Party

What to write after 2,701 posts?

January 31, 2015 by Diana

I just checked – as of this morning, we have published a total of 2,701 posts on this blog! When we started to write about the chimps, even before they arrived at the sanctuary, I wondered if we would run out of ideas at some point. Would the days become routine and after a few years, we’d be scrambling for something to share?

I laugh now at that thought. Today, I had no fewer then nine ideas for the blog, and I’m still not sure what to chose! Some are timely – our WA State Seahawks are playing in the Superbowl tomorrow, so it would be fun to share some photos of Seahawks parties, like this one of Burrito, who had the best Blue Friday with some streamers last year (video here).

and we’re going to launch a super fun Share the Chimp Love campaign in just a couple of days, and I just happened to get a photo of Negra with a “love” blanket, so I could share that photo, even though it’s not the best quality, and maybe tease that there’s special perks involved with this campaign, one of which involves Negra.

I also got some cute video of Annie and Missy playing on the catwalk earlier. I was thinking about learning how to make an animated gif file, or maybe use their play session for a vine video, but I’m running out of time – dinner is in less than half an hour.

I also thought about finding photos of the chimpanzees that have a particular “hopeful” look that I love so much and talking a bit about the State of the Sanctuary email/video we sent out to e-news subscribers a couple of days ago.

Then again, I was thinking I really wanted to do a post about Jody, because she doesn’t get quite as much attention as some of the other chimpanzees. And I just happened to get a few photos of her today.

The main reason we don’t post as much about Jody is she is more elusive. Jamie is always right there, and really the same with Foxie and Burrito – they are all so human (and/or food) oriented, that we just naturally interact with them more and therefore have move photos and videos.

Then there’s Negra, who doesn’t move around as much, has that amazing droopy lip, and is just darn photogenic. I almost forgot! that was another post idea – I have a few photos of Negra from last week that haven’t been posted yet (I think I’ll save them).

And let’s face it, Missy and Annie play so frequently, we could probably get video of them and their antics everyday.

But Jody is very independent. She does love meal time (and has an amazing “hopeful” look), but once the meal is over, she’s off doing her own thing. During the summers we sometimes “lose” her on the hill because she’ll just go off exploring alone. And she likes to be up high, making photos a bit more difficult.

She is so full of personality, just like all of the Cle Elum Seven, and I have a lot of admiration for her. She went through more than I could have endured during her time in biomedical research, but she is a survivor.

Today, after cleaning the playroom, Debbie and I thought that Jody might get to work right away taking apart the blanket forts that we put together, as she has in the past. Instead, she got some alfalfa cubes, laid down perfectly on the new bridge under one of the new playroom lights between two blankets hanging above her, and just relaxed.

So, I don’t know – what do you think I should post to the blog today?

Don’s Birthday Party

January 2, 2015 by J.B.

As promised, here are photos and video of today’s party. The chimps enjoyed a forage of leeks, red bananas, broccolini, sweet peppers, lettuce, and corn. We also put out cups of warm herbal tea with almond milk, party hats filled with peanuts, and pinatas stuffed with grapes, as well as a fresh bale of alfalfa (a nest you can eat!).

We’re big on recycling around here, so for today we re-purposed the Christmas tree as a “Birthday tree.” Annie and Burrito took turns picking treats from its branches:

Negra went straight for the corn, while Missy hunted for red bananas:

Foxie guzzled all the tea she could find:

Somehow, Missy got to the party hat pinata first, so all Jamie could do was scrounge for leftovers. Don’t feel sorry for her, though – she ate almost everything else:

Watch the video:

It’s fitting that the chimps enjoyed a forage in the greenhouse today, and that Jamie walked around the hill to her heart’s content. Both the greenhouse and Young’s Hill were made possible in large part by Karen and Don Young.

So Don, thank you (and Karen) for caring so much about these seven chimps. We hope you enjoyed your birthday – the chimps certainly did!

Happy Birthday to Don Young!

January 2, 2015 by Diana

Don Young, of the famed Young’s Hill that the chimpanzees enjoy everyday, has a birthday today! His wife Karen wanted the chimps to have a party in his honor, so she sponsored today and sent a little bit extra for party supplies and food. So be sure to check back later for party photos!

Karen had this to share about sponsoring today:

“In honor of the love of my life, my incredible, generous, supportive husband who will be 76 years old. Without him, his work ethic and decades of dedication to his profession, as well as love and attention to his family, we would not be able to donate to CSNW. What is important to me or to the rest of the family, is important to him. He is an amazing person, and we are all blessed to have him by our sides.”

We couldn’t agree more. The Young’s have done so much for Foxie, Negra, Annie, Missy, Jody, Burrito, and Jamie. Truly, the sanctuary would not be what it is today without their support. So, we too want to extend our heartfelt wishes for a very happy day to Don, with many more birthdays to come.

Karen sponsored this day last year as well, and here’s a photo from the party of Negra enjoying some Brussels sprouts. It’s hard to believe it’s been a whole year!

A wonderful Christmas time

December 25, 2014 by Debbie

The chimps (and the humans!) have been having a really great Christmas, thanks to all our amazing supporters! We had five people sponsor the day for the chimps today, so we owe a big thank you again to Laurel H., Kathleen K., Molly W., Michael H., and Janine B.

Also a huge shout out to Lisa S. and Jayne R. for their decorations that we were able to spread across yesterday‘s and today’s parties! Carol M. sent us seven adorable chimpiñatas which we added to the decor, too. More thank-yous are in order for everyone that sent in new toys which became presents for today’s celebration, including Sharon & Larry C., Diana M., Lisa S., Jayne R., and Helen K. Here’s part of the haul in front of Santa’s sleigh:

Volunteer Patti and supporter Anne also picked up a lot of yummy fresh produce for the party and Patti made amazing roasted pumpkins with quinoa, wild rice, and veggies.

The day began with a small forage of tomatoes, pistachios, and shaved coconut in the tree. Negra was the first out to see what we had set up under (and in) the tree.

Missy snagged most of the tomatoes, and went through the presents, too:

The party then moved into the playroom, where all the food and presents from our friends near and far brought a lot of joy to the chimpanzees!

Annie:

Jamie:

Foxie:

Missy:

Negra:

Jody:

Burrito

As if those photos weren’t enough, here’s a video of the festivities of the day. Thank you again to everyone who has helped bring such happiness to the chimpanzees this Christmas and every day!

The Thanksgiving Feast

November 28, 2014 by J.B.

All week we’ve been giving thanks for the people and organizations that make this sanctuary possible. Yesterday, it was all about the chimps. Which means that here at the sanctuary, it was all about the food.

You know who likes food?

This guy.

He somehow managed to hold six baked apples in his hands while he vacuumed up everything else with his mouth.

I’ve never seen him concentrate this hard on anything before.

Burrito wasn’t the only one who enjoyed the Thanksgiving party. You’ll have to watch the video at the end of this post to see what Negra had to do to get this treat bag. All I can say is that it was very un-Negra like. But as you can see from her expression, it was well worth the effort.

Foxie was joined by this little black-haired troll during the forage.

After lunch, they went for a stroll on the hill together (if you don’t see the troll, look closely for some hair that seems out of place).

There was no Thanksgiving food coma for Missy. Once the sun came out, she hit the hill to get some exercise.

Many thanks to Patti, Sandra, and Katie for volunteering to help the chimps on the holiday, and to Patti and Denice for preparing the feast. As you’ll see, it was quite a hit:

Jamieween 2014!

October 31, 2014 by J.B.

It’s a birthday celebration. It’s a holiday. It’s….Jamieween!

Our thanks go to Jayne, Sherry, and Lisa for sending such amazing party supplies, and to Stephanie for continuing her annual tradition of carving a special pumpkin in Jamie’s honor. These chimps are lucky to have such incredible supporters.

Happy Jamieween!

Cowboy Party

September 6, 2014 by Elizabeth

What’s one way to make seven chimpanzees awfully happy? Throw a spontaneous party. Supporter Lisa Stuverud sent us a box of decorations and enrichment for a cowboy party (and of course we already had dozens of cowboy boots thanks to Jamie’s obsession), so we had everything we needed for a good time.

Jamie was the first into the greenhouse, and she was throwing back her first drink before most of the others even made it out the door.

She checked high and low for hidden treats. Here she’s getting ready to use a fire hose to swing up into one of the windowsills where we often hide food: