Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Archives for December 2014

More Avian Visitors

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One particular day earlier this month, Jamie kept zigzagging back and forth across Young’s Hill instead of making her way all the way around the inside perimeter of the fence. There was a loud drumming sound coming from a group of pine trees on the east side of the property and whenever she heard it, she would head straight for it. But the sound always stopped when she approached. She stared at the trees for quite some time before continuing her walk around the hill again.

The area where the loud drumming sound was coming from.
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Jamie on Young’s Hill.
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I was with her on the fourth trip around the hill that day and we spotted the culprits on a dead pine snag within the group of pine trees. She didn’t seem too threatened by them, mostly just curious. She watched them as they made their way to the top of the snag and flew out of sight before continuing her perimeter patrol.

The chimpanzees have had a few new avian visitors this past summer, including Hank the hawk and Bernard the eagle. And now, we introduce you to Wanda and Wallace, a pair of pileated woodpeckers. They were the source of the loud drumming sounds.

Wanda
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Wallace (notice the red streak on his face)
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The pair. This is one of those Where’s Waldo photos except that instead of looking for Waldo, there is a second woodpecker on the trunk of the tree. Can you see it? (Hint: only the beak and lower body are visible on the second woodpecker)
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Today is for Brenda Radeke!

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Today’s day of sanctuary was sponsored by Julie and Karen Olson, in honor of their aunt, Brenda Radeke! Brenda was able to attend our visitation program this last summer and we are so happy to know she continues to follow the lives of the chimpanzees.

Julie and Karen, thank you so much for thinking of the chimpanzees in honoring Brenda! Having the support of all of you means so much to them (and to us!) and we are so grateful for your generous spirits. You truly make a difference in the chimpanzees’ lives!

Your support makes “play faces” an every day part of Burrito’s life in his sanctuary home:

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Favorite staff photos

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J.B. and I played a bit of a trick on Elizabeth, Debbie, Katelyn, and Keri recently.

I asked each of them to send me their favorite photos that they had taken, with the reasoning that I wanted to do an end-of-year “staff photo picks” blog post. Our real intention was to get them a Christmas gift with their favorite photo printed on metal. Pretty sneaky, right?

It worked beautifully – they were genuinely surprised by and (I’m pretty sure) happy with the gifts. Of course they couldn’t pick just one photo each, because they are all such great photographers!! Plus they love all of the chimps so much. So I had to narrow it down from the several photos they picked. There were a variety of factors to consider, including which photos would likely look best once printed on the metallic surface.

I figured I may as well go ahead with my cover story and share the photos on the blog so you too can enjoy them.

These are the four photos I had printed for their gifts:

Debbie’s photo (Foxie):

Debbie's fav photo

 

Keri’s photo (Annie):

Keri's fav photo

 

Elizabeth’s photo (Burrito):

Elizabeth's fav photo

 

Katelyn’s photo (Foxie):

Katelyn's fav photo

 

Just because I feel the need to have all of the chimps represented, here are a few more favorites:

 

a photo J.B. took of Missy in her element:

Missy balancing on fire hose

 

Another of Katelyn’s – this one I am guessing will always be a classic of Jamie:

Jamie looking at camera holding boot

 

This was another of Keri’s picks. I really like it because of Jody’s extreme relaxed face:

Jody with relaxed face

 

I took this one of Negra in October, but it might be my all time favorite photo of her (except for the other 15 all-time favorite photos I have of Negra, taken by various staff photographers):

Negra looking at camera with night bag

 

If you have a favorite photo of one (or more) of the Cle Elum Seven, let us know – we’d love to see what your favs are too!

 

Missy in winter light

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Today, the day after Christmas, was absolutely gorgeous! Clear skies and very little wind, which meant the chimpanzees got to spend some quality time on the hill. And a gorgeous day makes for beautiful photos of the chimpanzees.

Before taking a look at the photos below, be sure you’ve watched the video from yesterday’s holiday party. It’s our most shared video on Facebook, so you should probably check it out (and share it!) if you haven’t already.

I felt lucky to get these photos of Missy on one of my many walks around the hill today.

Missy was actually sitting still for a few minutes, seemingly taking it all in:

missy side view look away

missy side view

 

And, even more rare, she stood still for a few moments:

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Missy look right

Missy look camera

 

But just a few minutes – pretty soon she was off running, as per her usual pace:

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It still thrills me to witness how much Missy enjoys running, and to know that she can now run as much as she wants.

A wonderful Christmas time

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The chimps (and the humans!) have been having a really great Christmas, thanks to all our amazing supporters! We had five people sponsor the day for the chimps today, so we owe a big thank you again to Laurel H., Kathleen K., Molly W., Michael H., and Janine B.

Also a huge shout out to Lisa S. and Jayne R. for their decorations that we were able to spread across yesterday‘s and today’s parties! Carol M. sent us seven adorable chimpiñatas which we added to the decor, too. More thank-yous are in order for everyone that sent in new toys which became presents for today’s celebration, including Sharon & Larry C., Diana M., Lisa S., Jayne R., and Helen K. Here’s part of the haul in front of Santa’s sleigh:

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Volunteer Patti and supporter Anne also picked up a lot of yummy fresh produce for the party and Patti made amazing roasted pumpkins with quinoa, wild rice, and veggies.

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The day began with a small forage of tomatoes, pistachios, and shaved coconut in the tree. Negra was the first out to see what we had set up under (and in) the tree.

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Missy snagged most of the tomatoes, and went through the presents, too:

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The party then moved into the playroom, where all the food and presents from our friends near and far brought a lot of joy to the chimpanzees!

Annie:

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Jamie:

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Foxie:

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Missy:

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Negra:

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Jody:

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Burrito

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As if those photos weren’t enough, here’s a video of the festivities of the day. Thank you again to everyone who has helped bring such happiness to the chimpanzees this Christmas and every day!

Today’s gifts of sanctuary

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This Christmas Day, we are thrilled to say, has been sponsored by so many amazingly generous people! FIVE to be exact!

Laurel Hecht has graciously chosen to make the lives of the chimpanzees better by sponsoring today, which also happens to be her birthday! We all wish the happiest of birthdays to you, Laurel, and thank you so much for your gift of sharing such a special day with the chimpanzees!

Kathleen Kemper sponsored today for Joanna Gabriel to wish her “Merry Christmas!” Kathleen shared that “Joanna has a deep love for the chimpanzees, and great admiration for their caregivers. She is so grateful that the chimps are living out their lives in such comfort after all they have been through.” Kathleen and Joanna, we are grateful for your kind words and all that you do to help the chimpanzees have the lives they deserve.

Molly Wiltshire sponsored today and shared this lovely note: “God bless you, the chimps, and the sanctuary.”

Michael Hamilton sponsored today in honor of Lucinda Almy-Hamilton and wishes her “Happy Christmas!”

And Janine Burr also sponsored today for which we are so very grateful!

We are humbled, inspired, and full of gratitude every single day by the generosity and compassion that exists in people. To each of you who sponsored this Christmas Day of sanctuary for the chimpanzees, we are immensely thankful to you for making a difference in their lives. From all of us here at CSNW, we wish you holidays filled with love, joy, peace, and comfort!

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And thank so much to all of you who have helped us toward our wish for 50 new Sponsor-a-Days for 2015 – we are only 8 days away from reaching our goal! It’s such a wonderful way to honor or remember friends and loved ones, or even yourself. If you haven’t already done so, please consider heading over to our Holiday Central page to check out all the ways you can help the chimpanzees while celebrating this special season.

Please know that we are so very grateful to each and every one of you for all you do, in so many ways, to ensure that every day is a day of sanctuary for these seven amazing beings.

The Christmas festivities are getting underway so be sure to check back later today and celebrate with us!

A Season of gratitude (and parties!)

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The chimpanzees (and humans!) of Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest have the best friends and neighbors! People far and wide love these chimpanzees and do so many amazing things to ensure their well-being and the forever home they deserve. It’s an honor and a gift to witness this every single day and we are immensely grateful.

The sanctuary is located a few miles outside the small, eastern Washington town of Cle Elum. This year our local Umpqua Bank sponsored a Giving Tree for the chimpanzees and ARRF Animal Rescue! The bank staff including Jamie, Patti, Brenda, Danielle, and Seka put so much time and effort into organizing this, from creating ornaments for each of the chimpanzees listing chosen gifts on the back to spreading the word about the sanctuary:

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And did our local friends and neighbors ever come through!

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So if you know us and the chimpanzees, you know we had to start celebrating the holidays with a Christmas Eve party! All of the chimpanzees were enjoying time in the greenhouse this morning, unaware of the party preparation, except for the ever clever Jamie. She knew something was going on and even skipped her usual mid-morning nap, choosing instead to supervise things while playing upside-down-Jamie-on-a-barrel, which in caregiver lingo translates to “Jamie’s happy!”

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Caregiver Debbie graciously served as our Christmas Eve elf extraordinaire and made the chimpanzees hot cocoa (with almond milk and unsweetened cocoa powder), put our snow cone machine in overdrive (since we are still waiting on our winter snow here), and prepped the party decor (thanks to Jayne R. and Lisa S.!). Here are volunteer caregiver, Lizz, and our elf, Debbie, setting up (and yes, we have as much, if not more fun, than the chimpanzees!):

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No holiday party is complete without the holiday trolls:

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Burrito was the first one into the play room where he decided to enjoy the cocoa with the trolls:

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This giant present held a new pair of boots for Jamie:

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Annie opening party favors filled with peanuts:

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Missy enjoying snow cones in a Santa boot mug:

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Jody foraging through her stash of holiday treats:

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Jamie, of course, had collected numerous cups of cocoa to enjoy:

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(Unfortunately, no photographic evidence exists of this, but Foxie and one of the holiday trolls spent their time slurping up snow cones and Negra took her stash to enjoy in the comfort of her nest).

Cle Elum friends and neighbors, we can’t thank you enough for welcoming the chimpanzees into your neighborhood and for your generosity and compassion, not only on this holiday, but all year long. We are truly thankful for your support! And thanks again to Gary and Jan Scott for sponsoring today in honor of our neighbors, Jack and Sue Dignum!

We’ve received so many genuinely thoughtful gifts and good tidings this holiday season it would be impossible to list them all, but here is just a glimpse of the love, creativity and inspiration we’ve been gifted with:

Adorable, hand-made ornaments for the chimpanzees from Claudia H.:

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So many wonderful holiday wishes and kind words from our amazing supporters:

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This amazingly beautiful Advent calendar created by Kathleen C! (It’s taking all my willpower not to walk over and sneak a peek at the 25th right now):

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Please know we are incredibly thankful to each and every one of you who have not only graciously made the chimpanzees’ holiday special, but most importantly, have made a difference in their lives. As I type this, the chimpanzees’ just finished a popcorn forage after a dinner of lentils and roasted squash. With bellies full of healthy food, they are safely asleep in their nests, resting in the comfort of their sanctuary home this Christmas Eve. Each of you through your thoughts, donations, in-kind gifts, and sharing what you know of the chimps with others have made this possible for them. I can think of no more meaningful gift and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. From all of the primates here at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest, we wish you a magical Christmas Eve and holiday season filled with the love, comfort and compassion you so graciously share with us.

And if you haven’t done so already, please check out Holiday Central if you’d like to see how you can celebrate the holidays and help the sanctuary at the same time! Be sure to tune in tomorrow for the chimpanzees’ Christmas celebration! Until then, I leave you with a poem sent by another friend of the chimpanzees, Regina Lagrasta:

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