To All of Our Friends:
Saturday, July 26th was a real red letter day here at The Talkin’ Monkeys Project! We had more than 20 volunteers converge on our facility to help us erect the new cage for our spider monkeys, Koan and Kelpie. It measures 15’Wx12’Hx37’L and joins a new 10’x10′ night house! Volunteers and their friends started arriving around 7:30 AM and we worked until evening putting up the extremely heavy panels of the new cage. It was a dreadfully hot day, but like troopers, all of our volunteers worked industriously to get the shell of the cage ready for the welding of chutes and eventual dressing of the interior of the cage.
Our volunteers were so numerous we were able to form four separate “Brigades”. All volunteers got to experience time in all of the groups, Construction, Enrichment, Food and Grounds Maintenance! We planted banana trees donated by Kathy and Joe Leinster, made enrichments for the various monkeys and apes, prepared food for the primates (human and non-human!), provided browse, composted, played with monkeys and apes alike, (including special time with our newest resident, Chi Chi!), trimmed bamboo and cleaned cages. All this, in addition to getting the shell of the huge new cage up! Our friends, Marc Ellis, (of www.H2opictures.com), and his friend Whitney were running about snapping photos everywhere to help provide a photo chronical of the event!) I have included some of them here for you all to see.
Lisa & Whitney compost!
The 1st roof panel goes up!
Almost Done
Tom checks the clamps 12 feet up!
Hope’s playtime with Karson & Lisa.
Marc and new love, Kelpie.
Hope opens treat box!
Chi Chi, “No thank you on the treat box!”
Many exhausted and sunburned people drifted back to their vehicles late in the afternoon, with smiles on their faces and a very real sense of accomplishment! All of our 12 hairy residents were equally exhausted from monitoring the work and the volunteers, so they ate supper and went right to bed…as did we all. What a wonderful day for us all. We are truly grateful for such extraordinary volunteers! Thank you all…
Debbie & Tom M.