Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    From $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Seasons of the Rat
    Seasons of the Rat
    Seasons of the Rat
    Ebook331 pages1 hour

    Seasons of the Rat

    By Charles Rocha

    4/5

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    Seasons of the Rat is a photo journal documenting the lives of some pet rats who happen to live in Ukraine along with their owner. This unique type of journal contains over 500 photos and covers four generations of rats over a seven-year period, from before and after the COVID epidemic and into the war in Ukraine. If you have never owned rats but are curious about them, this book will give you an insider’s view of daily life with rats, along with the ups and downs of owning them. If you already own rats or have owned them in the past, this book will give you another owner’s unabashed perspective on rat ownership. Maybe you will see some of your own rats' behaviors in this motley mischief of Ukrainian rats! And if this unique book appeals to you, check out my previously published titles Lo, the Might Rat! and Eyes Like Black Pearls to get the inside scoop on the cast of characters shown within these pages.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherCharles Rocha
    Release dateApr 30, 2023
    ISBN9798215308103
    Seasons of the Rat
    Author

    Charles Rocha

    Charles Rocha is a graduate of Central Washington University in Ellensburg, Washington, with a B.A. in English and an M.A. in British Literature. Currently he works as an ESL instructor in the city of Dnipro, Ukraine. He has had stories and essays published in small journals and online story websites.

    Read more from Charles Rocha

    Related to Seasons of the Rat

    Related ebooks

    Pets For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • UNLIMITED

      Picture Perfect Story

      Aug 31, 2022

      An avid collector of nineteenthand early twentieth-century photographs for more than fifty years, Anthony Cavo has amassed an enormous catalog of antique photography, including hundreds of shots of people and their dogs. These photos were taken from

      7 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      AN EXCERPT FROM The First Line of Dante’s ‘Inferno’

      Dec 1, 2020

      Early forties, tall, self-possessed. Hiking in the woods in search of her missing sister. A young park ranger, late twenties. Pretty. Slim. Strong. The play is formatted like prose; however, it is intended for performance. If actors simply perform th

      15 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Snake Whisperer

      Mar 19, 2024

      Snake Whisperer
      3 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      It’s A Jungle Out There

      Jun 4, 2023

      It’s A Jungle Out There
      2 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      INTO THE light

      Feb 22, 2019

      INTO THE light
      5 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      The mysterious Sheep Whisperer

      May 13, 2024

      The mysterious Sheep Whisperer
      3 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Red Kite Grey Shadow

      Nov 3, 2022

      Red Kite Grey Shadow
      6 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Happy birthday, Darling

      Dec 30, 2020

      DARLING, our English pointer, turns 127 (in dog years) this week. I am proud to report that she can still manage a definite, if slightly shaky, point. Moreover, my response, as I don’t shoot, still annoys her. She will stand, one paw raised, nose dir

      2 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      ‘My Cat Would Show Up At The Door Like A Serial Killer’

      Aug 16, 2023

      I have two cats – Dexter and Grace. I did have three but Maggie passed away in November last year. I’ve loved all of them. Grace is from a cattery and is such a sweet girl, but Dexter was a feral cat. He came into our lives about six months ago, visi

      2 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      A Kind of Deep Companionship: The Millions Interviews Jo Ann Beard

      Jun 3, 2021

      When you’re slogging through your day, imagining what else is to come, and you remember that the minute all else is done you can sink down into your book like warm water, and be absorbed while you’re absorbing, is priceless, as they say in capitalism

      6 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Dear Frankie

      Dec 5, 2021

      Dear Frankie
      4 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      In Praise of Darkness

      Aug 15, 2018

      HEATHER LANIER is the author of the nonfiction book Teaching in the Terrordome as well as two poetry chapbooks. Her essays have appeared in Salon, the Sun, Fourth Genre, Brevity, and elsewhere, and her TED talk on the incomplete stories we tell ourse

      8 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      From The heart

      Oct 27, 2020

      Dear Sally My step daughter often feels spirits around her. The other day I was talking to her on Facetime and I thought her husband was standing behind her until she told me he was at work. She took a picture of some poles she was selling and later

      5 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      From The Heart

      Mar 17, 2020

      Dear Sally Recently, two family members passed on the same day. On Sunday, I felt that I needed to walk in the local park. I took some photos – and I was amazed when I got home and looked at them. Pauline Curwen, Ashington, Northumberland Dear Pa

      5 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      A Tale of Two Mice

      Jun 9, 2024

      People often ask at book signings how I choose what to write about. Well, the truth is that I don’t choose. I get chosen by a subject or a character or a story with such emotional force, that I’m not able to write anything else. The last two novels I

      7 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Linde Ivimey

      Nov 7, 2018

      Linde Ivimey
      5 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      From The Heart

      Jan 21, 2020

      This was taken at a haunted location by my son Ryan Johnstone. Su Johnstone, Chester I definitely sense the image of a man and get the feeling of someone hiding in a cellar. I’m being shown quite a tall house with a basement and a room where coal

      1 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      On The Wondrous World Of Cat Fiction

      Nov 5, 2018

      WHENEVER I’M reading a hardcover cat-related book in public—especially one featuring a cat who talks—I always remove the dust jacket. Wouldn’t want anyone to think I’m one of those ladies. While the “cat lady” stereotype endures, the reality is that

      2 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Six Stories

      Sep 8, 2020

      I’m on the train, traveling alone, with two seats to myself. I have to use the restroom. Without thinking about it carefully, I ask a couple across the aisle if they would please watch my things for me for a moment. Then I take a closer look at them

      8 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      A feline CATASTROPHE MICHELE A’COURT

      Dec 5, 2021

      On a pretty regular basis I will read about a fancy piece of research reported in what I still call “the newspaper” (by which I mean a reputable source on my phone) and I think, “Yeah, I could have told them that.” Not in a smug way, more in an affir

      2 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Breathing And Interested

      Jul 1, 2019

      I want to tell you a story about my daughter Jane Bell. Not long ago, she was nearly five at the time, we were walking to get the mail. Our driveway is long—about two-fifths of a mile from the house to the mailbox—so it is a substantial hike for some

      15 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Mycelium

      Jul 22, 2021

      Mycelium
      11 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      STAIRWAY To Hell

      May 12, 2020

      STAIRWAY To Hell
      2 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Paws for THOUGHT

      May 11, 2021

      Paws for THOUGHT
      3 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      A Sense Of Nature

      Nov 14, 2024

      A Sense Of Nature
      6 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Best Furry Friends Forever

      May 15, 2020

      Best Furry Friends Forever
      3 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Seasons of the Rat

    4/5

    1 rating1 review

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      This book follows a mischief of rats through multiple generations and all the joys, loss, and surprises encountered along the way. The descriptions of the different rat personalities, intelligence and dynamics of support and empathy, in this ever changing family, was a page turner. Reading this makes me want to find myself a pet rat - especially a curious & friendly rat who will sit on the edge of the table, waiting for pets.

      For anyone who’s read ‘Charlotte’s Web’ and possibly cried at the ending - this mischief has included many rats that are incredibly sweet / memorable, who might not live long but elements of their personality/ looks are carried on by their children.

    Book preview

    Seasons of the Rat - Charles Rocha

    Seasons of the Rat

    Seasons of the Rat

    A Photo Journal of Rats

    By Charles Rocha

    Copyright © 2023 by Charles Rocha

    Published by Charles Rocha at Smashwords

    ISBN 9798215308103 (epub edition)

    Cover photo and design by Charles Rocha: The Door Rats (2023)

    Smashwords Edition, License Notes

    Thank you for downloading this ebook. You are welcome to share it with your friends. This book may be reproduced, copied and distributed for non-commercial purposes, provided the book remains in its complete original form. If you enjoyed this book, please return to your favorite ebook retailer to discover other works by this author. Thank you for your support.

    Contents

    Introduction

    The Old Girls

    The Second Generation

    The Third Generation

    The Fourth Generation

    About the Author

    Other Books by this Author

    Introduction

    The most difficult part of putting together my previous book, Eyes Like Black Pearls, was choosing the photos that would best portray the essence of what I wanted to show. I have taken a huge number of pictures of my rats over the years since I resumed keeping them after a nearly 40-year gap. Since I work from home most of the time and I occupy the same room with my rats most of the day, I have ample time to observe and interact with them and take a lot of pictures. This was especially true during the coronavirus epidemic. And now there is a war here in Ukraine, which is where I currently live.

    Presented here is a photo album of my rats, which I have kept since 2017. The photos are divided into four chapters in chronological order. The divisions are marked roughly by the births and acquisitions of new rats and the rise to prominence of succeeding ones. In my descriptions, I usually refer to the first generation as The Old Girls. Although the girls were a generation in themselves, they died off without giving birth to any rats that I kept. The rats I have today are largely descended from Albert, Fiona, and Trixie, who began The Second Generation.

    Most of the photos in this book have not been published before, although many of them are different takes of photos shown in previous books. There are a few duplicates, however, as there may not have been other shots available. Also included here are some video screen captures. The quality of these photos is somewhat lower than the others due to the limitations of my video equipment. The early photos, mostly those in The Old Girls chapter, are of poorer quality due to the same reasons. All photos in this book are shown in the order they were taken to give an accurate chronology of the events in the rats’ lives. A lot more happened with (and between) these rats than what the photos show, but that is to be expected.

    Ostensibly, the rats in my home are my pets. However, the vast majority of the time, they interact with each other and do whatever they please without my interference. Most of the photos I take of them are candid, taken on the spot with little preparation. Because of this, the table they live on sometimes appears quite dirty in the photos. They seem to like the table that way. (Or maybe they just don’t care.) If I clean the table and make it spotless, it’s already a mess after 10 minutes. Guaranteed. If you own rats, you know what I mean. Still, I put them together in a clean place for a photo shoot from time to time.

    Although this book can be enjoyed on its own, if you’re interested in having more background information on the characters presented here, please read my two previously published rat books, Low, the Mighty Rat! and Eyes Like Black Pearls. If you have already read them, you already have a sense of my enthusiasm for rats. These creatures, not just my own, never cease to amaze me. I hope that by looking through these photos, you can share my appreciation for them.

    The Old Girls

    These are the rats that I bought in 2017 after about 40 years of not owning rats. Six girls comprised this mischief: five that I bought from some local pet shops, and one that was born into a litter that one of the girls had. Their names, in the order I acquired them, are the White One, Angela, Natasha, Alexandra, Trina, and Ginger. Sadly, all of them have long ago crossed the rainbow bridge at the time that I write this. Nonetheless, they are not forgotten.

    Image1

    Here is a group shot of five of the six girls with an untouched piece of cheese in the middle. Clearly visible are the different markings on Natasha (facing left) and Trina (facing down). The brown on the back of The White One can also be clearly seen. Angela poses in the middle.

    Image2

    Here are the White One, Angela, and Trina cowering in the corner. The piece of cheese is still untouched.

    Image3

    Here’s another shot of Trina and the White One, arguably the two shyest rats of the mischief.

    Image4

    This is a nice photo of Trina. She is the youngest and, so far, the smallest of the bunch. I regretted buying her and taking her away from her litter at such a young age. I bought her from the same pet shop where I bought Natasha. She was terrified as soon as I got her home. To make it worse, Alexandra bullied her endlessly. Poor rat. I love her big ears, though.

    Image5

    Here is beautiful Alexandra standing up on her hind legs. Although it is not obvious from the picture, a few days earlier she gave birth to a litter of nine pups.

    Image6

    Here’s another picture of Alexandra, looking nervous as usual. It’s those wild-rat genes at work. Or maybe she was thinking of her pups in the other room?

    Image33

    While I was doing the photo shoot on the kitchen windowsill, I went back to take this photo of Alexandra’s pups sleeping in the other room. I kept Alexandra in a separate cage while she nursed her pups. Sadly, she was a rather inattentive mother and seemed more interested in spending time with the other rats than nursing her pups.

    Image7

    Angela is on the left in the foreground, and Alexandra is on the right. They are hard to tell apart unless you see them side by side. Although Alexandra is a shade lighter, it’s hardly noticeable. That is Trina sprawled on top, and The White One is behind and underneath.

    Image20

    Here are Trina and Alexandra. In this photo, we can clearly see Trina’s adorable ears and Alexandra’s beautiful eyes.

    Image8

    Alexandra has the most soulful eyes I’ve ever seen on a rat. The tail in the foreground belongs either to Natasha or Trina.

    Image34
    Enjoying the preview?
    Page 1 of 1