The Gift of Nuggets

Yesterday was a Wednesday, but Lawrence could not come to sit with Bow. He and his family all had the flu. This meant that Bow did not get to enjoy the very special things that only he and Lawrence do together as two guys. It also meant that I could not run errands, important things like buying groceries, checking the mail and visiting the bank.

My friend Jill heard about this and offered to pick up my groceries from the local grocery store. I can get most of the things I need at night by visiting Wal*Mart when Bow is asleep, but the local grocery store closes at 5:00, and they have bananas and dog food that we rely on. So I was very happy to accept Jill's offer.

Today, all day long I worked on correcting the manuscript of Theodosia and the Pirates in preparation for ordering a proof. Bow did not like this, and he interrupted me many times, telling me it was not good that Lawrence had not come and that there was nothing interesting to do.

In the afternoon, it started snowing. Bow alerted me to this change in the weather, because I was so involved in what I was doing that I would not have noticed.

When Jill and her husband Steve arrived with the bananas and dog food and milk, Bow got very excited. He did not even display at them. He was ready to talk to Jill right away. I think that may be because she had been here on Wednesday and had spoken to him then. And even though he did not know Steve, he took to him very quickly.

Steve told us that he had put an extra gift for Bow in with the bananas: some chicken nuggets from the local restaurant. He was not sure whether Bow would like them, but if he didn't, then the dogs surely would.

Bow was very excited. As soon as Jill and Steve left, he told me he wanted to try the gift. He had had such a boring day up till then, that I agreed to go along with that request, even though it was neither a mealtime nor a snack time. I put the chicken nuggets on a plate for Bow.

Bow had to sniff them extra carefully before he decided they were safe to eat. But he certainly did like them.

Isn't it wonderful to have such thoughtful friends and neighbors? Not only did it help me that I got those groceries from the local store. The visit from Jill and Steve and their gift of chicken nuggets made Bow's day.

Cheese, Glorious Cheese

Just in case you have ever wondered whether chimpanzees like cheese: the answer, if  Bow is any indication, is a resounding "Yes!" Today, for lunch, Bow was presented with the following foods: an apple, two bananas, cherry tomatoes and sugar snap peas and a plate of cheddar cheese. He chose to have the cheese first. He was quite eager to try the cheese.

Now, we don't have cheese every day. But Bow has had cheese in the past, and he recognized this as cheese and called it by name.

It may not be a natural part of the chimpanzee diet, but cheese is one of those foods that appeals to the desire for more dietary fat. All you have to do is watch him eat it, to see how much Bow appreciates having cheese in his diet.

Tangerine Breakfast

Bow is a happy fellow with simple tastes. He does not let fame get to his head. He keeps it real.

Yesterday morning, unaware of the fact that an article about him would soon appear in the Licking News, Bow was focused on one thing: breakfast.

Usually breakfast starts with grapes. Then that is followed by cereal. But on days very close to my weekly grocery shopping, sometimes we run out of grapes, and I substitute something else. Yesterday, it was tangerines.

I peeled two tangerines and split them into their respective parts and presented them in the same colander I usually wash the grapes in.

Of course, I hadn't actually washed the tangerines in the colander, so there was no water in it. But Bow decided to make sure, just in case. We are all creatures of habit!

Snow on the Ground and a Pear in the Hand

We've had an unusual snowfall here recently. When it snows, I don't like to drive anywhere, even in the evenings and even if we've run out of a staple food. Instead, I like to revel in the beauty of it all and feel safe and snug.

Here is a view of our pasture in the snow.

We ran out of grapes this morning, which is what Bow likes to have for the first course of breakfast. But we still had goodies in the fruit basket that Bow's uncle sent him for Christmas. So Bow had a juicy pear instead of grapes.

It's nice to have a ripe pear for breakfast before dawn. And a slight variation in our routine is good for all of us.

Here's to an interesting and happy and hopeful new year!

A Basket Full of Goodies

Bow loves food. But he also likes to play. Yesterday, for Christmas, Bow got three gifts. Now, compared to what most children get on Christmas day, that may not seem like much. But for Bow, opening a gift and enjoying its contents is a very leisurely activity. In the past, when he got a whole pile of gifts, he took days, weeks and months to get around to opening them all.

Over time we have learned that more is sometimes less, and we have minimized gifts for Bow at special occasions. Bow had a hardy breakfast before he was presented with his 2012 Christmas gifts. Perhaps that is why he chose to open the non-edible gifts first.

But eventually, when he selected a few items from his third gift, a fruit basket sent by his uncle, his enjoyment of the goodies was quite evident.

Toys and trinkets can be fun, but food is essential!

Pickle Salad

The highlight of Bow's lunch this afternoon was pickle salad, consisting of orange cherry tomatoes, sugar snap peas in the pod and miniature dill pickles.

Usually, Bow leaves his vegetables for the last course, preferring the sweet juicy apples over every other portion of the meal. But today, he asked for the vegetables first. I'm thinking it has something to do with the pickles!

Making Cereal from a Granola Bar

Sometimes you run out of cereal. That's okay, because you don't actually have to eat cereal. There are so many other, better things to eat. But when you are a chimpanzee, and you have finished your grapes, and you are accustomed to getting cereal for the next course, it can be a little disappointing.

 For just such an occasion, you can break out the granola bars. They are just as bad for you as cereal, consisting mostly of oats and honey. They come in a bar, so that you can go on a hike and eat them without making too much of a mess.  But if you are hankering for a messy eat, like cereal and milk, all you have to do is break the bar down into smaller pieces.

Then you pour on the milk. It looks just like cereal with milk, and it tastes a lot like it, too.

However, when you do all this in front of your chimpanzee, he will not be fooled. He won't call it cereal. He will call it "granola and milk." But if he enjoys eating it, anyway, your work is done!