Not to brag, but according to Negra I’m a pretty good tap dancer. And can you believe I’ve never had a single lesson? If I try to stop, she claps and stomps and demands encore after encore. It’s exhausting but who am I to withhold such a gift?
Jamie is a person of many moods. Most are some variation of anxious, bossy, stubborn, controlling, or the like. But sometimes you walk into the chimp house in the morning and there’s just a lightness to her face. Like she was able to put her worries away for a little while. There are other indicators, as well. Like when she’s wearing a loosely-tied scarf with the bow at a jaunty angle – that’s a dead giveaway. Or when she’s made a nest on the playroom floor with all of her favorite things – boots, books, food puzzles, and so on. This morning, she ran up to the kitchen window with a boot in her pelvic pocket and greeted me with a long series of pant grunts and low moans. This is rare. As I said to Anna and Kelsi, either something was terribly wrong or Jamie was in a fantastic mood. Thankfully, it was the latter.
Her care-free mood continued through breakfast, as Kelsi prepared her morning medication (Jamie is on oral contraceptives to reduce discomfort caused by her swelling).
I can’t believe it’s February. To be clear, I do not cheer for climate change, or for any of the odd weather patterns that are made more likely by the warming of our planet. But it’s hard for all of us running a chimp sanctuary in Washington to not pause and enjoy the mild winter we’re having now. Annie felt the same way this morning and took her breakfast outside.
The Californians continue their war on shifting. Willy B was excited to meet Kelsi and Mave upstairs for breakfast but Honey B wanted none of it. But then Anna had a great idea – With Willy B and Mave upstairs, what if we gave Honey B access to the courtyard by herself? We have tried similar things before, thinking that perhaps Willy B’s intimidating presence prevents the girls from going outside. But this time, we were also going to load the courtyard with Honey B’s favorite foods – chow, gum, lettuce, smoothie, a fruit cup, and green onions. It was a foolproof plan!
Alas, it was not enough to lure Honey B outside this time. But when he was finally given access later in the morning, Willy B was very appreciative of our efforts.
Walks with Jamie are very predictable. She has worn a well-defined path around the perimeter of Young’s Hill over the last ten years with nary a misplaced step. Missy, on the other hand, is all over the place. One minute she’s right behind us, the next minute she’s gone.
You lose her in the brush somewhere, and then she pops up just long enough to let you know that she’s running off again.
This afternoon, Jamie signaled that she’s like to go for a walk but then she grabbed her boot book. I was confused..did she want to take a walk or look at the book?
Both.
Upon returning to the greenhouse, Jamie purposefully grabbed a toy watering can. She was up to something. I followed her inside and found her at the fountain.
I just love this post, highlighting the delightful, quirky personalities of these sweet people, and reading of the lengths you all so lovingly go to in order to please them. Thank you, all!
I’m sure you’re an awesome tap dancer, JB. Neggie’s face says so. You just never knew it! ?
Whoops! That was 😉
J.B. I love your blog posts, you’re so funny.
I think we all might need to see a video of this tap dancing talent of yours……Maybe a tryout for America’s got talent is in order ?
But only if Negra is the judge 🙂
Oh, I totally agree….LOL JB…You wanna be Negra’s friend….then you work for it!!
Instead of pant hooting contest, we’ll have to have Negra’s Bandstand!
Yes J.B. can you do a video of you tap dancing for her.
Thank you so much for the wonderful pictures and blog today. is a great day the end of the week and I just want to say thank you so much for what you and everyone does at the sanctuary.
it’s going to be very cold here in Billings Montana starting tomorrow and it’s been snowing all day and supposed to snow all the way through Sunday. If the cold weather reaches you there I hope everyone stays warm.
last I was just going to ask on those fountains how do they get their water do they go to it and you guys see it and then you turn it on or is there a button they push??
Thank you and Cheers!
Hi Ken – Each room has one or more nipple valves, or “lixits”. They are very similar to the valves used on water bottles in hamster cages but they are stronger and connected to the building’s plumbing. So when they chimps push the end of the valve in any direction, the water flows out – no need for any human help.
Well J.B. . . . you stepped right in it cuz now we all know about your mad tap-dancing skills – we trust Negra’s opinion and I think most of us will be continuing to request a video. Savion Glover better watch out. I wonder what Negra would think of watching a video of Savion Glover – (NOT to lessen her enchantment with your tap dancing 🙂 ) Whether we ever get the video of you and Negra’s reaction we will all be dreaming of such touching interaction and entertainment. Thanks so much for all you all do! Wonderful post and pics J.B.
Great post JB.
In regards to your tap dancing, ditto to everything everyone has said….including Negra. Oh that last photo of Negra! Love the look in her eyes.
Too bad Honey B didn’t take advantage of the spread you set out for her in Willy B’s Private Courtyard. That would have been the icing on the cake of a perfect day. I can only imagine what Willy B must have thought as he ventured out and saw all that food. He’ll never want to share that space after todays feast.
And I have no idea why I am surprised by anything genus Jamie does so I’ll just say this, if I had never seen a watering can in use and I came across one, I am not sure I would know what in the world to do with it. (Is there a connection to geniuses and moodiness?!) : )
Thank you J.B. for this beautiful post. It turned my cold, snowy day into A Good Day too.
The pictures today were outstanding. Very enjoyable read to end my day???Thank you!
Amazing that Jamie knew how to use that watering can. She never ceases to amaze me…but if all she has to do is push a button to get water, can’t she flood the room, playfully holding her finger down to make the water keep coming? Always enjoy your posts, JB. I don’t always leave a comment because usually everyone else who left a message has said exactly what I am feeling and thinking. But I never miss a day of watching CSNW videos and reading all of the caretakers comments.
On my teeny-tiny phone I read the first sentence as “I’m a pretty good lap dancer…” which completely changes the meaning of the first paragraph.
Oh my! Let’s take his word on THAT one! No video required, tmi!! 😀
The post was wonderful this morning. So very much information about the character of some of the chimps. The only thing missing was the video of dancing???? It is so heartwarming to read about the
freedom the chimps have and the choices THEY get to make. Their life sounds so wonderful now
compared to what it must have been before CSNW. Thank you.
I enjoyed every picture and every word of this post. What a joy filled day they had! I especially loved Negra’s expressions as you tap danced for her – heartbreakngly sweet. Thank you for sharing this.
It DOES look like she’s cheering him on, doesn’t it!?
I always love your posts JB. You’ve a sharp but subtle sense of humour. The pairing of the photos to the story is always fun. I echo others’ sentiments about a tap dancing video. After all you said it best… who are you to withhold such a gift?
My two favorite photos are Negra asking for an encore (adorable!) and the last one of Willy B in nirvana with the head of lettuce. Thanks for an enjoyable read!