The warm weather has put everyone here in good moods. Even Negra is feeling playful. Those of you who follow the blog faithfully know that Negra covets peace and quiet, and would typically prefer to chill out under a blanket than to join the other chimps’ rambunctious play. Yesterday, however, Missy was able to ease Negra into some gentle play by dialing down the energy a few notches. Negra even got to keep her blanket.
It’s always interesting to see what the chimpanzees are doing when we arrive first thing in the morning. On a typical day, Jamie might be doing headstands in one of the front rooms; Foxie, Jody and a troll or two are play wrestling; Burrito is up and ready for breakfast; Annie and Missy are playing a lazy game of chase in the playroom; and Negra is still cuddled in bed. This morning when I arrived, however, Jamie was the only person up. She was enjoying a beverage in the front rooms while everyone else slept in. A few minutes later, Foxie had gotten out of bed and Jamie served as accomplice while Foxie tried her best to demolish one of the overhead lights in the playroom. (Don’t worry — they’re well protected.)
Yahoo!! We are officially over the $7000 mark! Yay for Candace and her very generous donation today! Thanks so much to everyone who helped us reach our goal. And thanks to all our readers for supporting the CSNW family. We couldn’t take care of our seven wonderful friends without you!
So, as promised, here’s the video of Jamie exploring the outdoor area in a tutu. Thanks to Laura for the tutu manufacturing and donation! You’ll see Jamie climbing, brachiating, rolling the culvert, and lastly - trying to poke the camera. A good adventure, right?
Jamie’s in a great mood today. At the moment she’s wearing a new tutu, a scarf, a sock, and a glove. I’ll post some video of her costumed adventures shortly. But first - we’re only a few hundred dollars away from reaching our anniversary goal, and the deadline is today. Please help us get there! I’ll report back when we’ve met our goal. We can do it!
It’s sometimes surreal to think that just over a year ago, Jody was stuck in a cage in a windowless basement with nothing to do, nothing to see, and nothing interesting to eat. Now she spends her days gorging on watermelon and resting in gigantic nests. What a difference a year makes!
Thanks to a generous offline donation from Barb, we’re $500 closer to reaching the $7,000 goal! Only three days left - donate today for Negra and in celebration of the Cle Elum Seven’s first year in sanctuary: http://www.firstgiving.com/chimpsanctuarynw
The weather in Cle Elum is gorgeous today and the chimps have spent many hours outside in the sun. Missy has been so playful that she has barely stopped to eat.
Thanks to really awesome supporter-fundraisers, we have raised $5,435 on our Firstgiving pages towards the goal of $7,000 by the end of June. I have been amazed at the success of the supporters of the Cle Elum Seven, and can’t thank you all enough!!
We’re still $1565 away from reaching our goal, and there are only four days left. So, I’m writing this post while I’m on vacation and way past the time when I should be sleeping because I’m wondering if we’ll be able to do it.
I know we can.
Please donate to Negra’s page today or take a look at the other wonderful pages set up by supporters. Margaret is still offering to paint a portrait of the chimpanzee of your choice in exchange for a donation (her paintings are absolutely amazing), Grace is still offering cards with animal illustrations by artist Colin Redmon (who is uber-talented), and Tamela is still offering to make chimpanzee footprint pendants (I have one and it is really cool!). Plus there are many other people who have pages set up and are offering fabulous things in exchange for a donation (including simply the good feeling you get when you support a friend and a good cause) - check them all out, give, and help me sleep easy knowing we’ve reached our goal.
It’s been a busy day and I didn’t have time to take any new pictures or video, but I did find some older portraits that haven’t been posted before (I hope!).
Annie:
Burrito:
Foxie:
Jamie:
Jody:
Missy:
Negra:
