Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary
This afternoon, I reached back to draw some interesting words from my quiver and found out it was empty.
Instead, I am giving you all that I’ve got: photographs of chimpanzees.
Quirky, unique, fascinating, charismatic, weird, goofy, expressive, resilient, inspiring, celebrated, beloved and deserving chimpanzees.
Our wonderful friend (and volunteer on hold), Dusty Cavaliere, and her sisters sponsored a day of sanctuary for the chimpanzees in honor of their mom, Judi Maxwell!
“Happy birthday to our Mom, Judi Maxwell! She loves the chimps and follows the blog. Her favorite chimpanzee is ALL of them, but Burrito was quite charming and playful during her visit. She said she didn’t need anything for her 83rd birthday, except she’d like us to sponsor the chimps, which we are happy to do. Love, your daughters, Colleen, Erin, Alison (Dusty), Megan”
Judi, this is so kind! Thank you wanting to share your chimp love on your birthday. We hope you have a beautiful day of celebration! Happy Birthday!
Dusty, Colleen, Erin and Megan, many thanks for your generous gift!
And now, behold…Burrito. He’s got a certain something, alright:
Since Anna included it in her Top 10 Sanctuary Videos of 2020, you may have been reminded recently of the video of J.B. and I in the gator racing Jamie at sunset. Thanks to J.B.’s transcription, you know I said, “This is the weirdest job.”
That’s true, in many ways.
The weird, however, has a way of becoming quite routine round here.
Jamie now frequently asks us to get the gator so she can race it, or us in it, or maybe just the boots we are wearing while driving it, around the hill.
Today, she made this request of Kelsi as they were starting off on a walk (you just need to know Jamie and how to interpret her gestures to know what she’s asking for – it’s a learning curve).
Kelsi ran back into the barn and started up the gator and Jamie took off at a sprint to get a head start. This time Burrito, Missy, Annie, and Jody joined the race. I climbed up to the observation deck to get a few photos.
Later in the day, Mave was having me play a fun game of chase where she ran around the mezzanine and I went from the human area of the mezzanine, downstairs via the rungs, through the door into the new getting-closer-to-being-finished playrooms, and upstairs to the window, where she was waiting for me.
She thought this was great fun.
While I was playing with Mave, I looked out one of the upstairs playroom windows, which have great views of the hill. Honey B was in the chute and spotted me through the window, so then she and I played a little game of chase where she ran back and forth in the chute and I went from one window to another.
Like J.B. yesterday, my batteries seemed to run out at an alarmingly accelerated pace compared to the chimpanzees.
It was all kind of weird, kind of routine, and very special at the same time.
Steve and Pam Powers are celebrating their 39th wedding anniversary today and shared that they “Wanted to do something special for our special day and the chimps came to mind immediately.”
Hearing this makes our hearts happy! Thanks so much, Steve and Pam, for sponsoring a day of sanctuary and celebration! Congratulations and have a wonderful day!
Mave and Willy B:
Burrito and Negra:
Burrito and Jody pretzel:
Missy and Annie:
He keeps going, and going, and going…
Today was just an ordinary day at the sanctuary. Considering the chaos in the world right now, “ordinary” seems like a VERY good thing to be experiencing. Let’s all take a short break and drink in a little bit of that sweet sweet “ordinary.”
Simple, ordinary moments like…
Missy building a nest in the greenhouse:
Mave (right) grooming Willy B (left):
Willy B looking handsome:
Mave coming along to interrupt my Willy B photo shoot:
And turning it into a Mave photo shoot:
This raffle ticket nest I found in the playroom:
And just a peek at our new (coming soon) normal. Here you can see Honey B playing chase with Anthony in the window. The photo is backlit because we have electricity in phase 2 now (!!!) and you can see the staircase going up to a loft in one of her new (coming soon) playrooms!!
Cheers to the ordinary!
Kathy Mills-George sponsored today in memory of Grover G. Mills Sr:
“You lived a beautiful life that was dedicated to peace, love and kindness. You’re still my inspiration!”
Thank you for thinking of the chimpanzees and choosing to add to their lives in sanctuary as you celebrate the memory of Grover and his legacy today, Kathy.
Willy B:
Missy and Jody:
Jamie:
Missy grooming Annie:
