August celebrations!

With August arrives the midpoint of summer here. The still summer-full days are just beginning to turn in at the edges. Jamie’s berry tax that Kelsi wrote about recently is yielding fewer results, though this doesn’t slow the collector’s demands. The Perseids are zooming above, the frogs and crickets are singing into the warm, slowly lengthening nights, and we’re cherishing and celebrating every moment we get to walk with the chimpanzees through the seasons of our lives together, thanks to you all.

Foxie turns 49 on August 8th! New dolls have been arriving and the stacks are towering (thank you!) and whenever I find them locally I grab a few to add to the bag o’ birthday dolls in my car.

I’ll admit we’ve been doing some occasional pre-birthday dipping into the reserves and her newest doll, Asha, from Disney’s “Wish”, has, as Jenna recently commented, become “her whole world.” 🙂 Though Foxie receives new dolls often and has an entire bin full, I’ve not seen her quite so taken in awhile. I’m not in her head, but if I had to guess I’d say it’s Asha’s hair. It’s extra long and swishy and full of amazing tiny braids.

Many of you may have seen that Foxie often likes to carry her dolls on her back as mama chimpanzees do with their young in the wild. Of course the dolls do a miserable job at hanging on, so when back inside, Foxie will often toss them on her back and sit against the caging.

On August 18th we celebrate Mave, Honey B, and Willy B’s 6th anniversary since arriving home to the sanctuary! SIX years!! It’s incredible all that six years can hold. Leaving the home where they’d spent the majority of their lives in the sunny hills of California to move to their new home in the sunny and sometimes snowy mountains of Washington with some nosey (and noisy) next door neighbors, getting through a global pandemic (unbeknownst to them), being briefly reunited with your mom (Honey B and Missy – also unbeknownst to them), meeting new friends and old, brawling with new friends and old, morphing into “Mora” (Mave + Dora = BFFs), finding the courage to go outdoors (where earth is lava) for the first time, climbing new heights, taking in what must seem like wondrous views, and all the days in between.

We are so proud of these three and their courage and curiosity in showing up for all that life has brought their way in the last six years. I can only imagine what’s ahead for them still, because of all you make possible in their lives.

Mave:

Honey B:

And Willy B:

And we celebrate Missy’s 50th birthday on August 23rd! If you’re one of our newer followers you may not be aware that Missy lives in part to eat all the tomatoes. Tomatoes will be arriving by the truckload (Charlie’s Produce truckload, that is), supplemented by the local Farmer’s Market. Beefsteaks, heirlooms, and cherries, oh my.

I think Missy holds the power of ten chimpanzee women in that tiny body of hers. As many of you may have read on the blog, she paid a visit to the clinic recently to take care of an infected tooth as her beloved friend, Annie, waited anxiously for her return. As J.B. noted in his blog post, Missy kept everyone’s hearts racing with her history of an adverse reaction to anesthesia, but Dr. Erin was prepared for this. Thanks will never be enough for the incredible team of professionals surrounding Missy that day to ensure her safety and well-being. And every day, with each of the chimpanzees.

The very next day Missy appeared un-phased, racing up Young’s Hill with her best friend, Annie, during their group’s lunch forage and the summer visit, and slack-lining her way across the fire hoses as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened at all. I don’t know, maybe she’s on to something with all those tomatoes.

Annie and Missy:

From the dolls that bring comfort, tomatoes that bring joy, professional and caring healthcare for quality lives, so many opportunities to make choices of how they want to spend their time and regain a sense of agency over their lives, chances to be brave and adventurous, celebrations that bring excitement and enrichment to their days, friends to spend time with, to just resting with ease and a new magazine in a summer breeze. You make each of their lives in sanctuary possible in a myriad of ways and we appreciate you being here with us more than we can say. Happy August, all!