Burrito

“In my day, you had to walk 15 miles in the snow…”

January 17, 2023 by Chad de Bree

Unlike what Anthony reported yesterday, the sun was not out much today. But that didn’t stop Missy and crew from going out onto Young’s Hill!

When they were given access to their outdoor enclosure, they ventured to the same structures as yesterday.

Burrito on the other hand wanted more. He tried to convince me to run around the hill with him.

He thought better of it as the outer edges of the perimeter still have a good deal of snow (thankfully for me since the human side of the fence is covered in snow and mud). Instead, Burrito decided to explore Negra’s Cabin.

His desire to run around Young’s Hill seemed to have sparked the desire in everybody else though. Shortly after, Missy, Annie, Jody, and Jamie made their way to a set of logs that haven’t been seen since Fall.

Jody:

Missy running to greet Jamie as Annie watches:

Missy and Jamie greet each other:

Jody heading down to greet Burrito:

Though they already ventured further than they have been, it still wasn’t enough for some.

Jody on a further structure to gaze at the Yakima River:

Missy sitting amongst her beloved trees:

You might guess what is next…

Missy began her ascent up her tree:

There was a good two minute window where I thought Annie was going to follow Missy up! She would stand and grab the tree, but then let go and sit down. She repeated this a few times. In between each take, she would hype herself up to overcome her fear by rocking and tapping the tree and ground. But alas, today was not the day Annie would make her go at climb the trees.

She did, however, settle on climbing on to the top of the near by structure to be somewhat close to Missy.

After a while, Annie decided it was time to head back inside for lunch. She convinced Missy this is now the plan, and Missy obliged.

Look at that dismount!

After landing a perfect 10 dismount, it was time to head inside to enjoy some lunch!

Bonus Photos:

Jody a little piloerect from the cold air:

Burrito on top of Negra’s Cabin surveying Young’s Hill:

A CSNW Clip Show

January 10, 2023 by Chad de Bree

As I was clearing out my phone to make room for more memory, there were several small clips that were too short to make a video out of at the time. So just like those TV shows that inevitably air a “clip show” of random scenes from the season, please enjoy the CSNW Clip Show!

Some bonus photos from today:

Can you guess who the dinosaur is? (Hint: the answer is in the video!)

Foxie and Strawberry Shortcake:

Jamie, Foxie, and Strawberry Shortcake:

Burrito:

A King of his domain:

Watching Jody on the other structure:

The answer to question above is Negra!!! Negra was in the hooded dinosaur blanket!

Lessons from Burrito

January 7, 2023 by Diana

Since Burrito had a very significant birthday yesterday (how can he be 40!), I’ve been thinking a lot about him and the life lessons that he imparts just by being who he is.

As Katelyn mentioned in this month’s birthday blog, “… Burrito reminds us it’s always possible (even when it might feel as though it’s not) to find something to celebrate, no matter how small.”

Here are some other life lessons that I think Burrito has given us:

A sense of humor brightens the day.

There’s always something to laugh about.

Your friends will forgive the occasional outburst.

Stay active, even if you aren’t feeling 100%.

If you can, get outside everyday.

Rest is important. Don’t let anyone interfere with your nightly sleep routine.

Don’t let your age stop you from being silly. Actually, don’t let anything stop you from being silly.

Don’t sweat the small stuff… or the big stuff.

Greet your friends with enthusiasm – they will appreciate it.

When life hands you lemons, eat them! Lemons are delicious.

Speaking of food, enjoy every bite.

Here are some Burrito lessons from Kelsi, who inspired this post:

Life is short. Don’t take it too seriously.

Spending quality time with friends trumps everything else.

It’s never too late to reinvent yourself!

And an addition from Jenna:

Everything is a toy if you want it to be.

A Wintry Mix

January 3, 2023 by Chad de Bree

This has been one wild winter so far. From below zero temperatures to nearly 40º back to below freezing in the span of a couple of days, it’s sometimes hard to tell what the weather is actually going to be from day-to-day. We check the weather constantly, sometimes multiple times a day, because what was being reported in the morning, can drastically change by the afternoon. Whatever the weather brings us, however, our jobs as caregivers is to be flexible to give the residents as many options as possible given the circumstances.

As Anna wrote last week, some pathways were cleared to allow Burrito’s group the option to go on the snow-covered Young’s Hill if they choose to. Today was one of those days where they chose to.

Burrito looking for the best spot of snow to snack on.

Missy went straight for the closest, tallest structure she could get to so she could take in her surroundings…

Which Burrito also wanted to see.

Jody was very calculated in her choice of snow to snack on.

Not just any snow would do!

Though Annie spent the most time outside, she always would look back at the door leading inside.

But once Missy headed back in, so did Annie.

With Burrito not far behind.

Though we may never know what they are exactly thinking, it did seem like they were taking in as much outside as they could today. We do have a forecast of wintry mixes coming up for the next couple of days. And before we know it, the snow will begin to melt and Spring will be here (at least that’s what I’m telling myself). So might as well grab as many snow snacks while you can!

Some bonus photos:

Negra grunting at me as I greeted her this morning.

Gordo eating last night’s dinner from the top of the firehose.

Betsy chowing down on some hay yesterday when it was bright and sunny.

Nonstop Christmas Fun!

December 28, 2022 by Kelsi

Well, what an amazing Christmas it has been! The chimps are still discovering new enrichment every day, like Foxie with the Anna doll from Frozen. While others, like Burrito, are still having fun with items they received before the big Christmas party. Words cannot express our gratitude for all of our supporters, we would not be able to do any of this without you!

This morning Cy’s group received access to the Chute and to say Burrito’s group were excited would be an understatement! The seven were all lined up by the window hooting and hollering, but Burrito especially took great interest! He almost missed breakfast! It had been a little while since the group of nine had received access to the Chute, because it has been so cold at the sanctuary.

I suppose I will share with you all a condensed story about the chaos that unfolded last week! We received quite a bit of snow in the past couple of weeks and it also became extremely cold, getting as cold as -5 degrees. So cold that last Wednesday our well water became frozen. Our co-directors J.B. and Diana had left for a quick and very deserved trip to go see family over the holiday, however with all these winter storms their flight back got canceled. We went to the store and grabbed lots of water to use for cleaning and for drinking water, but we had to use the water sparingly because we had a few more days of this extremely cold weather. Thankfully, all of this did not affect the chimps and they were none the wiser- we made sure that they had plenty of water, food, clean blankets, and most importantly a clean enclosure! We had a Christmas miracle because on Christmas eve it finally warmed up and the water started to work again! Finally, we have caught up on laundry and mostly decompressed from the chaos that has ensued. We are sooooo grateful to have J.B. and Diana back safely and that the water is flowing again!

Burrito watching his neighbors:

Cy enjoying some green beans:

Sweet Rayne:

Coming Up Next…

December 27, 2022 by Chad de Bree

Christmas may be behind us, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t planning for the next big celebration! After New Years, we have a big one: Burrito’s 40th Birthday! It’s going to be so hard to believe this Energizer Bunny of a chimpanzee is going to be 40! We are going to try to make it special for him hitting this milestone! I know we have asked a lot recently with the Comfort & Joy auction and Christmas donations, but if you could, please go to our Amazon Wish List and see if there is anything you can help out us getting to throw a 40th Birthday Bash!

Burrito with some of his favorite enrichment items; wooden blocks, slinkies, and Squishmallows!

I don’t even know where to begin describing what is happening here. We were playing, then he picked up this toy cone and started peering through it like a telescope, maybe?

I also want thank everyone who tuned in to listen to ramble on today during the virtual visit talk about enrichment! Plans are already underway for the next virtual visit talk!

Some bonus photos:

Dora pooped out after her Christmas party!