Our newest resident

There is a new face, a new voice, in the Story Book Barn! We welcome Chico! He is an "old" - we don't know exactly how many years that means - tufted capuchin. And he is doing very well in his new home! It is to be hoped that as time goes by, he can share space with Pockets, our black-capped capuchin...but for the moment, he is living in a lovely new space that Leonard created in the blink of an eye (or so it seems!!!)

Chico is active and moves constantly - like capuchins do - so it is hard to get shots of him. He has almost no teeth left - they are worn down to nothing! And he doesn't seem to use his tail - but maybe he will as time goes on.

He had a very restricted diet previously - a boiled egg, a banana, a peanut butter sandwich - so he is overwhelmed by the variety of food he is offered now. Apparently corn is a big hit!

As we all get to know Chico better, there will be more to say about him - but he is already a member of the family!

That precious moment in time...

Happy Tuesday everyone! The weather has been lovely, and life is good. On Saturday, Izzy, Ingrid and I were up at the farm. Sherri joined us later in the afternoon, as she was working. All the volunteers comment how being there, enjoying special moments with the animals, amongst great company and in the beautiful setting is such a balm to the soul. We are so lucky (always in a bittersweet way) to have the privilege to know and care for all the creatures at Story Book Farm Primate Sanctuary, including Chili the llama, Amigo, Mickey and Pablo, the lemur family and boys, the sweet, sweet Chelsea, George, Susie and everyone.

Each moment is so special, because in their world, that is "the moment", the intensity, the pure joy, the alarm, the upset (Chelsea screaming because Ingrid said "No" to Jenkins) and the humour (Pockets is hilarious). It is so raw and in the moment - with no facade. For me, it is like a magic spell, that second in time, the touch, the vocalization, the breath...staying, not breathing, trying to hold it, remembering every second, sensation and movement... and capture it in the heart and mind.

For instance, having Chelsea throw down her boot - well now it is a baby running shoe - throwing it to where she is planning to sit beside you. ..you become so thrilled with the anticipation, that she is taking the time, reaching out, and preparing for that grooming session. She then climbs down the ladder and comes over to the door. Her little hands grab the shoe. She sits down, gets comfortable, and looks into your eyes, checking and searching.. then the "num-nums" sounds begin, the language of happiness...and that beautiful little hand comes out to reach out to you, to touch, to groom, to share....and you just sit there, mesmerized by the power of this love, trust and vulnerability. She searches your hand for spots to groom....it just holds me spellbound. These are the moments of life that can never be taken away, not matter what. Like feeling Billy's breathe on my back, the quiet grooming sounds, the contentment, and for a few seconds joy and the transportation of souls joined together ... in a better world of a language without barriers, of equality, of tenderness and knowing all of us are one.

We need to care, feel and just be, to the depth of our souls. We can all make the choice to live this way...

Nan at the Vet!

She was a star - from beginning to end!

Her pouch needed repairing (again!!). The vet - another star - removed the leaky hole and remnants of (more) almond shells! Then he stitched her up and we brought her home!

When she got back to her enclosure, she and Chelsea had endless conversation about their experiences of the day!

Boot Drive

On behalf of everyone at the sanctuary, I would like to thank the many citizens of Lindsay, City of Kawartha Lakes and for those visiting for making a difference to us. It was their generosity at the Lindsay Canadian Tire store today that helped us raise more than $400 for the sanctuary. We hope that we have inspired many of you to get involved whether it be through our Foster Friend program, donation through our paypal or supporting us in other ways - donations of food, lumber, fencing, enrichment, hay/straw or perhaps your volunteer time to help us continue to provide our friends with fresh food, wonderful place to live and the freedom to enjoy their lives at the sanctuary. To those of you who took the time to speak with us, it was a pleasure to share with you about what we do and reinforce that there is a need for many animals in our society, including primates. We also are encouraged that you will continue to make a difference, one animal at a time. From all our friends at the farm, we thank you for your donations. We can assure you that your donations will be well spent. With sincere thanks, Jenn - Volunteer

Pockets gets out!!!!!!

This weekend past, Pockets' outdoor enclosure was finished enough for him to come out and do a little exploring! He was a little hesitant at first - peeking outside and running away - but with the lure of treats, he finally came out into the sun - and seemed to really enjoy his new space. Now he can have a wonderful summer enjoying the sun and the breeze and all the outdoor smells and sounds!

Enrichment

Every now and then there is time to do a little something different at the Farm. Sunday was such a day for me. I spent time with some of the smaller creatures and tried to give them something different. I brought some old jewelry with me - long ropes of "pearls", necklaces, and a couple of small stuffed elephants on a string.

The lemurs were at first a little shy - but they managed to take apart their enrichment necklace pretty quickly! I will have to bring them something bigger and stronger next time. The lemur family got the stuffed eles - and within an hour or so, at least one of them was examining it closely - and finding it inedible!!!

The brown lemurs were not much impressed by their pressie - but I cleaned their mirror and that was ok with them - they seem to like shiny thngs - so I will be looking for more mirror-type toys for these guys.

The marmosets were fun too - Micky's mirror was cleaned and she enjoyed looking for the marmoset she saw there. And Amigo got a shiny pendant - he handled it, turned it over, looking for the image he saw of himself. But the corn was a hit - especially for Amingo and Micky. Just pieces of corn on the cob hung in the enclosures - watching the marmosets find ways to get closer to the corn and nibbling on it was fun. Pablo's enclosure is more of a challenge - it is really hard to get inside and put anything there for him. I managed to get the corn up for him, but I need to come up with a way to place a mirror or shiny toy for him...

Enrichment is as much of a challenge for the enricher as the enrichee!

As for Chelsea, she didn't care about bubbles this week, but was pleased to groom my boots again and offer me her dolly. She does have a thyroid problem, and is now on medcation for that...we all hope that this will help Chelsea slim down a little and add to her quality of life!

Some pics of Chelsea

Chelsea is back in her "home" and quite recovered from her adventure at the vet! There is little to report as far as her blood test results are concerned - at least I have not heard anything final.

But Chelsea has been enjoying some close up time with her "people" - Charmaine offered her hair for a grooming session (picture #3). And then she blew bubbles for Chelsea - and Chelsea really enjoyed that - trying to catch the bubbles with her mouth and her hand. The second pic shows Chelsea with her favourite dolly - the one we couldn't find to take along to vet. But Chelsea found it and is again carrying it around with her everywhere she goes. It is still a little green, but beginning to be almost unidentifiable again...