Wee Little Beasties

Where I have been...

2010-10-11T08:52:00.003-05:00

A new life ahead...

If you have wondered what happened to all the wee little beasties, let me tell you...

My life has radically changed in the last year. Without going into many unpleasant details, the end results have been positive. I found a life partner after 50 years of searching. I resigned my government job of 23 years. I moved from the city to the country. I live a much more humble and quite different life. I have much less money now and have to watch my pennies. But I am happy in a much deeper sense. I feel challenged in a very good way.

You see, I grew up in the country. But I left it many years ago. I often day-dreamed of going back but had no idea how I could accomplish it. I have found, in the end, that you can do whatever you want, if you truly want to.

But what of the animals, you ask? The ratties were found good homes through petfinder. My cats, they followed me to the country. Simon has passed away, alas, but Tigger is still with me, and has joined my partner's cat, Whiskers. Both of them were city cats, and now have become country cats, and quite accomplished mousers! I will probably not post here very often, since my focus nowadays is on the farm, my passion for local history, etc. But I may pop in here now and then.

You are welcome to check out my other sites, especially Prairie Woman, which will have many stories about our animals...

Where did the ceiling go?

2009-07-12T11:57:00.001-05:00

Where did the ceiling go?
Originally uploaded by queenbeeamy

A Flickr friend's rattie takes a stroll in the yard, enjoying the wonderful summer weather...

Hellllloooooo!

2009-05-05T02:00:00.000-05:00

Simon's Cubby

2009-05-03T15:46:00.000-05:00

Mouse.Kat.Pup.Brick

2009-04-29T02:00:00.001-05:00

Herriman: Cartoonist who equalled Cervantes
Sarah Boxer marvels at the world of George Herriman, the creator of the ludicrously imaginative comic strip Krazy Kat

We call him “Cat,” We call him “Crazy” yet is he neither. – George Herriman on the title character of Krazy Kat

There is no comic strip simpler, on the face of it, than Krazy Kat. In its 31-year run (from 1913 to 1944) the plot never changed much. Ignatz Mouse, sadist supreme, aims to bean the beribboned Krazy Kat, soulful innocent, with a brick, and usually succeeds. Krazy Kat takes the brick, even seeks it out, as a missile of love. And Krazy’s secret admirer, the police dog Offissa Bull Pupp, throws the errant mouse in jail. All’s well.

'A genuine state of poetry': Ignatz Mouse, Krazy Kat and Offissa Bull Pupp, as drawn by cartoonist George Herriman

Yet despite the repetition, Krazy Kat is endlessly perplexing, energetic, deep and playful.

In Krazy Kat, George Herriman made everything indeterminate. He set the strip among the rocky outcroppings of Monument Valley, opening up the funnies to vast, abstract spaces. (Yes, he beat John Ford there.) He made the trees, rocks and moons shift shape from frame to frame for no apparent reason. His free-floating page design, with its mad array of wheels, zigzags and frames within frames, kept changing.

And then there’s that Krazy language. The Kat speaks a dialect that is distinctive, yet elastic, and impossible to pinpoint. Yiddish? “Ooy-y-y- Sotch a noive.” Creole? “S’funna, but I dun’t see no stomm – the sky is klee – blue an’ bride wit’ sunshine – not a cloud in it.” Brooklyn-Italian? “Jess fency, Offissa Pupp, the tree of us, riding around tigedda – like boom kimpenions.” At one point, Krazy asks Ignatz: “Why is lenguage?” and then answers the question: “Lenguage is that we may mis-unda-stend each udda.”

The ceaseless flux drove readers crazy during Herriman’s lifetime. If it hadn’t been for the ardent support of the newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst, the strip might never have survived. Hearst gave Herriman a raise – apparently against his will. And a happy band of readers followed Krazy religiously, including Ernest Hemingway, F Scott Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein, Pablo Picasso, HL Mencken, ee cummings, Walt Disney, TS Eliot, Frank Capra, Willem de Kooning, Jack Kerouac and Charles Schulz. The critic Gilbert Seldes, an early fan, called Herriman a “great ironist” who belonged with Chaplin, Cervantes and Dickens.

advertisementIn 1946, cummings saw Krazy Kat as a “meteoric burlesk melodrama of democracy… a struggle between society (Offissa Pupp) and the individual (Ignatz Mouse) over an ideal (our heroine)”. In 1959, Kerouac found in Herriman’s strips some of the roots of the Beat Generation: “It goes back to the inky ditties of old cartoons (Krazy Kat with the irrational brick).” In 1963, Umberto Eco called Herriman a Scheherazade who creates “a genuine state of poetry, an uninterrupted elegy based on sorrowing innocence”.

In 1971, however, the Krazy world changed. While researching an article on Herriman for the Dictionary of American Biography, the sociologist Arthur Asa Berger got a copy of Herriman’s birth certificate. Although Herriman died Caucasian, in Los Angeles in 1944, the very same George Herriman, the son of two mulatto parents, was born “colored” in New Orleans in 1880.

If Herriman knew he was black, he certainly did not flaunt it. That’s no surprise. In 1880 Herriman would have been considered a “free person of color”. But by the turn of the century, when he was a fledgling cartoonist, the newspaper bullpens “were open to immigrants but not to blacks”.

How did he respond? Oddly. He made cartoons that seem a little racist themselves. In 1902, Herriman drew a cartoon called Musical Mose, in which a black man repeatedly tries and fails to “impussanate” a white man. In one instalment, Mose masquerades as a Scotsman. Some white women discover he’s black and beat him up. Mose moans, “I wish mah color would fade.” His wife is unsympathetic: “Why didn’t yo impussanate a cannibal?” she asks.

Herriman went on to create other comic strip heroes: Professor Otto and His Auto, Acrobatic Archie, Major Ozone’s Fresh Air Crusade, Rosy Posie- Mama’s Girl, Baron Mooch, and The Dingbat Family (later renamed The Family Upstairs), a strip about a family obsessed with the people living on the floor above. In 1910, at the bottom of one Dingbat Family strip, he drew in a cat and mouse, just “to fill up the waste space” below the main strip. Krazy and Ignatz were born. On July 26, Herriman had the mouse bean the cat for the first time. After a month or so, Krazy Kat fell in love with her tormentor. She kissed Ignatz as he slept. “SMACK!”

So, what do we know about Krazy? Krazy looks kind of feminine, but there are signs that she’s not. Ignatz sometimes calls Krazy “he”. Krazy claims to be confused: “I don’t know whether to take unto myself a wife or a husband.” At another point, Ignatz’s wife and kids can’t figure out whether to call Krazy “Uncle” or “Aunt”. They try out both. Krazy doesn’t answer to “Uncle”, but at “Aunt Krazy” turns his head: “Kollin me, dollins?”

Sex is to Krazy as race is to Herriman: indecipherable, dangerous, interesting. As Herriman himself put it: “Krazy was something like a sprite, an elf. They have no sex. So that Kat can’t be a he or a she. The Kat’s a spirit – a pixie – free to butt into anything.”

What about Krazy’s race, then? She is definitely black, with a few – or not so few – crucial exceptions, as when Krazy gets doused in white paint or in white flour, or switches skin with Ignatz, who, in turn, becomes “a l’il eetiopium mice, bleck like a month from midnights”.

Herriman once placed Krazy in the same scenario as Musical Mose. Krazy goes to a beauty salon and when she emerges, all white, Ignatz falls in love with her, not realising who she is. She coyly drops her handkerchief, with the initials “KK” on it (just one K short of the Klan), and Ignatz looks surprised. Krazy turns and explains: “My initchils – mins Krazy Ket – y’know that dunt you dollin?” Ignatz runs for a brick and Krazy wanders off, saying: “L’il tutsi-wutsi thinks because I change my kimplection Ishould change my name.”

Herriman is even bolder when it comes to class. In one strip, some of Coconino’s citizens, Walter Cephus Austridge, Terry Turtle, Gooseberry Sprig, Ignatz Mouse and Kolin Kelly are all smoking “at the Klub” and boasting about their royal roots. And who should come waltzing by but Krazy Kat, singing like an old-time minstrel about “the old ‘haunted-house’ and the cellar unda-neet it, and the dear old ‘wash-boila’ ee-e-een which I was ‘born’”? The other animals are appalled: “Oh, that us aristocrats has gotta breathe the same air as a ‘wash-boiler’-bred boor – s’awful.”

We get the real score from Joe Stork, the “purveyor of progeny to prince and proletarian”. It turns out, according to Joe, that all the animals are lowborn. The only thing that distinguishes Krazy is that she hasn’t any shame. She sings out her story in her bastard dialect. She was born in a cellar. So what?

Yet Herriman did care – about colour, class, race, and all matters high and low. This comes through in the strip’s very architecture. Remember that Krazy and Ignatz didn’t arrive full-blown on the page. They appeared in a basement strip under the Dingbats, who in turn lived under the family upstairs.

Herriman was obsessed with up and down. For him, almost every torment – tossed bricks, loud neighbours, beatings from racists, the delivery of babies by Joe Stork – comes from above. Ignatz is almost always higher on the page than Krazy. But down below is where the soul of the strip is.

That’s where Krazy was born, where she abides, and where she is the unconscious foe of everything that rises. Towards the end of Herriman’s life, and strip, a strange thing happened. The little sliver of basement space that had been the birthplace of Krazy and Ignatz opened up again. Herriman created a new underworld and filled it with enigmatic codas commenting on the strip above, much as he had when Krazy and Ignatz were infants under the floorboards. Sometimes those slim bottom strips include a periscope that never quite manages to peer into the world above.

In one 1940 comic, Krazy talks into a bent tube. “Helloi,” he says, and “Helloi” comes back. He responds: “Mus’ be my ‘eggo’. ” Given his accent and the pipe, Krazy probably means “echo” or “ego”. In other words, “It must be me.” (Or was he talking about the Eggo brand of waffles?)

Herriman’s last Sunday page, exactly two months after his death, shows Offissa Pupp watching bubbles emerge from a pool. He thinks Krazy is drowning and dives in to save her. The underpanel shows Krazy safe, floating on her back in the underworld and holding up a sail as ripples spread from her in the calm water. She is under her own power, but going nowhere, idling in the “waste space”, as Herriman called it, the breeding ground of endless subversion, waiting for the next breeze.

This is an edited version of an article that appeared in ‘The New York Review of Books’. The complete Krazy Kat is being republished by Fantagraphics in several volumes as ‘Krazy and Ignatz’.

Warning: Cute Overload!

2009-03-26T22:26:00.001-05:00

Four baby flying foxes who were separated from their mothers during fierce storms on Australia's Gold Coast are being cared for by volunteers at a wildlife centre.

Photo by David Hardenberg/Getty Images

The Squirrel Next Door

2009-02-20T15:26:00.000-06:00

Brothers

2009-02-15T22:13:00.001-06:00

Brothers
Originally uploaded by Trishymouse

Tigger uses Simon as a pillow...

Unlikely Friends

2009-02-11T22:29:00.000-06:00

Cats on the go

2009-02-07T18:26:00.001-06:00

Simon on the stalk.

Tigger is not amused.

Lap rats

2009-01-27T13:24:00.006-06:00

The rats love sitting in their little dog/cat bed.

The boys just don't want to hold still for pictures unless they get treats.

Piglet and Drinky.

Winnie stretches and looks out.

Piglet can look so serious...

Isis in a rare still pose.

Cat glam

2009-01-27T13:14:00.005-06:00

The cats like to pose, sometimes.

Haiku

2009-01-19T16:01:00.000-06:00

Why I am So Tired...

2009-01-14T07:11:00.000-06:00

boy rats checking things out

2009-01-08T18:42:00.003-06:00

The ratty boys get a chance for walkabout.

girlie rats looking about

2009-01-08T18:36:00.004-06:00

Buddy is a flirt when she wants to be.

Drinky is starting to look as old has her mother.

xmas cats sez...

2008-12-25T14:00:00.001-06:00

"Bah humbug..."

Of Mice and Cats

2008-12-20T21:25:00.002-06:00

I was holding old Lady Mouse when Tigger cat insisted on some lap time. Tigger cat did not seem to be very excited about Lady Mouse. And Lady Mouse seemed only a little concerned about Tigger cat.

Ratty boys in a basket

2008-12-04T11:17:00.004-06:00

Barnabas rat, Groucho rat and Harpo rat relax while Chico rat explores.

Old lady rats having a treat

2008-12-04T11:13:00.002-06:00

Winnie rat and Isis rat sipping some Pediasure.

Oh, oh...

2008-12-03T21:44:00.003-06:00

Simon cat checks out Piggy rat.

Of Bird and Rodent

2008-11-23T13:17:00.003-06:00

Before the cat's arrival arrangements were made for rodent and bird security. Right away one of the cats, the "little" cat Tigger, took notice of Agatha budgie bird and intended on introducing himself, but, Agatha would have none of that and proceeded to voice her protests to the event. Agatha and Tigger exchanged chirps and soft meows for a sort time and when Tigger was told "NO," he stopped approaching the birdcage. Tigger would also get down off off the counter tops or out of general mischief if addressed with a firm "NO."

The rats seemed to notice the arrival without actually seeing the cats and moved themselves to the farthest back corner of their habitat. Lady mouse appears not too be so concerned. When the "little" cat Tigger approached the boy rats door he was met immediately by the oldest boy rat Barnabas, who stood his ground and gave Tigger the classic 1000 yard stare. Barnabas's fur was slightly raised, and, when I tried to calm him, Barnabas acted suspicious of me until I paid him the proper compliments and made the proper offering of treats. Once again when Tigger was given a firm "NO," and a slight tap on the backside, he backed away from the cage and sat back to watch "Rodent TV" from a distance. Tigger tried to look in on the girl rats, but, appeared by then to be getting the idea to stay away.

A layer of "hardware cloth" was added to strategic points of the rodent's habitat. As well, there are links of metal shower curtain rings at various points to serve as "alarm bells" if a cat tried poking around unwatched. Lady mouse's habitat has been attached to the larger rat habitat so that it could not be knocked over or dragged away. And for her safety, Agatha budgie bird will have to have her free roaming restricted while to cats are out. Agatha budgie bird has a sturdy cage with plenty of space between her and the cats.

The cats will be supervised when out in the general area with the bird and rodents. When the cats can not be supervised they will be put into a spacious room with good light and ventilation. This is also the room where their food, water, litter and bed is kept.

The cats move in...

2008-11-22T20:08:00.003-06:00

Not quite four hours and they are starting to feel at home.

A conspiracy of rats

2008-11-16T16:10:00.001-06:00

"You distracts them while I gets yogies..."

Lady rats

2008-11-10T13:30:00.002-06:00

Winnie rat gives me a look...

Isis rat having a hammock snuggle.

The might YAP!

2008-11-08T19:51:00.001-06:00

Chico rat lets fly his mighty YAP!

Pigeon doorman

2008-11-02T14:27:00.005-06:00

Caught this fellow keeping an eye on me...

Park beasties

2008-10-24T15:55:00.001-05:00

A squirrel strikes a pose.

The girl rats get an evening treat

2008-10-10T10:17:00.002-05:00

Pediasure YEAH!

Winnie rat looking up to Ceiling Rat, hoping for more...

Strike A Pose

2008-10-08T14:52:00.004-05:00

Chico rat prefers cuddles to picture.

Barnabas rat loves to love.

Piglet rat does not mind picture time so much as long as she gets her treat.

Drinky rat lets me know her opinion of picture time.

Buddy rat is braver than most and will run up and lick the camera lens.

Drinky rat is letting me know picture time is over.

And those boys, too.

2008-10-08T12:36:00.002-05:00

Really do not want to take pictures now...

An evening with the ratty girls

2008-10-07T21:29:00.003-05:00

No time for silly photos, more time for treats.

The boys

2008-10-05T20:17:00.004-05:00

An evening with the ratty boys.

"Please put the camera away!"

'Viking mouse' invasion tracked

2008-10-01T09:22:00.001-05:00

Scientists say that studying the genes of mice will reveal new information about patterns of human migration.

Winnie rat say hellOOOoooo

2008-09-28T21:09:00.001-05:00

Drinky rat stopping by

2008-09-28T21:07:00.001-05:00

Barnabas rat visitation

2008-09-28T20:57:00.001-05:00

Piggy rat says heeelloOOOooo

2008-09-28T20:55:00.002-05:00

Old girl rat Isis

2008-09-28T20:50:00.003-05:00

Isis rat is showing her age. But, Isis rat is still very active and affectionate.

Kisses and licks.

dog and cat

2008-09-25T10:16:00.001-05:00

Found on a photo stream...

The Tale of the Hospice Dog

2008-09-23T17:00:00.002-05:00

Hospice Dog: My border collie Izzy comforts the dying.

Excerpt"
"The county health department was housed in a small wooden annex in run-down Fort Edward, N.Y., near the county jail. I parked the Blazer and opened the rear door for Izzy, who disembarked, sniffed around, then paused to look at me, awaiting instructions.
"This way, boy," I said, and he trotted along next to me toward the annex, ignoring a dog being walked nearby, a number of trucks and cars in motion, other people walking through the parking lot..."

Sweet rats

2008-09-19T20:35:00.010-05:00

Ratty boys

"I'm Number 2. I'm the boss."

Ratty Girls

Rodent visitations

2008-09-14T21:10:00.003-05:00

Buddy rat wants to play.

Cheeko rat needs more whiskers..

Barnabas rat loves to love.

Barnabas rat want more snuggle time, less picture time.

Lady mouse has become such a relaxed snuggle mouse.

Lady mouse does not care for the camera.

"I want to be alone..." without the camera.

Winnie rat gives me a smile.

Harpo rat is not too sure about the camera.

Lady Mouse visit

2008-09-10T16:20:00.001-05:00

Lady Mouse visiting with me.

Budgie bird visit

2008-09-10T13:10:00.002-05:00

Agatha Budgie Bird

Ratty visitations

2008-09-10T12:46:00.004-05:00

Isis rat

Barnabas rat

Drinky rat

Winnie rat

Piglet rat

Groucho rat

Harpo rat

Cheeko rat

Buddy rat

Sleepy afternoon ratty boys

2008-09-07T20:08:00.004-05:00

Harpo, Barnabas, Cheeko and Groucho rat are in the their prefered snuggle-pile corner.

socializing with the ratty girls

2008-08-31T20:06:00.002-05:00

Socializing with the ratty boys

2008-08-31T19:49:00.002-05:00

boy rats

2008-08-31T19:45:00.001-05:00

The ratty boys haning out.

lady rats

2008-08-31T19:36:00.005-05:00

All the ratty girls appear to be getting along since their introduction earlier this week.

later mice

2008-08-31T19:31:00.005-05:00

Lady mouse and old Abigal mouse.

Old Fred mouse.

lol hamster

2008-08-28T09:14:00.002-05:00

more animals

lolmouse

2008-08-26T12:12:00.000-05:00

more animals

later birds

2008-08-25T12:46:00.007-05:00

late rats

2008-08-22T23:56:00.010-05:00

Barney rat and Isis rat took some time out for pictures.

An old picture of Isis rat as a young lady, when she was at her breeder's home.

Old lady rats

2008-08-13T16:54:00.003-05:00

The old lady rats take time for a picture.

Barney rat poses

2008-08-11T21:19:00.006-05:00

Often beleaguered Barney rat takes some time out to pose.

ratty treats nom-nom festival

2008-08-09T01:35:00.014-05:00

The ratty boys and ratty girls all got treats: a variety of seeds wrapped in tissue paper.

lol rodents

2008-07-29T11:04:00.003-05:00

more cat pictures

more cat pictures

Zoo Little Beasties

2008-07-27T17:45:00.003-05:00

A visit to Red River Valley Zoo with captions added.

little ratty girl saying "helloOOoOo"

2008-07-18T00:24:00.002-05:00

Bird business

2008-07-15T20:19:00.004-05:00

The birds love paper. But, not just any paper.

young ratty girls

2008-07-14T11:22:00.007-05:00

Momma, Auntie and the little ratty girls just will not slow down enough to take pictures.

old ratty girls

2008-07-14T11:17:00.005-05:00

Old ratty girls playing in the dome.

...looking for "Ceiling Rat."

ratty boys

2008-07-14T11:11:00.006-05:00

Young and old ratty boys hanging out together.

Wee movements

2008-07-09T19:10:00.004-05:00

I separated the three rattie boys from their sisters, auntie and momma. This always makes me weepy, but I know it needs to be done.

I introduce the three rattie boys to their uncle Barnabas and they got on quite well. After having a sniff and greet out in the open, and then in Barnabas' cage and then all together in the rattie boy's cage they all settled in with no complaints.

I moved the seven ratty girls, momma Winnie and auntie Piglet into the big cage after moving the old lady rats momma Isis, auntie Elle and Isis's daughters Gabby and Drinky into a smaller cage. This, too, made me sad as I could see that Isis rat was not too sure about being in a smaller space without all the run around space the old cage had. They ladies settled in and appeared to accept the move. Both Isis rat and Elle rat are showing their ages and a move to a smaller cage is most likely the best thing.

Momma Winnie, auntie Piglet and the seven ratty girls appeared to be very excited with the new, larger cage. It had be specially cleaned and newly made hammocks were put in just for them. Right away the ratty girls were climbing and exploring while momma and auntie scoped out all the newer, larger cage's features.

I can has cute?

2008-07-05T12:58:00.007-05:00

More baby pictures, at four-weeks-old...

Babies on the move

2008-07-05T00:24:00.006-05:00

Now a little over four weeks old and there shall be no stopping them.
I dislike using flash photography, but sometimes it has to be done.

Scampers, Maid Rat

2008-06-26T10:20:00.004-05:00

The message below was recently posted on a rat list I am a member of, and is SO cute I had to share...

Ok. Scampers has now become a Molly Maid. To the right of my desk I have a towel. On it I have her food dish, water dish (just in case) and her watermelon juice dish. On that same side of the desk is a cardboard castle that she delicately chewed so she could get her ample butt into it. There she has a couple of small stuffed animals and toys.

Across the desk is another towel completely covering the desk and by the printer is a folded over wash cloth and that is where she usually pees. I make sure it gets changed daily sometimes twice a day.

Well things are not satisfactory for ol' Scampies. She has now decided that everything needs to be changed each night around 10:30 or so. She will start at the castle and toss it and the toys onto the floor. She will then start to "roll" the towel up and there it goes; on the floor.

After the right side of the desk is all cleared off she will walk over and stare at me right in the face. This means I must pick her up give her kisses and hugs and pet her for a short time. She loves laying on my chest and just relaxing with dad.

This may go on from anywhere of 10 minutes to a half hour then she wants back on the desk. There she will proceed to move the watermelon bowl and the water bowl (sometimes spilling both) plus the food dish off the big towel. Then here we go. She starts to "roll" and push the big towel until it, me and the mouse and pad are on the floor.

Time to wipe the desk down and add fresh towels. This has become an every night thing for the past few weeks. After it's all done and clean she sits at the edge of the desk all proud of herself and watches out the window. I just got done doing this "AGAIN" but it is hilarious. I have my own personal desk maid.

Harold and Scampers the Molly Rat

eyes wide wiggles

2008-06-19T09:54:00.009-05:00

Born on June 5th and two weeks old today.

Wiggles in the house.

We is amused...

I is ready for my closeup...

Still growing...

2008-06-16T16:01:00.006-05:00

Picture taken Sunday, June 15. They are too wiggly to hold still long enough for a line-up picture.

Baby ratties on parade

2008-06-12T14:01:00.012-05:00

There are eleven baby rats in the pile.

I can has rats

2008-06-09T18:42:00.001-05:00

Jin Wicked has moved her LOLRATS site to http://icanhasrats.com/

rats of leisure

2008-06-09T12:43:00.006-05:00

Barnbas rat tries to be amused.

Barnabas rat and Spidey rat make for good buddies.

"Less camera, more scritching please."

Pinkies update

2008-06-08T14:40:00.002-05:00

The baby rats appear to be doing just fine. Momma Winnie rat is still nipping at me if I get too personal so I'm not going to poke in where I do not belong just yet. Momma Winnie rat has plenty to do, but, is does not mind the occasional quick scritch or cuddle and is stockpiling block near her nest.

Everybody else is good. Old Spidey rat and young Barnabas rat pal around a couple times a day and it cheers up Spidey rat to have someone to cuddle with. The other girlie rats, Elle, Isis, Gaby and Drinky, are getting plenty of attention and playtime. The mousie girls, Abigal and Lady Mouse, and the mousie boy, Fred, are still getting along just fine. The lovebirds, Jibber and Jabber, and budgie, Agatha, get in on the action, too.

Them's rattie babies, alright..

2008-06-06T09:10:00.004-05:00

I peeked in on momma Winnie rat and saw at least six pinkies. The pinkies were all kicking, squirming and squeaking for momma and she came running. I watched as two pinkies swam in underneath momma Winnie rat to get their fill. Momma Winnie rat came out on her own the let me scritch her, but, she was more interested in treats. I spent a lot of time cuddling Piglet rat, just to let her know that we still cared about her and to make up for any buddy time with Winnie rat she might be missing out on. I have heard some forlorned squeaks that I suspect came from Piglet when Winnie was letting her known that she needed to stay away from the babies.

2 for ? rattie special...

2008-06-05T19:10:00.004-05:00

Looks like Winnie rat came packing: we noticed she was steadily gaining weight and, with me, she was getting more cage defensive. Sometime this afternoon Winnie rat dropped her liter... We were prepared, setting up a box/hammock for Winnie's privacy and making sure there was plenty of bedding and easy to get to food and water. We are monitoring the situation, especially in concerns towards Piglet rat in case Winnie rat gets too aggressive with her. I'm hoping that Piglet rat hops right in as a right, proper Auntie rat.

Brooklyn Parrots Video

2008-05-30T21:35:00.000-05:00

Them's Ducks...

2008-05-26T19:49:00.005-05:00

Mamma duck and her babies were waddling around downtown. Some concerned citizens were able to gather them up and take them to a park down by the river, away from traffic and train tracks.

Introducing Winnie rat and Piglet rat

2008-05-25T21:22:00.003-05:00

Winnie rat is a girlie rat with some hair while Piglet rat is a girlie rat with not a lot of hair...

Hanging out with the lovebirds

2008-05-09T20:59:00.002-05:00

The Lovebirds really enjoy hanging out with me.

Rick mouse

2008-05-07T17:29:00.003-05:00

Between the time these last pictures were taken in March and the time of his passing yesterday, Ricky mouse became a little old man mouse. Ricky mouse had lost most of the vision in one eye and was having trouble walking around, but Ricky mouse was determined to have everything his way. In fact, the morning before his death I had cleaned his cage and since he was having trouble climbing I removed his wheel and a short u-tube leading up to his "petting zone" a.k.a. his bed. Ricky mouse would have none of this and threw his own little old mouse tantrum and the moment I reattached the tube he climbed up into his bedding and made it up the way he liked.
These last few weeks I would spend a lot of cuddle time with Ricky mouse and he would let me know often head-butt my thumb when I was not petting him enough and eagerly hop into my hand when I offered to pick him up. As he grew more and more tender I made his meals easier by crumbling his block into little pieces and spritzing them with PediaLyte. Ricky mouse loved getting yoggie Cheerios after cuddle time and would often wait for me to offer them before retiring to his nest.

When ratty met kitty...

2008-05-07T15:58:00.001-05:00

More here...

Hang time

2008-05-05T19:46:00.003-05:00

The lovebirds settle in for some snuggle time.

Barnabas rat plays it sweet.

Pierre, the Penguin

2008-04-28T13:06:00.004-05:00

Stories like this warm the cockles of my heart. Poor Pierre the Penguin was old, losing weight and feathers, and couldn't swim anymore due to hypothermia. So what to do? A wetsuit, of course!

My First Paycheck

2008-04-27T10:09:00.008-05:00

My niece, Britton, shared this with the family today...

As each person ages, I think one of the most exciting times in an individual's life is receiving that first paycheck. If you can think back to your first job, can you think back to your very first paycheck? If so, do you remember what you did with your first paycheck? Do you have anything to show for it? I was fifteen and from my first job, with my very first paycheck, I bought myself a beautiful miniature Dachshund. With a spring in her step, the only name that would suit her bubbly personality would be Cricket. June 1st, 1993-April 26th, 2008 (just shy of 15 years old & 105 in dog years).

I have many favorite photos of Cricket because she loved the camera. It was as if she would literally pose for the camera, knowing all eyes were on her. Included are two photos, one of her younger years (taken with me) and one in her later years. Although she appears white in her later year's photo, she actually spent most of her years white. Why you may ask? To remind my father to never leave her outside in a blizzard ever again. And guess what, he never did.

This is my favorite poem by an unknown author dedicated to man’s best friend...

Faithful Friend

God summoned a beast from the field and he said...

"I endow you with the instincts uncommon to other beasts:
Faithfulness, devotion and understanding surpassing those of man himself.
Lest it impair your understanding, you are denied the power of words;
Speak to your master only with your mind and through honest eyes.

So be silent, and be a friend to man;
This shall be your destiny and your immorality."

So spoke the Lord.
And the dog heard and was content.

Oh, the Tummy!

2008-04-26T19:47:00.001-05:00

2Apr 26 339
Originally uploaded by Emily / DreamEyce

A rattie lover and breeder has posted adorable photos of her litter - check them out!

Introducing Barnabas rat

2008-04-25T20:06:00.005-05:00

Introducing Barnabas rat.

Peppee mouse

2008-04-14T09:07:00.003-05:00

Peppee mouse wanted to be alone, but I told him it would be better if I stayed with him. So we sat together as I gently pet him and whispered to him that it was all right, holding him to the moment of his last breath. As I had mentioned in the last post about Peppee mouse it was as if overnight he had become a little old man mouse. During the day on Sunday it looked like Peppee mouse was rallying, eager to accept the offered PediaSure and acting playful like a young mouse. But come Sunday evening Peppee mouse decided it was time.

Little Old Peppee Mouse

2008-04-09T14:12:00.008-05:00

It seems as if overnight the little boy mouse becomes a little old man mouse. Peppee is still very active and loves to snuggle.

Daily Rodentia

2008-04-09T09:49:00.009-05:00

Spidey Rat.

Spidey rat.

Baby Drinky rat and baby Gabby rat.

Baby Gabby rat, baby Drinky rat and momma Isis rat.

Momma Isis rat

Momma Isis rat

Elle rat and the mice where not in the mood to pose for pictures today.

World Rat Day

2008-04-04T14:24:00.004-05:00

love birds sitting pretty

2008-04-03T14:08:00.001-05:00

The lovebirds sitting pretty during the morning routine.

Nubby, the Miracle Rat

2008-03-25T13:32:00.004-05:00

Meet Nubby

Nubby was born (or early injury) with no front paws. She really is one amazing little rattie...

Foster lovebirds

2008-03-13T22:32:00.007-05:00

The foster lovebirds arrived today, care of Center for Avian Adoption, Rescue and Education
They settled right in and demanded a lot of shoulder time.

Lovebirds

2008-03-08T13:26:00.006-06:00

"I can't hear you, there is a banana in my ear..."

Center for Avian Adoption, Rescue and Education

daily rodents

2008-03-06T10:16:00.008-06:00

Fred mouse ponders treats..

Ricky mouse wants something...

Drinky rat is patient...

More Lady Mouse

2008-02-28T00:10:00.004-06:00

Lady Mouse slows down enough for me to take a few pictures.

icanhascheeseburger luvs lolrats

2008-02-23T22:43:00.001-06:00

Enter the ICHC online Poker Cats Contest!