Yesterday, we made our annual journey to the lush, green acres above the chimp habitats. Happy Pasture Day, everyone!
pasture
Signs of Summer
Summer has come early this year so we’ve been busy making sure everyone stays safe and comfortable. That means moving the cows to pastures with plenty of wooded areas for shade and ensuring our wildfire sprinkler system is ready for fire season. The chimps have gone into summer mode as well, taking full advantage of the outdoor habitats in the early mornings and finding shade or a quiet spot indoors to ride out the afternoon heat.
The 6th Annual Running of the Cows
We got a bit of a late start moving the cows this year but they are finally enjoying the first part of their summer pasture rotation. This year they’re back on the south pasture, next to the Bray, which was inaccessible and remained fallow during the last few years of chimp habitat renovations. Once the weather warms up, they’ll move to the upper pond pasture where they’ll have plenty of shade.
Normally, the running of the cows is a more exuberant affair, but this year things were a bit different. First, a lot has changed between the winter and summer pastures, and cattle aren’t big on change. They’d much prefer to follow a familiar path. Second, Meredith was held back this year so that she could be walked along a route that would be safer and easier on her arthritic feet, and cattle are less confident without their herd mates. And of course, this is the first year that they are moving to the summer pastures without Nutmeg.
But everyone made it (with one short detour), and Honey and Betsy were quickly reunited with Meredith. Now they can kick back and enjoy summer.
The Sweet Sixteen Online Auction is now live! Check out the amazing selection of works from talented artists, including this beautiful oil on canvas portrait of Nutmeg by Leslie Bell:
The Cattle Apple Saddle
Please join Betsy, Honey, Meredith, and Nutmeg for lunch! During the colder months, we supplement the cattle’s diet with grass hay, oat hay, and alfalfa. During the warmer months, other than the cattle’s other supplements that we provide, caregivers generally allow the cattle to roam and graze on whatever their hearts desire. In this video, Nutmeg and Meredith are eating some apples from the apple tree in their pasture, Betsy is munching on some willow near the pond, and Honey was just getting done grazing on some grass.
Here are some bonus photos from today!
With the weather holding out with temperate conditions, Negra’s group had a nice lunch forage on Young’s Hill.
Negra
Burrito and Foxie
Foxie
Missy
Here are some Bonus-Bonus photos!
Burrito
Foxie taking it easy
Annie making her bird noises
And Jamie taking notes
Recently, we added Sprout Pencils to our Amazon Wish List as a new type of enrichment. These pencils have a capsule full of seeds where the eraser is supposed to be. When you are done with them, you can plant the pencil and different types of plants are supposed to grow. There are still some on the Wish List if you would like to help us stockpile some of them for the chimps!
Mornings
One of the best spots to build a morning nest is the upper platform in Greenhouse 1. From there the chimps can watch the sun rise over the trees above Young’s Hill as they wait for the staff and volunteers to bring them breakfast. Foxie’s nests aren’t really nests, per se, as she doesn’t like to lay on blankets or anything soft, nor does she like anything that even hints of being natural, like leaves or straw. It’s all bare floors and benches for this girl—but she is always sure to have a favorite doll tucked in close to her chest.
Negra, on the other hand, likes her nests well-padded. While her evening nests can be works of art, these morning nests are often hastily arranged. No matter, she barely awake anyway and it won’t take much for her to drift back to sleep.
If you climb to the ridge above Young’s Hill, you will find another pasture with a large spring-fed pond. This is where our small cattle herd spends much of their summer, often choosing to sleep under the stars instead of returning to their barn at night. This year I purchased some portable fences, which can be set up on a temporary basis to manage how the cattle graze the pastures. Early one morning I set some up to rotate the cattle through an ungrazed section of this upper pond pasture. It’s always a joy to see the cows run through a new pasture, especially one that still grows some green grass during these dry Central Washington summers.
Betsy:
Meredith:
The 5th Annual Running of the Cows – and more Bray photos!
If cows had a national holiday, this would be it.
A little further down the mountain, Cy’s group continues to explore the Bray. Here are a some photos from the past few days – you’ll notice that there are a lot of Rayne, and that’s because she spends more time out there than anyone else. We were so happy when she decided to take her lunch out for a picnic this afternoon. While some of the chimps are still a little nervous—and Mave and Honey still have yet to go out—the group is doing really well overall with this new aspect of sanctuary life.
Willy B and Gordo:
Terry:
Gordo and Terry:
Rayne:
Cy:
The 4th Annual Running of the Cows
Past the wetlands, up the mountain, across the stream, between the scary gates, and through the forest to the upper pasture we go! It’s time once again for the cows to head to their summer pastures. And this year, they’re exploring a new part of the sanctuary’s 90-acre property.
As you may know, the cows actually moved a few weeks ago but I’ve only now gotten the chance to put a video together. They’ve really been enjoying the upper pond pasture and most nights they don’t even return to the barn.
We’d like to express our gratitude for your kind and generous comments on yesterday’s blog about Animal Sanctuary Caregiver Day. Diana and I, along with the Board of Directors, are grateful for the staff every day but you all have expressed our sentiments better than we ever could. Though we will be getting them food next week and it turns out you can actually say a lot with food.
Speaking of caregivers, we’d like to introduce you to our newest staff member, Jenna! Jenna interned at CSNW while attending Central Washington University and then gained valuable experience at other chimpanzee sanctuaries before returning to the northwest. I’ll let her more fully introduce herself next week in her first CSNW blog post.
Here’s Jenna getting in good with the boss:
