Another Thank You!

So sorry to be so tardy about this - but there are more huge thank-yous to be sent out!

First - the Toronto Veggie Food Fair - what a great weekend! Once again we got to meet many old and new friends.  We want to thank everyone for all the support that they showed us at this event! Many people signed up to help out at Lumberjack Days coming this Fall - the September one is over, but October and November are still to come.  Check the website and register to be a part of the team that keeps the monkeys warm over the winter!

And that is the second thank you:  to Kevin and Katharine who came to the Lumberjack Day in September and worked hard all day at getting the wood supply ready for the winter.  They got to meet all the monkeys too, and I think they enjoyed their visit! We hope they will be back!

It is now fall, and the monkeys have seen the last of the really warm days and nights. The doors are mostly shut now come evening, since it gets too cool in the barn for our tropical residents to be comfortable.

And that is why we need your help!  That wood furnace goes through a lot of wood, and we need to have an enormous pile ready to feed it over the next few months!  So - if you are looking for a way to support our rescued primates - please consider coming out to a Lumberjack Day!  The more people we have working, the faster the woodpile grows.  And if you have experience with a chainsaw or a wood splitter - you are GOLD!!!!!!

Check out www.storybookfarmprimatesanctuary.com to sign up!

So - once again - a huge thank you to everyone who supported us over the past season - Holly's Hope attendees and Sharon, its wonderful organiser, Open Day visitors, Baseball tournament participants and its great organisers, the Toronto Vegetarian Food Festival and all the visitors who dropped by the SBFPS booth, Lumberjacks - both past and future! We could not do what we do without your help.

One last word - we have 2013 calendars for sale as well, each month featuring a different resident.  They are selling for $20.00 each. If you are interested, find them on our website!

Happy Fall!!!!

Thanks for a great weekend

All of us at Story Book Farm want to thank everyone who came out to support us over the past weekend. The Baseball Tournament on Saturday was a great success, and the dance afterwards was fun!!!!  We had a great dj!!!
And Sunday, we had many people come through the barn during our second and final Open House of the year.  We sold out all the tickets we had and were busy all day with visitors.
Thank you all so much for making this such a great, fun and successful weekend!!!!!  Watch for news about other events coming up!

                                                    Julien had a great Open House!!!!

We will be at the Toronto Vegetarian Food Fair at Harbourfront on Sept, 7, 8 and 9.
And there are upcoming Lumberjack Days on the schedule too - one in September, one in October and one in November - getting all that wood ready for our wood burning furnace to keep the monkeys warm and comfortable over the winter!  We would love to have many of you come out to help - and meet the monkeys too while you are there!

Susie

There is more sadness to express, I am afraid.  Last week we lost our beautiful old Black Spider Monkey, Susie.  She was elderly - into her late 30's or even early 40's, although we don't know the exact date of her birth.  She died very peacefully in her sleep.  She will be very much missed in the barn, especially by her companion of many years, George.  Mr. Jenkins, who lives next door and is another Spider Monkey, is also grieving for Susie.  And of course all of the two-leggeds who help out in the barn are very saddened by her absence.
But we all know that Susie had 10 great years at the Farm.  She may have had a challenging life prior to arriving at Story Book with George in 2003, but since her arrival she has been loved and treated with respect and gentleness by everyone who has come into contact with her.

Susie loved to rest outside on her platform in the summer months.  She would spend the whole day out there, just soaking up the warmth of the sun.

Susie was always hard to photograph because she was so dark - but she loved to come over to see whatever was going on, and if she was feeling especially friendly toward you on any particular day, she would give you a hug with her tail.  That was a great honour!

We know she is resting in peace.

The TV was off...

Sunday was my first day to the farm after our beloved Chelsea passed.  For each of us, that first time in the barn after a death is extremely difficult.  Losing Chelsea has been particularly heartbreaking for all of us.  Amongst the hustle and bustle, cleaning the fridge, pressure washing the floor, making dinner I passed the tv and it was off.  The tv was off.  Then the pain hit again.. no Chelsea ... no tv.... The tv was there for her.  She loved watching it and we all made sure there was a steady supply of nature videos, children's shows, programs with monkeys in them... all the things that Chelsea loved to watch. Throughout her time with us, the tv's grew in size as volunteers and friends would get her bigger and better ones, a new VCR, a new DVD player, Leonard even tried to hook up the satellite in the barn for her!  She loved watching Mark Hebscher on CHCH and would make her happy num-num sounds.  Now, there is quiet - no rubber boots being thrown in the air, happy chatting, no shrieking to let us know that George had touched her boots, no little hands reaching out for a groom... the tv was off..

It's time for the Baseball Tournament

The annual Baseball tournament is almost here!
There is a slight error on the poster - the Tournament is actually on SATURDAY August 25!!!!  Our second Open House of the summer takes place on SUNDAY August 26!!!  A very busy weekend for sure!
This year we have added a dance to end off the tournament - should be lots of fun and tickets are only $10.00 for that!  Even if you can't make the dance, we would love to have you show your support by buying a ticket anyway!!!!!!
Hope to see lots of you on both of these days.
Remember to register for the Open House...the website will tell you how to do that!

Chelsea...

 This is by far the hardest entry I have written.
Many of you will know by now. We lost our beautiful Chelsea on Monday July 16, 2012.  She had spent the last 5 years with us and she was such a happy girl.  She had dozens of shoes and looked after them always.  She loved to play with her ball, smash her hula hoop around, ride her shoes on her back.  She reached out to her friends (the people who looked after her) and held hands - especially if something had upset her.  She loved to groom arms, legs, even heads and did it so very gently.  She enjoyed watching bubbles floating around and never said no to a treat.  She looked after old blind Nan who will now have to manage on her own.

We miss her and are still in shock over her loss.  Rest in peace, beautiful girl.  You will always be with us...

Buddy Lemur finally gets outside!

The second outdoor enclosure for the two "kitchen lemurs" was completed on Sunday.  We did a little switching of the boys, so now Remi lemur lives in the enclosure closer to the entrance door - all the coming and going was sometimes a little stressful for Buddy lemur who used to live there.  But now he lives in the inner enclosure.  And both boys can go outside.  Remi has been going out since the spring, but Sunday was Buddy's first time.  He was great - never one to be shy or hang back from a new challenge.  He met Mickey marmoset while she was outside, and he made some wonderful leaps from the doorway all the way over to the platform perch at the opposite side of the space.  What a long way he has come since his arrival at the Farm!!!!