As you may have seen over the last few days, we’ve been growing more and more excited for The Queen’s Brunch, our first ever virtual event celebrating the anniversary of the chimpanzees’ arrival to the sanctuary AND the birthdays of Negra (June 13th) and Honey B (June 11th). Naturally, I was unable to get photos of either of these two beautiful women, but! And as of today, online auction bidding is now open! Woot!! Hurry! Go look!
All proceeds will go to the direct care of the chimpanzees, as well as to our continued expansion so that we may bring more chimpanzees in need, home. Every single thing that makes it possible for these ten amazing chimpanzee people (and the family members to come), as well as our sweet bovine family, to live the lives in sanctuary they do is because of you. Every single thing is a direct result of your heart, your compassion and your dedication to helping ensure that their lives are full of joy, well-being, comfort, family and love. There are no words to thank you for all you’ve created here, for them, but from our hearts, we have the deepest gratitude for you.
In chimp house happenings, today was a bit scattered for the humans from the get go as Jody decided she wanted to make some changes to our daily routine. Of course, that’s one of many beautiful things about the chimps’ lives in sanctuary – the choice to make, well, their own choices about how their day will go and how they spend their time. As a result, I have some scattered springtime snippets from the chimps’ home to yours.
The mountain lupine that fills the sanctuary with the most beautiful, ethereal of scents:
Foxie decided to take her doll and brave the infamous spring winds rushing over the hill:
But quickly decided it was too much, hence the sneer face:
At which point she brought her doll back to the comfort of the greenhouse:
Missy loves a particular dandelion that grows around the sanctuary – the goat’s beard dandelion. She walked the entire perimeter of Young’s Hill with us this morning gathering armfuls and mouthfuls of the flowers which seemed to have bloomed overnight:
Sister honeybees busy at work on the blooming elderflowers:
Willy B continues to amaze and delight us in his growing comfort spending time in his outdoor enclosure. Today he could barely wait for me to open the gate and squeezed underneath it, heading out without an ounce of hesitation. And he even climbed up to the top of the climbing structure where he took a brief nap in the open air and sunshine! It’s incredible that he’s feeling comfortable enough to rest with ease in the most exposed location:
I was sitting outside eating my lunch today when I heard the loud chitter of baby birds being fed by their parents. I assumed it was one of the many swallow and wren families who typically take over the bluebird nesting boxes we have up. A supporter kindly made and donated these to us years ago, but I’ve yet to see a bluebird pair successfully hang onto one and they typically end up nesting in old woodpecker nests in the surrounding Ponderosa pines. Still, I can’t help but be happy to know any birds are using them to raise their families and so when I went to have a closer look I was THRILLED to see a family of bluebirds in the box! If you look closely, you can see one of the baby birds mouths wide open:
This spring the hillsides surrounding the sanctuary have been a literal sea of gold with the native balsamroot:
Burrito and Jody grooming quietly in the greenhouse:
Foxie and Jody enjoying their after lunch chow together:
And this! Staff caregiver, Kelsi, made this amazing book for Jamie! Almost all of the staff wear Salmon Sisters XTRATUF boots for cleaning and Jamie has decided they are THE boots de jour. This wonderful book is full of photos of all the boots, as well as each of us wearing our respective pair.
Because of the rubber, they aren’t safe for the chimps to have (in the event they were ingested) and while Jamie knows she can’t have them and doesn’t ask, she adores them all the same. She spends ages having us wear them in mixed variations, walking around the hill in them and just sitting with her so she can groom them. She knows every single pair we have and exactly which ones she wants to see at any given time (they each have different sea-themed linings). Let me tell you, she is CRAZY HAPPY about this book and it’s been the most amazing gift for her. She’s even figured out (of course) that she can use it as a guide for the humans. Today she turned to the page with the boots she wanted to see and shoved it under the door for Chad to fetch the boots and bring them on a walk.
From all of us in the chimp house to all of you out there, we’re hoping some of the ease and joy you make sure the chimps’ hearts are full of finds its way back to your hearts this evening.
Kathleen says
Katelyn, I always enjoy your photos of the many different species that call Young’s Hill home. Simply lovely! I hope Foxie will forgive me but I chuckled over her famous sneer face. That look of disdain speaks volumes. And Kelsi’s boot book is the bomb. Seriously, what a brilliant idea! And it never dawned on me that Jamie couldn’t have access to the Salmon Sisters boots due to them being rubber. She’s such a good sport to love them so much but understand she can’t have them. That book must mean everything to her.
Maybe you need to add the book to your auction items! (ha haa haa) This way if Jamie accidentally damages her special copy, we can buy new copies for her. She’ll never be without one. : )
Happy Kick-Off Day to your online auction bidding! xoxoxo
Katelyn says
Hi Kathleen, thank you! I bet you’d find that sneer on all our faces at some point – our spring winds are notoriously brutish at times. I so wish Jamie could have her own Salmon Sisters, but she seems to get it. And yes, she’s just been carrying that book everywhere and it just melts your heart to see her with it. And good idea, haha, Kelsi already has another on order anticipating it’s short life. 😉
tobin says
Sigh…both the text and the photographs of this post are such a treat to read and to view. For the past 2.5 months I have been working at home and “sheltering in place”. A week ago tonight, a suspect was asphyxiated while in police custody eight blocks south of my apartment in South Minneapolis. On Friday night until dawn my neighborhood was set to the torch. Before I fled my apartment, I grabbed my photographs of the Cle Elum chimpanzees. Leave it to human animals to create a hell on earth.
I hope that Jamie the Boss still has my application on file to take refuge at her sanctuary and earn my board and keep attending to the cattle.
Linda C says
Hi Tobin,
I’m so sorry to hear that you had to leave your apartment, do you have a place?
I just spoke with my friend in Afton yesterday (we’ve been doing the same as you for 3 mos). She’s at St. T’s, and became an unexpected widow this time last year–she’s happy they moved away from the U, and has decided to request online for fall, though I have faith that local officials will make first steps before then, because the world is watching.
Let me know…(Katelyn could give you my email).
In the meantime, I hope the chimps’ serene lives remind you to close your eyes, take a deep breath…
We’ve missed hearing from you, please take care.
Katelyn says
Tobin, thank you for reaching out, for being here. We’re glad the chimps are able to provide some small bit of ease or uplifting and we’re sending you all the good thoughts to you, and all, for safety and well-being. While I can’t speak for the cattle, I suspect Jamie might enlist the service of anyone who was wearing acceptable footwear. 😉
Francoise says
Tobin, I am saddened to hear you are in the middle of the chaos. Decades ago, I lived in Virginia. I am home now, in Canada. Know that we are bereft, angry, despairing, frustrated and concerned… You are our neighbors and many of use are linked by family, friends, school, work, vacation… We, I, wish it was not as it is. This isn’t a political page but it is about sanctuary, safety, family and life: I wish you all of these. Stay safe.
P.S. The boot book rocks! You are one lucky girl, Jamie.
P.P.S. Willy B has the sweetest face in the chimpanzee world.
Debi says
I’m not at a loss for words very often, but sometimes Jamie’s irrefutable show of stunning intelligence literally leaves my mouth agape & my head reeling reeling with amazement…Today is one of those times…
More exquisite photographs today that I especially enjoy…I guess it depends where we live, but do we dare let our guard down now & declare “Spring has arrived”… : )
Julia M. Medrano says
If you had seen Willy B’s previous cage, you would understand why he is now
so happy to just be outside in the grass and the open space, even though it took
him a while to try it out!! I love to see him so happy!!
Cara says
So much goodness in this post, thank you ?.
A balm for the soul in these troubled times…
Elaine Reininger says
Tobin, I am so sorry for you and your neighbors. I am glad you are safe. I feel you are a friend as I love to read your comments on this post. As for Jamie and her boot book I never cease to be amazed at her intelligence. Pointing to the pictures in the book of the boot she wants to see in person, is incredible. And the fact that you accommodate her and go get the one she wants shows such deep love of caretakers who have better things they can be doing than modeling boots. The beautiful pictures soothed a sad soul during this horrible time in our country.
Linda C says
modeling boots has always been part of the job! ? “you must be a size 8…”
Linda C says
Thanks, Katelyn, for a blog post that is, as always, exquisite. The green of that grass on the hill just screams “lush”…I can almost feel that wind myself.
I don’t know why I haven’t asked this before, but does Ms. Fox sleep with her dolls at night, too? I know she naps with them, and thank God she’s not as picky with the dolls as Jamie is with her boots…can you imagine!? “No, I want the small troll that has just a smidgen of purple hair left…”….How do you switch them out?! Does she let up with them during breakfast?
Finally, the bluebirds! I can feel your joy, only because my niece tried, the last 4 years they lived in NC, to attract a pair to her backyard. She did the special houses, etc., but house sparrows kept trying to move in. I think she said they’re territorial, so this might be the only pair you get, but as long as the house sparrows stay away, they should come back every year! (Maybe “lock up” for them during winter, lol. I look forward to seeing them in future blog posts!
Please, everyone, stay safe.
Katelyn says
Thanks, Linda, and yes, it’s definitely the “lush” season and it’s glorious! Foxie does sleep with her dolls at night. 🙂 She actually is similar to Jamie and her boots in that she definitely has a doll (or dolls) du jour and others just won’t do. She keeps them as long as she likes and so any that she leaves during cleaning get tossed in the bath. Occasionally she will be extra smitten with one and hang on to it for days at which point we may take the opportunity during a game of doll toss with her to give them a quick sponge bath and then promptly returning them haha. Or she’ll often pass one to us and want us to carry it for awhile, but you better have it handy when she asks for it back. 😉
Yes, so exciting to see the bluebirds claiming their box! We typically have 3 pair that return each year and successfully raise their kids. We’ve had no interest in the boxes shown by the sparrows, though I know they are common culprits. Definitely the swallows and wrens though. One bluebird pair had taken to nesting in a post on Young’s Hill (eeekk!!) and somehow managed to do well for a couple years, but that post rotted and had to be taken out this year so I felt badly their space was further infringed upon. Maybe that’s why they took a stand this year. 😉 We clean the boxes out before winter and then leave it as first come, first serve for spring – we figure it is sanctuary for all, after all – and it’s always been the same birds back to the same boxes. I really hope this bodes well for the bluebirds in coming years though.
Also, your note to Tobin about your email is *noted*. Thank you for your kind and generous heart. We are certainly wishing for everyone’s safety, well-being and support.
Linda C says
I love to hear swallows chitter. The first time I noticed it was in the south of Spain (hot, so when the sun was high, and shutters were opened, they would sometimes fly right into the room). They reminded me of the sound of someone typing on an typewriter, and the carriage return.
Katelyn says
Wonderful memory, Linda. I like that metaphor.
Linda C says
and I forgot to say (again) Kelsi, what a wonderful friend you are to Jamie! I want to be surprised at how she’s using your new tool, but it’s Jamie….so I am not a bit surprised! This has gone beyond being a gift for Jamie, because now you will all spend less time modeling boots for her!
Maybe you should make another of her leather boots for Christmas! Think of all the extra time! ?:)
Linda C says
omigosh, we can’t edit!
Ladies, NOW we know why Jamie always asks you to roll the tops down! She needs to make sure you are wearing the right ones!
tobin says
What a welcome and beautiful contrast the photographs and text of this posting make to my immediate surroundings. For the past 2.5 months I have been “sheltering-in-place” in my Minneapolis apartment. Eight blocks south of here, a suspect was murdered while in police custody. On Friday night until dawn my neighborhood was set to the torch. Before I fled my apartment, I took all of my pictures of the Cle Elum chimpanzees with me.
I hope that Jamie the Boss still has my application on file to take refuge at her sanctuary. I am will gladly attend to the cattle to earn my board and keep…
Pat Malcolm says
Oh, my gosh, what a wonderful post! A little bit of everything, and just the “right stuff”! I love it all!
Katelyn says
Thank you, Pat!
Teresa Anderman says
Katelyn–thrilling to see one of Daniel’s bluebird houses occupied by a bluebird! Thanks so much for the picture, and for everything you all do there.
Katelyn says
Hi Terry,
I know, I’m so thrilled! The birds love the boxes and the bluebirds try every year for this one, but sadly, get pushed out and nest in other spots. I’m so glad they’ve been able to stand their ground this year and hope their family thrives. ?? Please thank Daniel again for us!
Barbara H. says
That was an amazing blog. Sounds like Willy B. is finding his strength to venture out and about.
I love to hear that. The pictures of flowers and the chimps “free to be” are wonderful to see. I
am very impressed with the books and how some are soooo interested in them. As
with humans they each have so different personalities and likes and dislikes. Thank
you again for the blog – I so enjoy them.