Summer made a visit to the sanctuary today, just to remind us of it’s impending arrival in a few weeks! Whew! It was a beautiful day! (We just haven’t quite caught up with such temps yet 😉 ). With the exception of California Girl, Mave, who has spent the ENTIRE day soaking up the warmth outside in the chute, most of the other chimpanzees chose to spend the majority of their day inside where it was a bit cooler, munching on ice cube treats and relaxing by the fans.
This morning we saw the cattle enjoying their summer pasture while it was still relatively cool. Here’s Betsy:
Meredith, Honey and Nutmeg, just around the corner:
When Chad returned from doing cattle care later in the afternoon I was marveling that they were all lying in the hot sun. Chad clarified that only Nutmeg and Honey were sunbathing and Betsy and Meredith were down standing in the creek! Good choice, ladies, good choice.
The doors and windows to the chimp house were flung wide today, with birdsong burbling through like a brook and the occasional, hoped for breeze. Annie is in the background, waiting for her ice snack:
Annie crunching her ice cubes and looking cute, because she’s beautiful Annie:
Willy B nesting in the breeze:
Jamie and her boot, taking in the summer-like weather:
Annie on snake patrol:
Missy was eating ice in her greenhouse nest hoping for a breeze:
We don’t tend to get much work up to our warmer weather in this part of the state. It goes from cold to hot pretty quickly, so even when it’s not *that* hot yet, it sure feels like it when it was much cooler a mere day or so ago. We had a lunch forage on Young’s Hill for the seven, but it heated up a little faster than we anticipated and some of the chimpanzees opted to make a quick run out and back. Jody in particular wanted lunch served inside near the fans today, though she did go grab a few items from the hill to enjoy in the greenhouse afterward:
The one person who was completely undeterred by the heat today? This guy, Burrito! It might have been hot with all of us moving in slow motion, but that’s no excuse for not playing. (And notice those greenhouse panels are off! Woot! It’s officially the summer season!):
However, he had no problem falling fast asleep in his nest this evening. Sweet dreams, Bubbie…:
And on the Burrito note, we’d like to send special thanks to Jenara Miller who sponsored today in honor of Carrie Miller, wishing her “Happy Birthday!” Carrie is a long-time chimpanzee pal (to Burrito) and bovine buddy (to Honey Cow). Yay, Carrie!! We hope it was the best one yet! We so appreciate all that you help make possible for all the special beings who call the sanctuary their home.
