about our beloved Bips. We hope this has not been to the dismay of any of you. Bips’s host family –Wesley, Wesley’s Mama and Dada—had taken a family vacation up to the Lake Superior area of our lovely State and left Bips and crew in the trusted hands of Wesley’s aunt Kristin. Kristin did a most wonderful job and Bips was happy to have made another new acquaintance. In fact, Kristin enjoyed her time as care giver so much that she sent Wesley and his family a text after they were home which stated “I <3 Bips.” (I “heart” Bips).

Wesley’s Dada and Mama have been taking many pictures of Bips and have been collecting many stories to share with you all. Wesley’s Dada has been waiting to sit down and begin a sort of Bips Adventures Marathon! We have much to talk about and bring you up to date with Bips’s Summer vacation.

But it is with great sadness, friends, that we must first inform you that before this could happen, our beloved Bips has passed on. We are all feeling sad about this. Very, very sad indeed. There was absolutely no indication or premonition that Bips was ailing at all. He was a very happy, active, and playful gerbil the entire time he was at Wesley’s home. From what we can surmise, Bips spent his final  moments doing the two things he enjoyed most: eating one last meal, and taking one last nap.

Please, if you would, take a moment here to pause in silence, in reflection and in honor of our beloved Mr. Bips.

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Now, we’d like to go ahead and share with you the things Bips got to experience since last we wrote, and celebrate all his gerbil-ness.

As our guest, we wanted Bips to experience new things and expand his world beyond his humble cage. One way we did this was deciding to offer him various new foods to try out. We’ve already  mentioned he liked to eat dead pill bugs, but we also offered him the following items.

First the things he did not eat: cauliflower,  green beans (we were kind of surprised by that one), clover leaves (also a bit surprising), dandelion leaves, and fresh spinach.

And the things he did eat: blueberries, broccoli, tortilla chip crumbs (no salt!), banana, and strawberries.

Things he was undecided on (he nibbled, but didn’t sit and eat entirely): apple sticks –apple flavored wood sticks—and blackberries.

One of Bips’s most favorite “treats” was cardboard tubes from toilet paper rolls. They don’t really qualify as food, but Bips was ravenous whenever he was given one. He would give his entire focus to chewing, clawing, spinning, and even crawling through the tubes. Once we even saw him get sleepy and take a quick nap mid-tearing, and then wake up shortly thereafter and go at it with the same excitement and vigor.

Something that Bips always loved was getting into his purple plastic ball and exploring around Wesley’s home. He would chase with Henrietta the kitten, and would play games with Wesley and his toys.

Here he is fearlessly and courageously helping to defeat some ghouly villains:

Assisted by his #1 side kick kitty, Super Henrietta:

Or is she really the evil Dr. Meow Meow in disguise?!

Here is a picture of a new toy we bought for Bips that Wesley could put together into various shapes and configurations, like building blocks. Bips LOVED this new addition to his abode and would oftentimes nap on it, under it, and in it.

Though the time we shared with Bips seemed too short, it was always full of fun, joy, and new experiences. We will miss him and always remember him.

What a cute little gerbil.

If anyone would like to share a story or a thought or anything at all about Mr. Bips, please feel free to do so in a comment. And a special thank you to Mrs. Becker for the opportunity to take care of Mr. Bips. We have learned much, and loved much.

The Great Sandbox Desert Experiment

Well, friends, our beloved Mr. Bips has finally settled in to his Summer vacation location and is back to his busy routine of digging, running around, eating, drinking, and, of course, sleeping. His new friend Henrietta the kitten has learned to give Bips more space and alone time (finally...) but is still quite enamored by him. They are getting along splendidly.

We learned that gerbils are animals that live in the desert and whenever the word desert comes up, Wesley's Dada likes to share with everyone how he learned to spell desert correctly: "There's no sugar in the desert." What that means is that in the word "desert" there is only 1 s. And in the word "dessert" there are 2 s's, the second s being the sugar found in most yummy desserts. Wesley's Dada thinks this spelling tip is way cooler than Wesley thinks, but that's OK.

Anyhow, Bips, being an animal of the desert, got Wesley's Mama thinking "I bet Bips would enjoy playing in your sandbox, Wesley," and so, with some careful logistical planning, the Great Sandbox Desert Experiment began.

Preparations were made in the sandbox by digging a shallow trench pathway along the entire inside circumference so that Bips could run around safely and even stand up and look around without risk of falling out of the sandbox. Also, we took out most of the toys at first just in case those might frighten Bips.

Then Bips got into his purple plastic ball and he rolled outside to the sandbox. The door was opened and out he scuttled.

Bips looked around, sniffed a whole bunch of times, and then began to explore his new territory.

And with that, Bips ran around the sandbox with vigor and excitement. He dug into the sand, he chewed on the plastic shovel, and he, of course, took a nap in the shade. We were all very pleased with the outcome of our experiment and decided to make it a regular routine to bring Bips into his desert world for a nice change of pace from his usual environment.

We also discovered that Bips enjoys eating dead pill bugs. Crunchy little snacks. Eww, thought Wesley's Mama.

Well, while Bips was having so much fun exploring his new playground, Bips' friend Henrietta the kitten decided to do a little exploring of her own.

Though they appreciated her assistance in cleaning Bips' cage, Henrietta's request to have a sleep over in Bips' cage was steadfastly denied by Wesley's Mama and Dada.

Back in the sandbox, Wesley wanted to see if Bips would play with any of the sandbox toys, so he put in a few trucks. Bips sniffed them, crawled on them, and bit at them. But what really surprised us was how he liked to dig underneath the toys and crawl under them. The toy trucks were almost like caves or tunnels for Bips. Wesley and Bips played a little game where the purple plastic ball was a secret lair and some of the toy trucks were bad guys. Bips was the hero.

Bips is having lots of fun at Wesley's house and getting to have new experiences, too. He hopes all you kids are enjoying your Summer so far and that you are getting out and having new experiences, too. We're sure he does miss you all and Mrs. Becker's Room 3, but he's found plenty of distractions to keep him happy.

If any of you ever have something you want to tell Bips or if you have any questions you want to ask, feel free to do so in a comment and Wesley's Dada will make sure to pass them along to Bips.

Bips Makes A New Friend In A New House

On Friday, June 8th, our beloved Bips made it safely to his Summer vacation destination: Wesley's house! Bips has a nice view outside a window and hardwood floors that make traveling by purple ball quite exciting!

We learned that as a gerbil, Bips is a nocturnal animal of the desert. That means he's most active at nighttime. And active he's certainly been. Bips runs around, digs, eats, drinks, bites on his pink plastic castle, and rearranges his wood shaving bedding.

Bips has already made a new friend who is very, very curious and keen on Bips. In fact, she did practically nothing else but sit and watch and hang out with Bips for nearly 2 days and nights. Bips' new friend is named Henrietta. She is a cute kitten who lives at Wesley's house. She is also nocturnal --but not from a desert-- and is therefore more active at nighttime.

Wesley's house also has another older cat, Grumbalina, who was mildly welcoming to Bips at first, but has since lost interest in furthering their relationship.

Here's a few pictures of Bips and Henrietta hanging out:

As you can see, they are having fun getting to know one another, smelling each others' smells and such, and Wesley's Mom and Dad decided to put a heavy book on top of Bips' cage so that he is safe and sound and happy.

Though Bips does miss being in Mrs. Becker's Room 3 at Fernwood, he has a very welcome and loving home here and we look forward to sharing more of his adventures and new experiences throughout the Summer.