Apologies for the blog delay, everyone! With another winter bluster in a string of many hitting later than expected today, roads closing, and plows seemingly busy elsewhere, once the chimpanzees were settled in safe, cozy and content for the night, Chad and I made the non-executive decision to scurry on down the driveway immediately at the end of our shift this evening. The humans are home safe and sound and the chimpanzees are all snoozing in their nests (I just checked in on our cameras), so I’m writing this from home.
We received a little additional snow overnight! This is heading up Young’s Hill to do the perimeter check this morning. The angle makes it appear a little more dramatic than it was, but it was still plenty deep:
Once I got around to the other side (chimp house below) I was thrilled to see the sunrise poking through – there is nothing like snow-covered land lit up by bluebird skies and sunshine:
And even better is how much the chimpanzees spirits seem to soar in all that light. Sweet Annie enjoying the sunrise and grabbing some snow from the raceway which leads to Young’s Hill from their greenhouse:
Beautiful Jody, enjoying her oranges from breakfast:
These magical icicles were ripe for harvesting so we decided to make ice castle snow snacks for the chimps!
They are sprinkled with frozen raspberries and drizzled with left over Gatorade from the chimpanzees’ Valentine’s Day party yesterday. Hhmmm…Now that I look at them from this angle, they could possibly appear a little macabre…but trust me, they were truly things of beauty! Although, this could also be part of why Jamie was hooting her head off with excitement. (If you’re new to the blog, you may not yet have seen that Jamie is known for (among other things) her fascination with books about things like skeletons and mummies). Really though, it was about the ice castle toppings. 🙂
As you might imagine, Jamie proclaimed herself Ice Queen of the North and surrounded herself with all the ice castles. Every time the other chimps would tentatively pass by as they foraged, testing out their chances of being able to join her, she would reach out and pull the treats closer. But not to worry, there were mini-castles upstairs and lots of cabbage, so everyone got to partake. And these were being snacked on by everyone all day long!:
Missy, being excellent at chimpanzee politics and often serving as Jamie’s right-hand woman, was allowed to grab a snack to go:
Willy B, Honey B and Mave are still moderately offended by such things as offers of snow treats, but they enjoyed some other treats, spent a lot of time supervising J.B. working in the new expansion, playing chase with their caregivers, and enjoyed a lot of lounging and grooming with one another. All perfect snowy day (er, week) activities.
Willy B (yes, after a long game of chase, he’s watching his stories!):
Whatever life is throwing your way right now, and I understand it could be so much, may you find the beauty around you, no matter how small. Sometimes, when the world around you feels overwhelming, it’s just there, in that brief stilling, deep breath and smallest of details, where magic and enchantment live. All we have to do is notice it. I wish you that. Goodnight, all!
