One more spin around the sun, and here I am celebrating again 4th of April International Rat's day
For those reading me for the first time and not knowing why this date is so important to me, I'm Priscilla and some would say I'm a crazy rat lady :). I had fancy rats as pets and though my fur family has crossed the rainbow bridge (though I don't discard to have more ratties in the future). And for many years I hide ratties in my musical videos like a game.
Did you find the ratties in previous post my music video Sakura Sakura?
Here they are
Wanna give and try and locate them now?
Why do I think rats are amazing?
Rats are social and they would prefer not to use a cosy hammock unless all the pack can fit in. They do care for their children (and elder) and they get depressed when their partners pass away. I fell in love with them observing how they behaved among themselves. They are playful as a dog, they can fetch a ball, spin, being recalled by their name. They will play with you, lick you like a puppy, seek your company and cuddles.
Did you know you can teach a trick to a rat in two hours? They sport also an excellent memory being able to learn so many of them. And they love to play and interact with their human parents.
As always I take this date as a challenge to show you a "different" side of them. I know there are so many prejudices against these amazing animals and I want to take the time to write thoroughly about them, but I could not help to make this small shout out as today it is their day. They are called "vermin" when they do not carry most of the diseases they are blamed for (they never carried the plague) and thanks to them (as involuntary subjects of scientific research we have medicines and vaccines that have saved millions of lives). Don't we owe them a little bit more of respect?
The Wind, the Branch and the Spell
Above: Ritva, white cotton ball, chill, quiet, we used to call her "little buddha" the peacemaker of the mischief.
Tuula (from Tuulikki) aka Captain Tuula, her name means Goddess of the wind... swift, smart... obsessed with storing food and building dams. She would stare at me forever.
Taika: Spell, aka. the Pirate Princess because she had a scar in her ear, the youngest and apprentice of Tuula's, though she took care of old Ritva.
The love among themselves... I learned so much... when Ritva exchaled her last breach licked my hand and her sister, and Taika hugged her tight. Ritva spent her last year with hind leg paralysis and younger Taika would groom and feed her. Did I say rats are amazing... they're the MOST amazing and empathy has been scientifically proven by scientists. Even wild colonies take care of the babies and elder.
So these are my "Fufunchis"
The names of the ratties you keep finding in the videos were Tuula (Wind), Ritva (birch branch) and Taika (spell), all names of Finn origin. And in many of my songs I refer to "The wind, the branch and the spell". I now secretly include this line "The wind, the branch and the spell" in some of my songs, or reference to this some examples (that I had not shared before) are these songs in progress:
The Sentinel (poem)
Silver branches of slender birches in the wind (RITVA)
then sudden gust of wind rustling playfully in the leaves (TUULA)
and they're humming softly the magic words of the spell I am under (TAIKA)
But if you whisper softly in to my ears, I will keep all your secrets
and I'll become your guardian, your sentinel
Fufunchis lullaby
(still unreleased song that will be in my third album)
Little wonders
starry eyed
you brought my spirit
back to life
and taught me more
I could ever dare to think
the truth of simple things
that your love stayed with me
Tuula, Ritva, Taika...
your love stayed with me...
No matter what they say and Rat or Muppet
I made this song "No matter what they say" for ratties and rat owners...
*They're not ready yet... they're still to blind"
We have to be free to find beauty in the most unexpected
I also made a Muppets cover with them called "Rats or Muppet" so once they passed over I kept those plushies as a "memento" of my pets, and they have travelled all over the world and have had many adventures. This is the video (starring them). It runs deeper than it looks... the meaning
pd. I have recently misplaced "Taika" the grey one. Ikea has discontinued selling these so if someone happens to have one of these (in grey) please contact me through discord. I'll be grateful. Still looking for her, she may be partying somewhere
For me my animals (all my "companions") have been my friends and soul healers... and there is not a single day I honour and remember them. In many ways they are all responsible of me becoming an artist (especially my dog Kira) and they all played an important role in what I know about "love" and they all inspired me to be a better person and pursue my happiness
Hiding my fufunchis in all my videos
As you know I hide ratties in every single one of my videos... how did it all start? Unfortunately rats don't live long, they have a span of four years tops, and thus it's been a while since fufunchis crossed the rainbow bridge where they wait for a humom. Having countless videos and even having recorded them in green screen chroma I started placing them in my videos, first time was as a "blurred nebulae" in Ethereal but it just went on and on....
I dare you go to my previous two posts, if you rewatch you will find them I'm sure!
and because some of you have found difficult to find "fufunchis" in my videos I'm considering to make it easier in forthcoming one... cute giant rats maybe?
**If I make them giant you won't be able to miss them right?
This is a sneak peak of my forthcoming video... should I leave Tuula this size? This way I won't get complaints that they're difficult to be found LOL
Learn to see the beauty in the most unexpected places...
for me they are the most precious beings in the universe
with their little sparkly round eyes boggling in happiness (they boggle their eyes when they're elated
Wishing for my future "fufunchis" to come into my life
And longing that my future brings stability... a home on my own I can share with a new fufunchis family... Meanwhile drawing my future fufunchis to be... But I have to wait until the time is right, rats are not cheap pets, they usually require surgeries when they get old and you need to have a trustworthy exotic vet nearby that specialises in them. But as they say... once you go rat there is no back, so I'm sure there will be more of them in the future.
Meanwhile I have 3 plushies that also repr
So remember...
And here a bunch of memories I hold dear
You'll be in my heart always. Singing to my rat Ritva on her last Birthday.
This is a very special video for me, and a very intimate moment. PD. It is not easy to sing, play with one hand only on the piano and holding a rat burrito... but this moment was so real it still makes me cry years after. She was already frail and old and lived not much longer but she was so genuinely happy listening to me.
for one so small you seem so strong
you'll be in my heart always
Song is not mine but a cover of Tarzan (Disney) still every single word resonated with me that moment
This is my rat Ritva on her third birthday some years ago. She was a brave little thing, had hind leg paralysis for most of her last year. At the beginning she managed with a little Lego wheel chair. She loved food till the last day, and cuddles and boggling her eyes in happiness. So many lessons learnt from my rats.
Also how to be strong... how to hold on to life because life is precious... how to be a warrior and live fully till the end despite all odds
How to move forward... Unstoppable
Here Composing Advanced contemporary music with Tuula, Ritva and Taika
Or that day, I promise this will make you laugh, I planted seeds and fufunchis decided to DESTROY EVERYTHING in less than a minute.
As long as the memories are ablaze in my heart they'll be always with me
And remember fancy rats are no vermin, they are not snake food, they are sentient smart beings and some of us were blessed with their soul healing cheerful presence in our lives. If you ever consider to have them as pets remember... they require a specialised vet and you need always to have more than one as they need to be part of a pack.
I warn you
once you go rat...
there's no back
and you won't forget this date either...
You can only change one heart at a time... hope this post opens some eyes against what they maybe don't know
See you in my dreams fufunchis, I know you're eating avocados at the other side of the rainbow bridge waiting for your "humom"
Save some avocados for when I arrive!