Takin’ It Beezy

Caregivers are racing around completing chores on this rainy Monday afternoon, so today’s blog post is absurdly simple. In honor of National Napping Day, here’s a portrait of Honey B lounging on the heated floor in one of the indoor enclosures. Chad explained yesterday that the chimps have no concept of “daylight savings,” but they…

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Moo Beginnings

As Katelyn noted yesterday, it’s already beginning to feel like spring. That means a lot around here, but I doubt anyone appreciates this transition more than the sanctuary’s bovines. Every year, the small herd of four rescued Jersey cattle spend the winter in an enclosed paddock on the northern side of the property. This area…

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The Secret Life of Barn Kitty

In last Tuesday’s post (Twosday), Sofia mentioned that Barn Kitty has returned to the sanctuary. For those of you who may not be aware, Barn Kitty (“B.K.”) is a free-ranging domestic cat that prowls the patchwork landscape surrounding the Chimp House. It’s believed he divides his time between the sanctuary property and the neighboring ranch,…

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Rayneception

For weeks now, I’ve been bringing my camera with me when I walk between the two new greenhouses (Oakwood and Riverview) in hopes of catching someone looking through the canvas flaps that separate those areas from the indoor playrooms. The concept formed when I saw Rayne pause there a while back and thought the rectangular…

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Studio Logs

Taking portraits of chimpanzees isn’t easy, but knowing how they move around their home makes it a lot easier to catch them at the right moments. In the past, we’ve described Front Room 4 as “The Portrait Studio.” This small indoor enclosure has three pneumatic doors that allow the chimps to move freely between their…

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Hoarfrost

It’s been a snowy, cold, gloomy January. It’s hard to believe that we had clear weather and bare ground at this time last year (see: Winterspring). While I love the unpredictable moodiness of Northwest winters, the sporadic windows of sunny weather are welcome reassurances that the valley will eventually see pleasant days again. Last Monday,…

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The Perks of Be(friend)ing a Wallflower

Not all of the chimps like to be in front of the camera lens equally. Lucky and Willy B, for example, will scooch right up to you and your electronic device with gusto. Others prefer to nonchalantly observe the photographer from an intermediate distance, and a few chimps will even try to sternly poke the…

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Honey B(adger) Don’t Care

As many of you know, we’ve been working around Honey B’s odd preferences this winter. She’s a strong-willed individual who voraciously defends her zone of control (which Willy B will attest to). Whatever everyone’s plans are for the day, she has a tendency to shake them up. Today, Honey B brought more of that same…

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Work Hard, Display Hard

Originally, I planned on writing a blog post for today by following my classic recipe of egregiously bad puns, unnecessary history/science lessons, and some recent photographs of the sanctuary and its residents. In particular, I was going to share a series of images that would convey to everyone just how much snow we have piled…

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Beasts of the Northern Wild

Our particularly wintry December has transitioned into an even colder and snowier January. The team has been busy shoveling paths around the Chimp House, endlessly plowing the property’s driveway, and entertaining the chimps (who are unanimously choosing to lounge indoors during the current snowstorm). Yet another daily chore has been making it out to the…

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Micro/Macro: The Sequel

Today’s post is a sequel to a blog entry I penned back in October: Micro/Macro. In case you’re short for time or simply don’t want to delve back into the archives, I’ll briefly summarize the first post with this TL;DR (“too long; didn’t read”): Macro photography is the practice of photographing objects so they are…

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It Flakes One to Snow One

The Pacific Northwest is projected to experience a snowy La Niña winter, but I personally wasn’t expecting to have this much snowfall so early. Today’s local forecast predicted only a couple inches of precipitation yet we just shoveled at least triple that amount from the same sidewalks we just cleared yesterday evening. The chimps are…

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