Everyday, Jamie goes on walks around the perimeter of Young’s Hill. Her day is not complete until she surveys the boundaries, checks to see what the neighbors horses are doing, and pokes a stick into a ground squirrel nest or two. From the top of the hill, she can view the entire canyon and even the mountains in the distance.
Missy often tags along with Jamie for her daily walks, but she tends to get distracted halfway through. Jamie is too slow, too methodical. Missy can only walk for so long before she needs to climb something and jump off it.
I consider Annie an involuntary member of the explorer’s club. She’s just along for the ride because she can’t let her best friend Missy out of her sight.
Jody loves to pick and eat wild plants. There’s a great patch of prickly lettuce and mustard at the top of the hill, and that’s all the motivation that Jody needs.
Young’s Hill is only two acres, but the top of the hill can seem like a world away from the safety and security of the building so not everyone is comfortable spending a lot of time up there. Foxie, Burrito, and Negra all tend to stay in the lower half of the enclosure. But we’ve already seen them push the boundaries of their comfort zones this year, so maybe one day we’ll find all seven of them looking down on us from the top of Young’s Hill.
JB……..write a book!!!!!!!! I look forward to the daily post from CSNW, and I enjoy each individuals writing style, but yours is, well, different. This isnt news, I know. In your…….wait for it……..spare time, write a book!!!
“LIKE”
Kerri — I’ve been, shall we say, encouraging JB to write a book for a while now. He is an incredibly talented writer and brilliant voice for the chimps. Don’t mean to embarrass you, JB, but I just have to say it! 🙂
Yep, they just need a little time and they will all feel comfortable ambling to the top of the hill to take a look see around. 🙂
Love this post and the beautiful pictures
Lovely story and photos. I AGREE…I look forward to your posts, and I too think you should write a book! 🙂
Did you take these pictures from your new ‘perch’ outside the fencing J.B. ? The pictures are fantastic with no fencing in the way.
Thanks Vicki. No, I actually took these from farther up the hill in the early morning. The sun wasn’t all the way up, so I was able to capture the chimps in the sun while I was still in the shade. That way, less light reflects of the fence wires and you can shoot through them more easily.