What a day of celebration! It’s Mardi Gras, spring is literally on the horizon, there are parties to be had, vegan beignets to eat…
Firstly, it’s Willy B’s 32nd birthday! And it seems each of the chimpanzee’s or bovine’s birthdays wouldn’t quite be the same without their friend and self-appointed birthday fairy godmother extraordinaire, Paulette Wrisley, sponsoring a day of sanctuary in their honor! (Our second generous sponsorship of the day!).
Paulette, thank you so much for your incredible generosity and loving heart for all who call the sanctuary home. We truly appreciate you helping to make Willy B’s special day, extra so.
To celebrate Willy B’s birthday and Fat Tuesday, Dr Erin baked some sugar-free vegan beignets with ground up dry coconut “powdered sugar.”
These were a hit!
It was very difficult to get photos of the birthday boy enjoying his with his powdered lips, but I was able to get one of Annie who also enjoyed the beignets!
Also on the menu for the birthday boy were mangoes.
Willy B also enjoyed one of his favorite food puzzles: Frisbee Puzzles.
And as Willy B’s party is winding down, we also want to wish Happy March Birthdays to all of you celebrating this month! Not only do you share your birthday season with big guy, Willy B, but also even bigger guy, Cy, who is turning 32 on March 12th.
As always, even when it sometimes feels most difficult, we get to be reminded there is also resilience and hope, beauty and imagination. (Note to selves: The chimpanzees are really good at showing us how this can look. And much to our grateful hearts, so are you).
Here are some additional photos from today!
Honey B enjoying her lunch.
Terry also enjoying his lunch.
How “sweet” of Dr Erin to make those special, tasty (and healthy) goodies …it almost looks like King’s Cake/sweet bread in the photo. I like it when they get something out of the ordinary. Would have loved to hear those squeaks and grunts!
Paulette, thanks for the beignets, lol! Have you taken on another year of birthday fairy or are you finishing up the first year!?
Thanks for letting us share in the day Chad, and for the pics–particularly dear, sweet Annie with coconut lips and that distorted one of Honey B–that’s a fun one!
Happy March, all, and Mardi Gras to those who can celebrate it!
and a good time was had by ALL………………….
Happy Birthday Willy B!
:slight_smile:
Laissez les bon temps roulet! At least while we still can…
I hope that Willy B will B able to celebrate more birthdays. I also hope that he was able to have a teeth-clacking-good visit from his ertswhile Irish twin, Cy, for this birthday.
Damn…why did the evolution of human primates have to turn out they way it did?…
Is Annie the one who is allergic to mangoes? If so, how do you manage this for sharing the celebration?
She is. The solution is that no one on that side eats mangos, and they prepare foods separately. I’m guessing it’s as easy as prepping the “seniors'” meals first, then moving on to the meals from the other side of the house, so there’s no cross-contamination
I love this post. Beautiful pictures. It is so heartwarming to see the chimps enjoying themselves. Thank you for always going out of your way to make sure whoever is celebrating their birthday gets their favorite treats. Happy birthday dear Willy B. Thank you to the sponsors for today and for Dr. Erin for making those amazing looking beignets!!!
As always, I enjoyed the, big, close-ups of the chimps’ faces, especially, their big, puffy mouth area. So, endearing when they look straight at the camera.
My goodness Dr. Erin….I think you found a second calling… they look enough to bid on!!!!!!!!
I would certainly bid on the recipe!
Happy Birthday Willy B you handsome guy!!!! Looks like a great day was had by all with lots of yummy treats!!! you are loved!!!
Honey B looks like she wants to give someone a kiss.
Sorry Honey B not with those sloppy mango lips!!
Dr Erin baked some sugar-free vegan beignets and they were a hit. Well Yes! Of course they were a hit. They look absolutely scrumptious! Dr Erin, you’re my kind of doctor. 😉
Happy Birthday to my pal Willy B! It appears all of his birthday wishes were answered today. What a celebration! The slinkys strung everywhere made me recall Willy B’s early days at the sanctuary when he broke out those amazing slinky-kicking-moves of his. Does he still play with his slinky in the same fashion? What a laugh.
Wonderful recap of the days activities, thanks Katelyn. Loved the sugar and mango lip photos. I am assuming Negra totally enjoyed the special beignets.
Sending my love to the birthday boy. Sweet dreams one and all!
This is the first time that I’m noticing that Willy B has what looks like “dimples”. Maybe that’s what makes him so handsome!