Victorian Rat Tale

I discovered a website that showcases a little-known story written in the Victorian age about a rat.

You can read a summary of the story here, as well as see more wonderful illustrations from the book...

Merry Rattie Christmas!

Beatrice says a belated Merry Christmas...she wasn't so sure about this stocking business, and kept us busy shooting her in various stages of escape!

Feast Fit for a Mouse

"...We baked hooks into sugar cookies cut into the shape of stars and then frosted them yellow. We chose candy canes over foil tinsel and when it was done we stepped back and breathed in our Little House on the Prairie triumph. As did the mice. By the next morning the lower branches were stripped of snacks, and the day after that the tree was clean up to knee level. I dreamed of star-shaped cookies scampering across the living room as if propelled along on their own tiny feet. They rounded the corner into the laundry room and disappeared under the drier. Mouse H.Q. Mice shinnied up the trunk and took away the popcorn and the cranberries piece by piece, and though they could not lift the candy canes from their branches, they could stand on their back legs and nibble the lower ones until their collective mouse breath was pepperminty fresh. In the end, we stripped off what they left behind, the candy canes and bare strings and gnawed wire hooks, and had a naked tree that Christmas. We all thought it looked very natural."

From Christmas Past by Ann Patchett

"Wanna Play?"

Beatrice

Wee Little Friends

Nothing brings joy to my heart like having my little friends crawl all over me!

Poor Quimby the Brave is covered by 2 tails of her sisters...! Meanwhile, the chubby brown mouse (aka "Curly") stares into the camera and says to the world, "Hello, there!"

Lady Regina

Regina is a lady. Sometimes she lets her hair down and gets silly. But most of the time, she's very lady-like. Whereas her sister Beatrice will chomp treats, Regina will nibble delicately and savor them.

Here Regina looks up from a repose, looking very regal. "I am a pretty rat, and I know it..." her face seems to say. I quite agree, Lady Regina.

Signposts

Quimby's right eye has some clouding - not sure if that indicates glacouma or a cataract - but it's definitely not a good sign. Thankfully her other eye appears to be fine, and she is getting around OK.

I empathize with Quimby. Since turning 40 things are falling apart on me, too. Bifocals, here we come!

Fewer mice, newer arrangement

As the mouse population changes, so does the habitat. The design still keeps in mind older or weaker mice as well as making things interesting.

Routine Rodent

Lately I have been attempting to make a morning routine with the mice, where I take them out for a cuddle while one of them gets a turn at running around in the adventure ball. I will also take the hamster out for a cuddle and a brushdown and a run if he is willing. By then the rats are so desparate they are pleading for attention...

Peek Part II

Beatrice peeking out of one of the tissue boxes.