Heaven on Earth Cinnamon Rolls

My roommates are being a little too sneaky for my taste.  Sequoia is with the dog sitter and they told me to pack my bags - of course I don't have any bags to pack so I just grabbed a seat in the car.   I got in the car first and chose some good driving music  

My roommates heard of this bakery along the highway and when we pulled into the parking lot I was a little confused. Err, this places seems a little "dilapidated".

My roommates told me to turn around and this is what I saw: Ahh this looks better.  I am still wondering what my roommates have in mind for me.

This restaurant is called "Heaven on Earth" lets see if they live up to the name.

Ok, I have to give my roommates credit.  They seemed to have found a good bakery.  This pan is a large apple crisp.  Not my favorite but a good job.  Do you he see the cinnamon rolls in the background?

Jerry, do you think they they are looking for a taster?  I can submit your resume.

Let's see what else they have in the bakery?  Not the best picture in the world but look at all of these baked goods.

I could really sink my teeth into these cinnamon rolls.  I haven't seen so many in all of my travels.  

So many choices - my roommates told me I could not get a tray of anything but I did get this large cinnamon roll.  It's almost as big as I am.  This is perfect!

I don't say this often but my roommates are certainly getting good marks for this roadside stop.  I will have to make a note in their evaluation.

Nature HIke

 My nature hike today started off near this Sequoia tree.  Apparently, a local dignitary planted the tree is in the 1860s and it's the oldest Sequoia tree in Oregon.

Sequoia the dog wasn't with us on this nature hike but I, Little Fox, can narrate for you. 

 Spring is in full force.

These smell good. 

Now that I have made it to the top of the viewpoint you can see Mt. McLoughlin in the distance.

The nature park was on an old mining claim so as I ventured down I had a chance to see all sorts of historical equipment. 

Behind me is an old earthen dam used as a way to collect water for hydraulic mining which was done on this hill until the 1940s.  I am no engineer, but essentially hydraulic mining involves spraying a lot of water forcefully at a hill, moving rocks and dirt, and seeing what minerals (gold in this case) are left over.   

Hmm what's this?  Looks like a water gun.  I better explore. 

Old rusted pipes.  Interesting. 

Looks like a mining sluice. 

Up close to the water gun.  It might be a tad heavy for me to operate.

This mining operation probably took a toll on the hillside - luckily the residents of the town banded together to preserve the history of the hill and the land.  Now, they have a growing wine county and many agribusinesses.  As you can see the deer have come back to the hills (maybe they never left) either way it was a good spot for me to relax.

Speaking of relaxing, let's hit some of these wineries.  

No, I am in the Mediterranean, sigh.

Are these Koi?

What? I have to drink my wine out of a paper cup?  

Bear's Hotel

 Apparently before one enters the Bear's Hotel one must take a Southern Oregon adventure and in this case my adventure begins here:

I wanted the bear next to me to be my tour guide but unfortunately he has to "man" the entrance to the Bears Hotel.

According to the sign these are the places I will visit along my route.  Let's go!

Lighting was not great in the adventure but there were plenty of animals to join me along the way.

I would not want to mess with this wolf. He kind of looks rabid but I am sure he is up-to-date on his shots.  

This raccoon is pretty sly, I think I will make him an honorary fox. 

Now that my Southern Oregon adventure was complete I was able to explore the Bear's Hotel.  The  Bear's Hotel is where the Bears "rest" during the fall, winter and spring months.  During the summer they are displayed throughout town Bear Fest. Let's meet some of these bears.

Cub Tut.

Music Bear

These pies look good. 

One bear band.

All of this adventuring has made me thirsty.  Thankfully there is an old time bear tender with a cold beverage for this fox. 

A couple of shots of the rest of the gang.  

My favorite

Who knew bears made such amazing works of art.  Can't wait to go back when the bears are on display during Bear Fest 2016.

Mail Call

Recently, I received a letter from Jerry and Ben.  Those two are so lucky to have their own return address labels.  I must make a note to get some made for me. 

 I see this package has Jerry and Ben's trademark artwork and it says "Surprise".   What could it be?  Cookies?  Recipes?  First class ticket to the Mid-West to visit?  Let's see.

 First, I noticed a nice card with my name on it.  Jerry and Ben's sekrebeary has nice penmanship.

 The card is awesome!  Besides foxes bears are one of my favorite animals.

 Besides the card they found some fox stickers.  I can't wait to use them on all of my stuffy based correspondences (sorry electric company no fox stickers when I pay your bill).

 Well, this is kind of embarrassing.  I have been a little behind on my mail.  The picture on the left is a card from Sandy for my birthday (in January).  I like the card because I don't know if the fox in it is making friends with the mouse or if he is going to eat it (I hope he is being friendly).   The card with the panda on it is Jerry and Ben's valentine card.  The heart shape card is Droopy's valentine.  Clearly, I need to stay on top of my mail.  Thanks everyone for the great cards and stickers.

A well deserved hike and a recipe from Jake's kitchen

Lately, the weather has been a little wet.  As you can see there is lots of mud at this trail head but Sequoia and I have been itching to go hiking so we had to put on the charm to get our roommates out on a rainy day. 

We went hiking at this trail a few weeks ago.  Now there is more proof that Spring has arrived.  I believe this is a Trillium.  

After the hike I chowed down on a great recipe from Jerry and Ben's friend Jake.  Chicken, dried Cranberries, Feta, Apple and Spinach. It's surprisingly hard for a little fox to wrap a tortilla with all of these goodies so this picture doesn't do any justice for how good the sandwich is.

Thanks for the recipe Jake!

March madness contest

Happy March!

Drunk Fox and I are working hard on making and judging all the recipes.  As a break, we thought it would be fun to have a little March Madness basketball bracket contest.  Now, Drunk Fox and I are not big basketball fans (we are probably too little to be successful at the game) but we do like a good contest.

Here are the rules:
1) Fill your bracket out online (see link at the bottom of the post).  Even if you are not sure who to vote for, fill one out randomly and see how you do (that is my strategy - makes it more fun).
2) Each stuffy can have their own bracket or if they want they can join together.
3) Prizes for all!
4) All teams need to be picked by Thursday March 17th.  Sandy, maybe you Mom can pick for you since you are on holiday.

To sum it up, all you really have to is click on the link, create a bracket (with teams) and sit back and collect prizes. All stuffies encouraged to join in.

http://www.foxsports.com/fantasy/collegebasketball/tourney/group/join/?group=45027

Recipe Contest Update

Thanks everyone for the great recipes sent in for the contest.  There are a lot of recipes for me to make and I have been busy in the kitchen.  Today, I spent time making Ben's Peppermint Chocolate cookies.

Step 1: Mix dry ingredients.

Step 2: Melt chocolate and butter.  I hope my cookies stand up to Ben's expectations.

I had to count 45 peppermint candies then crush them in a zip lock bag.  

While the dough chilled so did Sequoia and I.

The final product.  Me thinks my staff made a mistake somewhere in the cooking process but we hope we do Ben's recipe justice. 

Little Fox Welcomes Spring

Welcome Spring!  

Can anyone guess what kind of tree this is?

The most recent rain and windstorms blew most of the flowers off of the almond tree.  Phooey.

Happy Spring everyone.  Jerry, I hope your Spring starts soon.