Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary
Lest you think that the chimpanzees had too laid-back of a day, they also had a romp outside before dinner.
Jamie was sporting a new look
Jody climbed up to the cargo net outside and discovered a pecan in the shell, which she brought back down with her
At dinner, we set up yet another forage, which included the strawberries Pam made
Pam even packaged them in these cute take-out containers
I guess Jody was the star of the day. This is her in her typical super-relaxed pose. Ahhh – Valentine’s Day
That is Foxie (yes, Foxie!) going through the enrichment bags full of goodies in the first part of the video. The day went like this: Fresh fruit & smoothie for breakfast (and the crepes that Negra went crazy for!), big cleaning and disinfecting of the playroom, then setting up the party which consisted of new toys, decorations. treats, and, of course… love! Then an early dinner after a mid-day romp outside.
Dinner was very exciting. Keith visited and passed out the first course – green onions. (Keith has moved to the other side of the mountains and was visiting for the first time since leaving a couple of weeks ago, so the chimpanzees were very happy to see him). In anticipation of the Valentine’s Day dinner, we bought some great produce that we don’t always have and Pam brought some over from Seattle too. Elizabeth, our new staff member, cooked up beets and added them to brown rice. And we set out a forage of snap peas, rhubarb, coconuts, fruit salad with blueberries, pineapple and banana, and of course the peanut-butter dipped strawberries rolled in nuts that Pam made.
Thank you to all who donated for the day and made it possible!!! I have never experienced such a Valentine’s celebration before. I have more photos which I hope to post tomorrow.
What a wonderful day.
Here are a few shots of the day. The first is Jody with a treat enrichment that Robbi made – Robbi is an expert chimpanzee party-planner and brought lots of great stuff over. The second is Burrito enjoying Pam’s heart-shaped banana bread. He REALLY enjoyed it. The third photo is Jamie getting a new toy out of a bag that Robbi brought. Even though, as the KIMA piece showed, we do have a lot of toys, variety is important and fun new toys are appreciated by the chimpanzees.
Here are a couple of preview shots. The first is the heart-shaped banana bread that Pam made – I had to take a photo before we cut it up to distribute. The second is fresh squeezed grape juice in plastic champagne glasses (thank you Debbie for your juicing and Rozsika for the idea for the glasses!). Actual party photos to be posted soon. The morning began with Negra not particularly interested in coming in for breakfast, which would have changed the party plans, as we were going to set things up after cleaning the playroom. When she saw the crepes that Denice made, though, Negra threw off the blanket she had on over her shoulders and scampered down to the front rooms. And boy did she squeek when Elizabeth served her the crepes!
Check out that shed, in the above segment, that Jim built and Audrey and Brian helped put together 🙂
*Note that the Sippin’ for the Seven wine tasting event is in Roslyn at the Masonic Building. Vintage Vine, wine and antique shop, is organizing the event and has managed to get 22 wineries and at least one brewing company to participate! It is going to be so much fun.
KIMA, the Yakima affiliate of CBS is airing a piece on Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest on their 5:00 and 6:00 news broadcasts. Tune in if you can! Once it airs, it will be on their site: http://www.kimatv.com/
I’m trying to upload a video now of Missy eating snow in the playroom…. it will be on the blog later tonight. The chimps had a good, relaxing day today.
Happy Friday!
This was a Valentine’s card we received from W.I.G.T. printing today! The calling cards that they printed for us (from a design by our volunteer graphic designer Kim) are really great. So great, that I want all of you to have a chance to get some to pass around. They are smaller than a business card, and perfect for giving to people that you talk to about the Cle Elum Seven or leaving in little stacks at friendly businesses. I’ll make them available through our online store soon.
Here are the cards:
and on the back of the Jody card:
There are three cards – Jody (above) and Negra and Burrito (below)
