crocuses and rats

If you don't like rats, then love snakes!!

I'll take the alligator soup!

I have recipees for fruit bat soup and for squirrels if anyone is interested. :-)

Has anyone here had a PET rat themselves? I had rats for 10 years; they were one of the most affectionate and intelligent pets I've ever owned. In all that time, I wasn't bitten even once.

They're as clean, if not cleaner, than cats. They wash themselves constantly. They can be trained to recognize their names, and some of them can even be trained to come to you when you call them.

Too many people only think of the big nasty city rats...the tame ones are great!
One plus to having them is putting them on your shoulders when you answer the door for trick-or-treaters! Scared the heck out of most people! "EEK! RATS!"

My last rat, Snap, was the best one I've ever had. He knew his name, and learned to respond to my hand signals/voice commands. One of his favorite things to do was wrestle with my hand. I'd roll him over on his back, and he'd tussle with my hand as long as I wanted to play, never using his teeth! I hand fed him, and taught him to take the food gently, and not grab it. He was a very well-trained, affectionate, and intelligent rat.

However, when it comes to wild rats, the sooner they're exterminated, the better! I just hate the sterotype that all rats are bad.

Marsha.

(PS, I'm much more annoyed with squirrels, who should be rightfully called "tree rats." The only reason people think they're cute is because of the furry tail. They're nearly the same animal...)

Machikoneko, you're not alone, i'm with you on the pet rat issue AND the squirrel issue!
(see about 10 posts up...)

amy
*

I got a picture in my Hippee day's. I will scan the rodents and post it but not tonite. aflack

Marsha - I prefer rats to squirrels. I am allowed to kill the rats.

Cheers,
Michaela

Willard freaked me out as a kid. The NYC subways didn't help any.

one more from the Boston gardener who started this: got some ornametal cabbage and kale for the fence boxes on my patio. Rat ate one purple kale , left only one inch of stem stub

If you buy any replacements sprinkle them liberally with cayenne pepper or the typical hot pepper flakes found in pizza parlors. At least you'll get some revenge.

Rat revenge is the best!!

Add more hot pepper flakes and double the revenge.

Think they've been munching the BoSox bats too.

Not funny, Victor!!
But, we did get back-to-back-to-back home runs which is something that has never been done in the playoff season. I was so hoping that it would turn into a rally, but alas!!

I'm for the Rockies to go all the way. I like to see teams who never won get the chance.

Hey - I'm with you Victor - go Rockies (from someone who has been in the Rockies many, many times.)

My whole love of the New England area is what made me like the RedSox, and the Patriots. I think the first Patriot game I watched on TV was in a cute little bar on the way home from my annual NE trip.

My sis had 2 former lab rats(not at the same time)she also had them trained. I was in elementary school then and the first one took a bite out of my barbie doll's hand, boy was I ticked!

I bet!

We beheaded our Barbies - honest!

I'm glad that experience didn't lead you to do the same with your daughters!

Well, sometimes I was tempted! I am not sure if it is nuture or nature - but I never played much with dolls, nor did my daughters. Instead we played with bugs, and frogs, and snakes! Both my daughters are very gifted artistically, and definitely "think outside the box." - which makes them formidable women - and a disappointment to their father, who, I suspect, would have preferred more "feminine" girls, who would dote on dear old dad.

i always wanted a toy racetrack with cars. i got Barbie after Barbie. Eventually i grew up to be a tough theatre techie girl, wrench in pocket and callouses on hands, who worked overhire calls with the Stagehands Union in STL.
Maybe they should've gave me the racetrack...

I played in the mud too but still liked my dolls.

I was mud pies and dolls, with a real walk in adult sized dollhouse in the garden, complete with an arbor filled with tiny pink roses ........ and then came boys.

I think it's terrific you were given a race track! Man, I would have loved one! I always wanted chemistry sets, and mechano sets, etc. - I usually got lame board games - and I didn't even get a Barbie - I got Midge - Barbie's best friend. My mom was so thrilled - and at the ripe old age of seven I had to be gracious and pretend I was delighted, just to please my mom.

I think being a techie girl is awesomely cool :-)

There just aren't that many.

In st. louis there weren't. i can't tell you how many calls i worked where i was the only female there.
In NYC it's different - took some getting used to - having been unusual for years, to be nothing remarkable at all.

I was referring to women who major in technical fields like engineering and other tech sciences. Still doesn't happen.

: - P

This message was edited Oct 29, 2007 8:36 PM

This message was edited Oct 29, 2007 8:38 PM

Good for her! Please congratulate her for me. I assume SU is Syracuse? The other EE where I worked was a SU graduate.

Brains and beauty. Congratulations to her.

Wow - where was she when I was in college??! Smart and beautiful - gotta love that combo.

Is Canastota onion country? I think my neighbor is from around there. Don't apologize for nursing - it's a great profession. Is your hubby a full-time Prof.?

I never heard of onion country.
Yes, my DH is a full time prof, but full time only means 20 or so hours, I get jealous!
I guess he does put in more time at home grading, etc, but.....

My nursing career has been good to me, I've done a lot of different jobs, currently I do computer teaching and support for our clinical software program, most of our nurses don't like the computers, I call it job security for me.

This thread takes the cake. From Crocus to rats to dolls etc etc. I was about 16 (hippie days) Mother died. I had 3 and then one died as a baby. They grew up and their instinct grew and so did thier claws and fangs. A house built for them up in a tree and they had off springs for years.

I know - I went back to read a post - and it took forever to find which thread I had posted it in - rats!

So rats take the cake?? Is there anything they won't eat?

They had their teeth in me so I guess not !