Archives for July 2022

Summertime celebrations!

July 31, 2022 by Katelyn 9 Comments

We made it!! We think. With any luck, today wraps up the last of the triple digits of this current heatwave and though the “Big Ass Fan” will still have plenty of work to do upon it’s arrival (thank you, all, whether you were able to contribute, or help cheer the fundraiser on!!), as we melt into August, temperatures look to be at least a little less inferno-like in the week ahead. 🙂 As I type, Jenna is passing out popsicles to Cy’s group, Jamie’s group just finished Gatorade ice cube treats and sun-warmed berries from their raspberry patch and Burrito, well, Burrito has Chad running around the hill like it’s half the temperature it is. We’re just going to hope we don’t have to send out a search party for Chad. But it’s what makes Burrito happiest so there you go. Did I capture a single usable photo of any of today’s events? Nope, I sure did not. But onward…

Speaking of August, it’s a whole new set of celebrations to look forward to! Firstly, Happy Birthday to all of you, our wonderful friends and supporters celebrating an August birthday! We hope your days are filled with all the things that make your hearts happy and that you know how much we truly appreciate you being here, being part of all our lives.

And your birthday twins! On August 8th, Foxie is turning 46! Foxie is an effervescent being, cautiously brave and adventurous, full of joyful shenanigans and a tiny spitfire of a woman. I wouldn’t know it until 30 years later, but the day she was born the world became a more magical place. And so did my heart.

On August 18th we celebrate the 3rd arrival anniversary of Honey B, Willy B and Mave! When you think of all that’s been made possible in their lives in three short years, all that YOU have made possible, it’s the most mind-boggling, hopeful and incredible thing, isn’t it? Moving from the only home and caregivers they’d known for most of their lives in California, to a sanctuary in the Cascade mountains of Washington. A new home that continues to grow not only in space, but in relationships with family and new friends, and a year ahead with still more adventures on the way. I just said it seems so much longer they’ve been part of their sanctuary family here. Maybe our hearts knew all along they were, we were just waiting on them to come home.

Mave:

Honey B:

Willy B:

And! On August 23rd, we celebrate Missy who will be turning 47! Missy is one of the most intelligent, strongest, and graceful of beings I know. I always say I wish I could be Missy for 5 minutes just to feel what it’s like to move through the world with her ease and agility, to blaze across her outdoor habitat like a comet, heart on fire with her sheer love of moving.

We have often spoken here on the blog of Missy being a “chimp’s chimp” in that she typically prefers to spend her time with her chimpanzee friends. But when she chooses to sit and groom with us, or play a game of chase, well, it makes your heart spark with the gift of it. The gift of time spent with her. The gift of her.

So happiest of August birthdays and summer days to you all! From our hearts, thank you for being here and making everything in the chimpanzees’ and bovines’ (and humans’) lives here possible. Thank you for celebrating with us and allowing us to share in your own special days! You make more of a difference than you’ll likely ever know.

The Summer Nest

July 30, 2022 by Sofia Castro-Loza 4 Comments

During the past week the PNW has been experiencing an intense heat wave. As mentioned in our previous blogs, we have gone above and beyond to be sure that all 16 chimps are comfortable. This has included tubs filled with Gatorade water, ice pools, frozen treats, and fans stationed all over the buildings. Today wasn’t any different and between frozen treats the chimps spent most of their days laying directly on the ground to keep cool. To our surprise, even in this weather we found multiple well made blanket nests in all the enclosures. Some were as elaborate as they usually are, but others looked more like “summer nests”. Summer nests, as we call them, are light and airy nests made with thinner blankets and sometimes lined with paper.

A few impressive nests we found today:

The “summer nest”:

Some of our residents, like Gordo or Foxie rarely make blanket nests. Sometimes Gordo will gather paper and cardboard to make a nest, but usually he can be found all spread out on the floor like this:

BONUS:

Mave holding Dora’s hand and foot

Honey B during her afternoon down time

Special shout-out to everyone that pledged money to help us buy the “Big Ass Fan: Evaporative Cooler“. All of us, chimpanzees and staff members, are VERY excited about this!

P.S. We are finally able to host our annual fundraiser gala in person! We have missed our supporters and we can’t wait to celebrate the chimps with all of you again. If you haven’t yet, remember to register for HOOT! 2022.

For the Fan Club

July 30, 2022 by Diana 10 Comments

You did it! With over 20 donors pitching in, we’ve received enough in pledges and donations to purchase the “Big Ass Fan” Evaporative Cooler that was on our wish list!!

I enjoyed reading everyone’s gift notes for donations made online, and your generosity has buoyed me into the weekend.

We should receive the evaporative cooler next week, and we’ll be sure to update you on how cool the chimpanzees think it is.

Thank you to everyone who pledged and donated!

Don’t forget to register for HOOT! so we can celebrate together all that you’ve helped the sanctuary accomplish these last few years.

This Life of Fortune

July 29, 2022 by Diana 10 Comments

Two fundraising updates and a story about our bovine friends today.

First, yesterday alert blog readers took it upon themselves to start a group fundraiser for a much-desired, literally named “Big Ass Fan” evaporative cooler. Right now we have $895 pledged towards the $1,899 cost of the fan, with $1,004 left to raise. I myself have pledged $100 and have been having pleasant visions of receiving that cooler.

If you would like to participate, you can email me ([email protected]) and let me know your pledge amount. Donations towards the fan can be made online on our donation page (just specify in the gift note section it’s for the cooler), or you can mail a check to the sanctuary at PO Box 952, Cle Elum, WA 98922. You can donate now or pledge first and donate once I let you know that the total has been reached. Thank you all so much!!

Second, counting today, there are only three days left to take advantage of Early Bird pricing for the HOOT! gala! The gala is a pretty big deal in terms of fundraising but also in terms of connecting with supporters. We are hoping to see many familiar and new faces in-person in Seattle on September 16th!

For those not in this area or otherwise unable to attend the fundraising fête, you can still participate! We’ll be having an online auction open to anyone, and for those who buy a virtual VIP ticket for just $20, you will also receive a special invitation to an exclusive Zoom tour of the sanctuary to take place on Sunday, September 11th at 2pm.

A big shout-out goes to our sponsors of HOOT! 2022. Numerous individuals are now sponsors in addition to generous Gala Sponsor Concord Construction. What would we have done without them these last few years with all of the expansion!! We are so grateful to have worked and continue to work with them to expand the lives of the chimpanzees and beyond honored to have their sponsorship for the gala.

Also a big thanks to Happy Hour sponsor Martha Faulkner Real Estate. Martha was a very helpful board member for years and is an all-around animal lover, giving part of her commission to multiple animal groups through her business, hence her website: homes4petlovers.com.

If you are interesting in sponsoring as a business or an individual, you can do that directly here or if you’d like more information, don’t hesitate to reach out!

Third, it’s hot, ya’ll.

Today was my day to do “cattle care”. In the winter, that means giving our four bovine friends hay, mucking out the barn, and making sure there is an ample supply of water.

In the early summer they are able to free-feed in the pastures, helping us with fire control, so we don’t need (yet) to supplement their food. They aren’t spending as much time in the barn, so there’s less mucking to do, though we do try to pick up in areas where they congregate to keep the fly population under some control.

With the addition of the large pasture on the property above the original sanctuary property this year, you just never know where you are going to find the cows.

Today, I couldn’t find them at all.

They weren’t at the barn, where I stopped to make sure the water trough was full.

And they weren’t in the pasture by the pond, where I have been finding them on most Fridays since they’ve been given access over a month ago.

I followed their well-worn path down towards the spring, and found them doing exactly what they should be doing in 100+ degree weather, hanging out in the shade, ready to stare me down.

But wait, where was Betsy?

Seriously, where was Betsy? I called her name. No response. I called louder. Still nothing.

Despite my best efforts at self-mind-control, I can be prone towards thinking the worst and I was starting to get nervous. Betsy is not usually away from her herd.

I walked further down the path adjacent to the spring. Ahhhh. There she was.

In the patch of lush greenery at the edge of the spring.

She too was keeping cool right near the water.

On my way back across the property, I spied another mom laying low in some shade.

It makes me so happy that Betsy, Meredith, Honey, and Nutmeg can, like momma deer, follow their instincts and choose the smartest spot to be on the property.

They are no longer beholden to the humans making all decisions for them or viewing them as a means to their own ends. They are residents of this land. Not as unlikely as the chimpanzee residents across the way, but, like the chimps, while not free, definitely freer than many of their species who have been forced into a life of servitude.

By luck or by fate (if you believe in that kind of thing), we get to be a part of their lives.

Celebrate this gift with us by participating in HOOT!, online or in-person. We have a lot to celebrate!

Chimpanzees in the mist(er)

July 28, 2022 by Anna 12 Comments

The temperature is hovering around 100 degrees right now in Cle Elum and we all feel it! Luckily, we have many ways to protect the chimpanzees and staff from the extreme elements. In fact, as I type, I can hear the chimps slurping on homemade popsicles that Chad just handed out. Just before lunch we played around with some mister hose attachments to see if anyone was interested. Honey B and Rayne were happy to try it out. I love watching their wild expressions as they try to catch as much water as possible.

Speaking of beating the heat… If I had one wish for the chimps this July, it would be for the amazingly generous donation of that certain portable evaporative cooler that has been hanging out at the top of our Amazon wish list.

Here’s Foxie expending as little energy as possible today: