A bonus live action video from last Saturday’s Jamieween Party. Just in case you missed it, make sure to check out Diana’s blog about the big day.
All business
She may sometimes choose to wear relaxed boho scarves on her outdoor adventures, but don’t let it fool you. Jamie is all work and no play.
The chilly snap of Autumn
This morning marked the first solid frost for the Central Washington Valley. I had the new, yet old and familiar task of scraping frost off my windshield before I drove through the foggy chill to the sanctuary. Tomorrow we even have SNOW in the forecast, but I refuse to believe it until I see it with my own two eyes. This afternoon the gorgeous Fall sunshine burned off the morning freeze and gave way to a cozy warm greenhouse and lots of walks with the chimps in the fresh air of Young’s Hill.
Kelsi and I set out for a pre-lunch walk with Jamie and we were soon joined by Burrito, Missy and Annie.
Burrito had one goal in mind, distract Chad (who was trying do some perimeter maintenance) and make him play chase instead.
Every time Chad would stop to work, Burrito would patiently wait with him…
Until they could run together to the next spot!
One of the questions on Diana’s “Inviting your questions” blog was, Does Jamie always patrol Youngs Hill clockwise?
The answer is generally yes, she does BUT not always. If something exciting is happening on the other side of the hill, she occasionally starts in a counter clockwise pattern to check it out. She also likes to throw us for a loop and play her version of follow the leader. This sometimes means she doubles back on her pathway and we wind up going in an unusual direction. Today she put Kelsi and I through our paces making us run back up the hill for a change.
Lastly, Jamie and I took advantage of the warm Greenhouse for a post-lunch grooming session. A perfect Fall day spent with good friends!
Little odd moments
This morning I witnessed one of those odd scenes which always makes me love the chimpanzees and their choices in sanctuary life just a little bit more. Please forgive me as I didn’t get proper photographic evidence to share here.
Anthony and I were midway through cleaning the playroom when we spotted Foxie playing with her dolls and doing little flips in the window. Just behind her on the greenhouse deck was Annie, wearing a bright orange headband around her waist and Burrito with a checkered plaid blanket “scarf” draped across his shoulders. Enter Jamie, with a leftover radish she found (somewhere??) accompanied by a stick of bamboo she had broken into her own “knife.” Jamie set about stabbing her radish down the middle repeatedly to cut it in half before she ate it, just because she could.
This brief morning moment reinforces how different all the chimpanzees are and how they each have such particular interests. Dolls, blanket scarves, headbands and homemade stick knives, we certainly have an interesting group of individuals living here at the sanctuary. The best part is, ALL chimps have different likes/dislikes and certain special quirks about them. Just think of Honey B, who arrived here only August of last year. As she has settled in, we’ve seen her enjoy building massive paper nests, eating fistfuls of popcorn and scooting around on her own wheeled toys– to name only a few of her passions. Honey B positively defines the word quirky.
I think I can probably speak for all the caregivers and blog readers alike, we really can’t wait to finish our expansion and welcome home our next group of eccentric CSNW residents.
I’m still practicing with our new camera, so I have just two random photos to share with you today.
Annie adoringly grooming Missy:
And Boss Jamie with boots and scarf close by:
A little bit devilish
Today Willy B spent a couple of sunshine filled hours in the courtyard. While he lounged in his outdoor space, staff member Kelsi took this dashing yet devilish photo of him:
His spiky shoulder pads are not unique at the sanctuary though. This photo sent me on a spiral into the archives looking for the best photo of Burrito I could compare it to.
Diana took this photo in September of 2016 and appropriately titled it “Burrito_devil_shoulder_hair” and Anthony just walked by the computer and called it the “Ace Ventura.” Either way, these guys are all kinds of handsome!
In other news, last week’s plea for new blankets really paid off. We have had box upon blanket filled box roll into the sanctuary all week long. Negra is positively weighed down with all the new-found coziness. Many thanks to all who contributed!
The blanket shredder strikes again!
As we welcome Autumn to the sanctuary, we also welcome the days of cozy nests. Negra in particular is usually found on top of a mountain of fabric, with a nice big blanket pulled all the way up to her chin.
And then there’s Jody… Jody loves a big nest… but she also loves to alter hers in a certain way.
You might notice how Jody’s “shred until comfortable” nesting technique interferes a bit with Negra’s “big blankets are best” nesting technique. This shredding behavior really came to a head last year and Kelsi had to put out a call for blankets to refresh our supply. Well that time has come again, we need more blankets!
This time around, we are on the hunt for some heavier duty blankets that are still easy to wash/dry but are less easy to tear in half (in addition to our usual polar fleece blankets). We think some thicker faux minky type blankets might be what we’re looking for. We need thick blankets with a solid strong edge seam! Check out our Amazon Wishlist for some of the blankets we’ve added so we can keep all the chimps as cozy as can be this year.
Jamie:
Burrito:
Annie:
Willy B:
Mave:
Honey B:
Missy:
Working hard for lettuce
The chimpanzees absolutely LOVE lettuce. Their simple desire for a healthy food makes it a fun item to incorporate into enrichment puzzles (we can definitely give them a larger serving of iceberg than peanut butter). Please enjoy this crunch-filled video of two busy chimpanzees.
