Bow's Christmas presents

Bow knows it is Christmas. As far as he was concerned yesterday was already Christmas, and he kept pointing toward the tree, without saying anything. In fact, he did not eat as much as he usually does yesterday, because he kept looking toward the tree and refused to ask for much to eat.

When the delivery person came yesterday afternoon with the box from Harry and David addressed to Mr. Bow Katz, Bow knew it was for him. He was upset that I did not give it to him at once, but only put it under the tree. In protest, he refused to eat ordinary fare. He only had one big red apple and some fried banana slices for dinner, and refused all else, pointing repeatedly toward the tree.

This morning, I greeted Bow with "happy holiday" and he spelled חג שמח before he asked for his breakfast. After breakfast, he spelled "תני לי שמיכה חדשה" --- "Give me a new blanket!"

As my kids get older, there is a lot less magic to the Christmas holiday, as they already know what they are getting. Bow was so eager to get to that blanket, that I had no time to prepare for the shot, and so the movie came out lopsided.

It is a large giraffe print blanket, but it might be hard to make out in the photos.

 Bow knows what to do with a blanket.

It is a royal plush 50" x 60" when opened up to its full size.

Later Bow asked for another present. I asked him what kind of other present. "אוכל" he spelled. Food.
So I got the box of pears out.

Bow was excited to have his first pear.

 I gave him the one wrapped in festive gold foil.

Bow took his time eating the pear.

It was crisp and fresh.

Bow savored it.

An additional gift that Bow received is a vegetable platter purchased with funds provided for him by his grandmother.

Bow loves dipping vegetables in salad dressing.

 It is one of his favorite things to do.

Bow did not receive any toys this year, because he is just not that interested in toys any longer. He is twelve going of thirteen, and he has long since outgrown his teddy bears and his pull toys, his medicine ball and his cars and wagon and trucks. He never showed any interest in building blocks, except to throw them. And so far he pretty much ignores his computer. He still has a paint set that Lawrence gave him last year, but so far he has not wanted to touch it.

We used to shower Bow with all sorts of gifts, but what happened was that most of the presents remained unopened for months after he was given them. It is hard to find an appropriate gift for such a mature fellow as Bow, who basically has everything he needs, and looks down on useless trinkets. He can only eat so much, so any gift of food really replaces other food he would have eaten -- his stomach is not a bottomless pit, and when he is full he won't eat any more. He always chooses the best morsels of food available, and he ignores lesser fare, when better fare can be had.  He can only use one blanket at a time, but that blanket does need to be replaced each year. He is a creature of simple needs, wants and desires. It would be hard to create a rising demand for complex consumer goods in Bow, and a growth-based economy could probably not work for a population of people who are just like Bow.

It would be nice to get universal recognition for Bow's ability to spell. But as far as he is concerned, all is right with the world, and he does not need any recognition. He is very humble that way.

The Surprise is Blown

Every time the delivery lady comes by, Bow hides in the corner, moving the potty aside to make room for himself.

"I can see you," she says. "I can see you there, you and your blanket. Do you want to come out and say hi to me?"

Bow has different routines with different people. He does not do this with everyone, but that is how he behaves with the delivery lady. Yesterday, after she had coaxed him to come out, he started moving toward her, with his blanket, almost in slow motion. For a chimpanzee who is usually so fast with every movement, it was remarkable how excruciatingly slow he was.

"You're moving like a sloth," she said. "Do you know what a sloth is?"

Bow did not answer, but he kept approaching the grid of the front door to the inner pen in slow motion. Then when he got there, he examined the lady's shoes, felt her fingers through the hole in the grid and looked as if he wanted to kiss her hand.

"Your blanket isn't in good shape, is it?" she asked. "But he's getting a new blanket, isn't he?" she said, turning to me.

"Yes, but it's a surprise."

"Is it under the tree?"

"No. I haven't put it there yet."

"Oh, can he see the tree from there?"

"Sure."

Then she and Bow went back to interacting together, but soon she had to leave.

I didn't really think much of this exchange until much later in the day when Bow took my had and spelled:           יש לי שמיכה חדשה
                     "I have a new blanket."

I answered: "Yes, how did you know?"     ? כן איך ידעת                    

He spelled:          הדודה אמרה
                          "The lady said."

When I told him he could not have his new blanket till Christmas, he got a little mad and tried to tear up what remained of his old blanket. But he soon calmed down and went back to appreciating the blanket that he's got.

Anyway, the surprise is blown. Bow knows exactly what he's getting for Christmas. I mean, he always gets a blanket for Christmas, so it's not really that much of a surprise. But now he knows I've already gotten it for him, and it is hidden somewhere in the house.

That's why I tell people: "Don't talk to me, talk to Bow." If they forget and start talking to me, they end up saying things  -- and I end up saying things --  that Bow wasn't intended to know, and we all tend to forget that even when it's not addressed to him, Bow is still listening. And he still understands.
                             

Getting Colder

Yesterday it got so cold that we started heating in the pens again. Outside, in the real world, though, there is no heating, and life still goes on. In the woods, it is some of the tiniest trees that are turning color first, while the bigger ones are still green and leafy.

Out in the pasture, one of our volunteer persimmon trees is completely bare of leaves, though the orange-colored fruit is hanging on, like bright Halloween decorations.

 There is nothing spookier than a bare tree that gives fruit.

You would think that in this kind of weather, both the butterflies and the flowers would all be gone by now. But no, yesterday I saw a lone Great Spangled Fritillary butterfly on a thistle flower. Next to it was a stand of persimmon trees that had not yet lost their leaves.

Some people age rapidly, others take their time. There is always the last flower of the season -- the last butterfly.

Bow does not let the weather keep him from going outside, though he asks to come in more frequently now.

He gets his exercise in the outer pen, then examines himself to see that nothing has gotten injured while he is frenzied and carried away.

Then when he is ready, he comes in and asks for his blanket, which is by now frayed at the edges and has a hole in it.  But not to worry, he'll soon be getting a new blanket for Christmas. This one has lasted much longer than its predecessors.

Bow is becoming more mature and more responsible. He is a chimpanzee of good character, and he's in this for the long run, like the last butterfly of the season.

Playing and Grooming Indoors

Bow has been in and out today. It is nice enough outside, but this also makes him more playful when he is indoors. 

This afternoon, I spotted Bow playing ball with his rolled up blanket. I came in to film that, but before I had locked the door, he tagged me lightly and invited me to a game of chase, with the blanket serving as a ball.

Then the blanket unraveled and Bow had to take some time to turn it back into a ball. He took especial interest in the white tag affixed to the blanket.

After that, Bow affectionately shook my leg a little, stuck out his tongue, then decided to groom my face. After that, he took an interest in the camera, and it was time to stop filming. 

He wanted to see the video we had made and watched it with interest several times.

After he had watched the video, Bow also groomed my hand a little.

Here is a  very small snippet of a hand grooming session.

All in all, Bow had a good day. He was very patient all day long with any delays or inconveniences he had to put up with, because when you are happy, it's all good.

Snowing, Again!

Only yesterday it felt like spring. Bow enjoyed many uninterrupted hours out of doors. The grass was seen sprouting from under the blanket of dead leaves in the back yard. Birds were chirping everywhere. I even spotted one of my front yard flowers getting ready to show.

But today it is snowing again. How confusing it must be for the plants and the birds.

This was the front yard earlier this morning. In the backyard, the snowflakes were so large, that they even showed up in a still shot.

I had to let the dogs in. Bow stood with his blanket and watched the snow coming down through the window of the front door.

There will be no possibility of going outside for Bow today. The outer pen a while ago looked like this.

And it continues to snow.

Bow got this look on his face, seeing all that snow.

He sat up in the corner of the pen. He could look to the right and see the back yard where the snowflakes were swirling around in the air.

He could look to the left and see the front yard through the window of our door.

Everywhere he looked the forecast did not look good.

What can you do when the weather is like this? Bow finally decided to take a nap. He hid his face under his blanket to block out the sight of all that snow.

When Bow is Dreaming

This morning, Bow and I went outside to play. We could see the sun streaming in through the woods behind our house.

It's nice to be outside on a pleasant clear morning.

Bow did the usual things. He vocalized and displayed.

Between displays, Bow would pat me on the back in a friendly manner, just to let me know that his acts of self-assertion were in no way intended to reflect on his deference or regard for me. He was just letting the world know how he felt. Then he would invite me to join him in a game of chase. This happened several times.

But when he was done, Bow signaled that he wanted to go back inside, asked for his blanket and settle down for a nap.

While he was napping, I noticed that every once in a while Bow's toes would wriggle. Can you spot the wriggling toes in this video?

I watched the toe wriggle event happening more than a couple of times, and I wondered what Bow was dreaming.

When you spend twelve hours a day with a chimpanzee, you get to know him really well. But there are some things that Bow may never tell me. Such as why he wriggles his toes when he's asleep.

Bundling Up

The weather is trending colder again. Today the sliding door to the backyard was frozen shut, and I had to let Brownie out through the garage.

Yesterday, Bow stayed in almost all day. We looked at pictures, read books, and tried to keep ourselves occupied indoors. Bow especially likes looking at children and babies. When he heard me exclaim that So-and-so's little boy was so cute -- as I was going through my Facebook feed -- Bow insisted that I show him, and he looked for a long time with great interest at the picture. "You remember so-and-so," I said. "You knew her when she was a school girl, and now she is all grown up and has a little boy." Bow nodded.

We also looked at other pictures, the kind we have hard copies of. Here is a shot of Bow looking at the big picture of himself and Lawrence that he got for his birthday.

The green blanket got full usage yesterday, sometimes as rug to lie or sit on, sometimes as a blanket to cover Bow up as he napped, and at times it served Bow as a robe.

Bow refuses to wear clothing. He is very stubborn about that, even outside in the snow. But he sometimes seems to reinvent the idea of clothing, in the way he uses his blanket. In the summer he will sometimes tie a blanket round his waist. In the winter, he looks like a robed sage.

Then, just to show he does not take himself all that seriously, Bow will stick out his tongue.

Or he will pout.

But for long periods of time, he looks like a wise patriarch who has all the answers.

Toward the end of the day, Bow asked to go outside. I let him out, and he made a brief but impassioned display. The sound of his voice echoed through the woods behind our house. Then he rushed back inside.

Sometimes you just have to let it all out, express what you need to express, then hurry back to where it is safe and warm and snug.

Just Say No!

It has been very cold. It snowed yesterday, and school was canceled for today.

I built a fire in the fireplace.

The snow did not seem all that uniformly high.

But there were drifts of snow that were quite deep.

This morning, even with the heat on, it seemed a little cold. When Bow asked for a shirt, I took him at his word and brought one out that I thought he might actually like to wear.

At first, I thought that he might like to put the shirt on himself. But when he just stared at me, I decided I would help him. Coaxing did not work. Pretty soon he had me chasing him around the pen. Then finally he took my hand and spelled לא. No is no. I accepted his answer and stopped pestering him.

It's a good thing we have language. There is no need to be coy. When someone makes you an offer of something that you do not want, you can just say no. It's amazing how well that works!

Bow later also told me that a guy does not wear clothes. דוד לא לובש בגדים. As a general rule, I might disagree. But this particular guy stopped wearing clothes the moment he got free run of the pens.

So in the end, Bow asked for his blanket, and he seems happy, even though it is cold and there is not much to do.

Snow in the New Year

It's the second day of the new year. And it snowed last night. It's not as much snow as we had in December, but still everything is covered with  snow.

Even the swing is covered with snow.

Bow spent the early morning hours just snuggling with his new Christmas blanket.

He left his flank uncovered, but his face half-hidden.

A little later, though. he gave me the blanket and asked to go outside. I warned him it was cold out, but he said he wanted to go out just a little. But when it came time to get into the airlock, he decided not go out after all.

So when he returned from the aborted mission, Bow asked for the blanket again.

And now he is resting on top of it, taking it easy.

We have a pretty good life here in the pens. We're just worried about the people in Ohio. They do need all the help they can get.

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