Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary
I love every part about Jamie. She is bossy, bold, determined, smart, independent, curious, and even abrupt. However, I adore the softer side of Jamie, when she allows her more vulnerable side to show. There is something deeply moving about witnessing when Jamie lets her guard down and relaxes.
Please enjoy this very close up photo series of Jamie! I think it shows her relaxed but curious side 🙂
While the bipeds were keeping very busy around the chimp house today with enclosure cleaning and meetings, Jamie remained perfectly unbothered by all the commotion. In true Jamie fashion, she spent her morning meticulously crafting the perfect nest, arranging it just so for her daily reading session.
Yesterday caregiver Jenna found time in her day to decorate the chimps Christmas trees for them complete with lights, tiny stockings and ornaments. This morning we rolled in the Christmas tree for Jamie’s group to enjoy and right away Jamie found something she wanted.
Jamie immediately found a tool and began her quest to hook a tiny boot for herself! Join her on this journey in today’s blog video!
Let’s start with freezing rain. Because we did, in fact, start the day with freezing rain. I’m not a fan. It coats everything, and makes me fall down. If it’s 27 degrees, and there is precipitation, it should snow (in my opinion). Right? If there are any meteorologists out there who want to explain it to me, that would be great.
Enough about freezing rain.
Today, I got to try on one of the items donated through our Comfort & Joy auction, and model it for the chimps. Sherry R was the generous donor that won the Flamingo Hooded Blanket for the chimps! It is SERIOUSLY COZY! Sherry, it’s so cozy, I may pick one up for myself!
Thank you, Sherry R, for giving the chimpanzees a little more Comfort and a lot more Joy with your generous gift! I’ll bet Burrito curled up in it after making me run around the hill today. In the freezing rain.
We got our first real snow of the season last night. The chimps were very content eating snow and nesting in a cozy warm nest, or in Honey B’s case a cozy table cloth. We can not tell you why, but she loves this table cloth! Speaking of comfort, there are just a few hours left in our third annual Comfort & Joy Quid Pro Throw Online Auction! We are still working to meet our goal and we need your help. Two exciting items were added this morning to round out the event! First, a personalized CSNW jacket for you that features the Cle Elum Seven’s favorite comfort & joy items. Second, a Fill the Fridge For the Holidays category! With the holiday season fast approaching, we need your help to fill the fridges and make this festive season extra special.
Honey B with her table cloth:
Rayne made a cozy nest on the bench:
And Lucky enjoyed one of her favorite things, GUM, though you can not tell in the pictures that she is chewing it:
Jamie enjoyed her snowy day with a cozy nest, a good pair of boots, and a show about wildlife:
In the spirit of Jamieween, this blog will be all about Jamie. I think we all know how much I adore Jamie. She is such a complex individual. But the thing I admire the most about Jamie is how self assured of an person she is.
As Chad and I were cleaning the Playroom Jamie requested, well first, she demanded the last of the raspberries growing in our gardens. Once the raspberries were gone she requested I put on a boot and go for a walk. I like to call it a Jamie walk. A Jamie walk is when you drop everything and go, even if it means leaving Chad to clean alone. This happens to Chad a lot when we clean together, but he gets it, it’s a Jamie walk! It’s important to remember that Jamie makes the calls, she decides how fast, how far, if we walk or if we drive along side her, wear a boot too small, wear a boot 4x too big, carry a book, and even who can join the walk (chimps or human).
I remember back to my first couple of years of working here, when Jamie would request a walk with me, multiple times a day. Most of the time, she wouldn’t mind when other chimps like Burrito joined or if I brought a volunteers to join us! But there were many times when I would bring someone along and she would turn around and go back inside then request a walk shortly after, this process would repeat until you unfortunately left the other person behind, but you can’t deny what Jamie wants for her walk! Or when she would hide in the culvert to wait out chimps who tried to join us on our walk. These days, I often find that she doesn’t mind people tagging along, especially Burrito.
Over the years of walking with Jamie they have adapted and changed. However, her intent has never changed. Jamie may not do 15 walks in a day anymore, we might not always be sprinting up the Hill as often, but the walks we do go on are quality time with a friend. Walks are a cherished time to spend with the chimps. Jamie is a very remarkable individual and I have always felt honored each time she has asked me to join her for a walk. Walks with Jamie always feel like a special time to slow down and appreciate this job and the unique experience that this is. Watching the chimps explore Young’s Hill or the Bray makes my heart swell with joy, especially when it adds so much value to their lives, especially for a chimp like Jamie.
Make sure to tune in for Jamieween tomorrow!!!
October is one of the most exciting months here at CSNW. Between the respite of cool weather after a hot, dry summer and the excitement of Jamieween around the corner, it’s a month that everyone looks forward to. Speaking of Jamieween, we are only two sleeps away from the big party day!
As we countdown, I thought it would be fun to take a trip down memory lane and look back at previous Jamieween celebrations. 🙂
Of course, our Great Pumpkin Thief herself a la Jamieween 2011:
Jamie, circa 2013, enjoying party festivities:
2013 Negra enjoying a chunk of the great pumpkin:
2013 Foxie & Great Pumpkin:
2015 Burrito enjoying a pumpkin bowl:
2021 Annie, A Scarecrow, & A Pumpkin:
Missy, last year, with her pomegranate loot:
We’re prepping and getting excited for this year’s Jamieween celebration! Let us know your favorite Jamieween party memories in the comments so we can re-live all those good memories, together.
Also! There’s two other exciting things happening on October 31st. First, our annual Comfort & Joy Quid Pro Throw online auction opens up! Register to bid on items for the chimps that we will give to them on your behalf and also bid on unique items for yourself or for a loved one! We will be adding new items regularly, so you’ll want to check back in throughout. Plus, registering means you will have the opportunity to join us for a live zoom on Lucky’s birthday (November 6th). Be sure to register and get your account set up today, so you’re ready for when it goes live!
Also, Jamieween is the last day to vote for our 2025 CSNW Calendar Cover Photo. You can vote once a day through October 31st, so be sure to vote for your favorite!
