And in the Center Ring...

I'm reading this book right now. Cathy Day's "The Circus in Winter". Wonderful short stories all linked through the history of a certain circus from the 1880's to the present day. This summer I've been trying to read more fiction than my usual diet of biography and autobiography. I highly recommend this book. Cathy Day's writing will help you run away with the circus as well.

Those wascally wabbits...

Twizzle reporting for guard duty in the cardboard castle.

Greyton showing off the love handles with a poufy tail...

"Hey Twizzle..You gonna eat that Parsley?"

ZZZZZZZZZZZ....

Greyton taking a big nap today. His frozen water bottle makes a nice pillow. Talk about brain freeze! He's snoring too.Maybe I'll do an audioblog of that one day.

 Some rabbits will sleep crouched with their eyes half open. They are prey animals and that's instinct. Not ol' Super G. He sacks out and loves a good afternoon siesta. Yawwwwn. Now I need a nap.

Greens and Greens

"Money is always there, but the pockets change."- Gertrude Stein

I had to stop at the grocery store on the way home from work because we needed Greens for the rabbits. We usually end up getting them  fresh new produce 3 times a week.

Near the exit of the supermarket is an old arch -nemesis of mine: The Instant Lottery Ticket Machine.

Sometimes on the way out after shopping with Mrs. P.,  I'll utter my mantra, "I feel lucky today."

Mrs. Pratt will utter her usual reply: "C'Mon.. Let's get going . That machine either eats your dollar bills or you never win."

"Tut  tut !", I say ..well I don't say tut tut..I think nobody since W.C. Fields or well...the ancient Egyptians  have said that  but I usually ignore Mrs. P. when she is being  The Naysayer  in my quest for maybe a few free bucks. But the thing is..um..the machine DOES eat my dollar bills sometimes and HARDLY EVER produces a winning ticket.

 I don't go crazy and buy a bazillion tickets. Just one is all I need.  So I was on my own today buying produce for the bunnies. I walked by the machine. I think it laughed at me.
I had two singles in my pocket. It took them both and after maybe ten seconds there appeared on the screen "2 CREDITS" . Ok so it didn't make a snack out of Washington this time..but what to pick..hmmm.

I picked the "Win a $1,000 a week for life" game.  A nice prize if I won it..they give you 4 different games to win anywhere from $2 to the grand prize.

I returned home- took a dime out of my pocket... scritchy scritch scritch.. Nothing in game #1 ,2, and 3.  The bonus game is "win anything between $2 and $50". I rubbed some lucky rabbits' feet before I tried the last game.

I won $50.

I shall do a triumphant "dance of found money" in front of Mrs. Pratt. Then the $50 will cover a motel room for when she throws me out for being a nut.

Oh who am I kidding..I'll probably buy more greens.

 

 

Her Majesty Princess Jewel is relaxing on her royal purple pashmina. "Begone Peasants..I am trying to nap."

Feather

It was her time. We both knew it. I said goodbye to her this morning with about a half hour of petting. She still had no interest in food and water, but would nuzzle my hand to show her love. Mrs. Pratt arrived home at 2:30pm to prepare her for her 3pm vet appointment.
 
 The house was still.  The other rabbits were a little skittish.There is a saying among rabbit owners that when their rabbit dies they have crossed the Rainbow Bridge.
 
Feather had crossed sometime this afternoon peacefully in her sleep in her favorite little house.
 
Perhaps she wanted to spare us the decision of having her put to sleep. But her long brave battle is over. 
 
The hardest part is right now. I sit in one of my spare bedrooms where we have our computer and where Feather enjoyed being the most. Whenever I would work at the computer she would come running in the room..sit by my feet..and give me a nudge to get some petting (or a Cheerios treat) She would snore a little when she would then take her bunny naps and usually I would put on some instrumental music for her to relax with. The room is empty  and quiet now.  I hope one of the other rabbits will find their way to this room.  Feather had a mischievous spirit but was a very devoted pet. She was with us almost six years.
 
We will never forget her.

Feather died today.

Into each life some rain must fall..

Feather continues to be losing her battle.  She has refused to eat. No interest in carrots, or greens or  Cherrios  which are her favorite treat.  Its a quiet rainy day here which makes the mood of the house heavier.
  
 We are giving her medicine and fluids but we think she is slowly slipping away from us. Her kidneys have been failing for a year. That we got her back from the brink of death  three months ago was amazing even to her doctor. But I think her brave long fight is coming to an end.  She will be going to the vet tomorrow.
 
Today she is mainly sleeping in her little house. She has always enjoyed instrumental piano music so we have been playing a lot of George Winston  cd's for her. We are petting her a lot today and making her comfortable.
 
To see photos of Feather through the years you can visit the Pratt Bunnies webpage.

A Good day but...

Mrs. Pratt decided that today was a "do whatever I like" day for my birthday.  My birthday is Tuesday but Mrs. P. is dilligently taking summer MBA classes and has a nice take home mid-term due  at her next class-Tuesday.  Therefore we decided to spend the afternoon together.
 
We did some shopping and she got me a few cd's and dvd's. Pushing me out of the way at the cashiers.."Back off Mr. Pratt I'm paying for this."
 
Oh  how many times have women said that to me hahhahahahaha..well um..ok that was the first..
 
We went  to dinner and then to the movies and saw " Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgandy". It was a slow start but once you realized the level of goofiness they were reaching for its fun.Will Ferrell is just a fearless comedian and gives 100% to his characters.
 
 Fans of "Old School" will like the cameos by Vince Vaughn and Luke Wilson.  Steve Carrell steals every scene he is in as usual like he did with "Bruce Almighty".
 
A video of the 1970's song "Afternoon Delight" is out there done by the cast of Anchorman and worth seeing. Its available on yahoo.com's Launch music  video site.
 
Yet despite the nice day- Mrs. Pratt and I are very concerned about one of our rabbits, Feather. She isn't feeling well..her eye infection has resurfaced (we're using her ointment on it ) and she isn't eating as much. We gave her saline fluids to keep her strength up and have her on antibiotics again..but this could be her kidney problem returning.
 We almost lost her 3 months ago and she has been doing ok since then but it looks like Monday it will be a trip back to the vet for our brave little girl. I hope they can help her. If her kidney levels are extremely bad and she is in pain..well next week will not be pleasant at all.
 

Take a little trip...take a little trip...

I get in Prattmobile this morning to drive to work. I turn on the radio and "Low Rider " by War is playing.  Fate?

Greyton's Birthday-Will there be a Carrot Cake?

Today is Greyton's 5th birthday. Five years ago we adopted him from our local chapter of the House Rabbit Society. He got an extra carrot for breakfast this morning and will get a big salad for dinner tonight. He is such a big content bunny boy. Twizzle has been grooming him all morning(he must know its his big day). Mrs. Pratt and I got a small carrot cake for our dessert tonight.

Greyton is the Alpha Rabbit of the house-and as he moves into his old age is a benign prescence.Always calm-cheerful to see us every day..comforting at night when we watch television- he is there..flopped out in the living room...
Baseball games usually fascinate him..and the noises of the tv.

Twizzle treats him like a big brother and is devoted to him.I wonder what rabbit wisdom he passes down to his young ward when we aren't home. Sometimes I'll watch him as he's all flopped out pondering what he's pondering..yeah kind of like Pinky and The Brain.. He reminds me of the character of BigWig in the Richard Adams book, "Watership Down".

He is the gentleman rabbit. He charms the bunny girls when he runs upstairs- with his Elvis swagger showing off his big dewlap. Greyton came to us after being rescued from horrible conditions when he was young. He lives a life now of serenity and plenty. The joy he gives us by his company is the greatest gift of all. Happy Birthday Super G.

Good Evening....

Greyton is doing his Alfred Hitchcock impression again...He hates the paparazzi during dinner.

We are amused...

Her Majesty Princess Jewel making another blog appearance.