Stuffy Class Semester Break

Hello Blog Pals.  Little Fox here letting you know that the instructors at Stuffy Class have decided to take a semester break so I decided to take the reins of the blog. 

This fox is finally getting a proper adventure.  Looks like we are going into the woods. 

Below me is Too Much Bear Lake on the way to Diamond Falls.  In my opinion there cannot ever be too many bears. 

The wild rhododendrons are in full force today. 

After a mile or two I reached my turn off. 

Crossed a little bridge. 

Finally reached the falls.  This post is about a month or so old but the falls are in full swing.  They are fed by the snowmelt from the mountains in the Cascade Range.  

My hiking pal Sequoia was also happy to get out and enjoy the hike. 

Where is this fox off to next? 

Stuffy Olympic Submission

Hello Blog World,
Little Fox here with a last minute submission to the Stuffy Olympics hosted by Ajdin and his crew.

Let's meet the team representing the US in this years event.

We have coach Little Fox.  Little Fox  has been coaching the US team in this unique event for many years.  The two members representing the USA are Odie and Wolfy.  

This event was developed in part by hard work of all Cherry Tomato farmers in the world.  We have to use store bought tomatoes as the cherry tomatoes on our plants are still green.

Coach Little Fox will demonstrate the event.  As you can see the objective is to catch the tomato thrown at you. Let's see a demo and how the US team does.

Gold?  Silver?  Bronze?  Participant?  Where did the US team land. 

Ace's stuffy class.

Hello Blog World.  My name is Ace.  Am I an aardvark?  Am I an apprentice to the Easter Bunny?  So many questions to answer but none will be dealt with today.  My name is Ace and yes during springtime I do help the Easter Bunny and sometimes I think I am the Easter Bunny.

Being that today is July 23rd my mind is not on Easter but on teaching you the fancy art of hose repair. 

 

When it's time for small projects around the house the humans and other stuffies call on me to fix them (unless the project is near Easter then the humans have to do it themselves).  Today's project involves fixing a hose that is leaking at the end. Originally I tried putting a new washer in the nozzle that connects to the end of the hose but it still leaked so time to move to plan "B".

First things first.  Get tools organized.  This is an easy fix.  You will need a replacement part and a screwdriver.  Also a pair of scissors. 

Since I am working on the hose I will take my project outside.  Here's the old thingy that is broken.  Next step is to cut the hose and toss the end the garbage. 

Now that the bad end is in the garbage time to put the new replacement end in the hose.  

The replacement part is tight in the end of the hose.  Almost done...

The replacement part comes with a metal clamp. Take your handy-dandy screwdriver and tighten the clamp.  I recommend tightening it as best you can......the tighter the clamp the fewer the leaks. 

The nozzle is a couple years old.  I decided to pull out the old gasket and toss it.  

I put a new gasket in the nozzle and pushed it in there tight with the back end of the screwdriver.  

Final step:  Call the humans over to test your work.  As we probably know wet stuffy fur is not ideals so if your hose repair job didn't go as planned better to have the humans wet vs. the stuffies.

Time for this session of stuffy class to end.  Who is going to be our next guest instructor?  Only time will tell. 

Ace - out

Who is Big Bear?

Hello Blog World.  Little Fox here.  I have not been on a proper hike for months and I am missing my outdoor time.  I have succumbed to spraying an air freshener that smells like the woods to hold me over till hiking is a viable option again.

In this week’s stuffy class session, we are honored to have a very special guest.  Big Bear is with us today to teach us about his hobby of flying.  Big Bear is a busy person. He takes flying lessons 5 days a week and has been doing so for the last 10 years.  Take it away Big Bear. 

----------------------------------

Big Bear here:  Thank you for attending my stuffy class.  Little Fox did a great job of introducing me. I have been taking flying lessons for over 10 years. Same plane, same instructor and I am progressing nicely with my lessons.

 

I developed an interest in flying mainly because my bear cave in the flight pattern of a small airport. I walked over to the airport years ago to learn more. Then I met the instructor at the flight school and the rest is history.

My little airport has small planes (like the one I fly in) and big planes.  Rumor is that this hangar holds planes of a certain footwear company.  The planes in this hangar are much more advanced than the ones I can fly.

See that little one over there?  Yep, that’s the plane I train on.  I have been training on that plane for 10+ years and I even have my own set of keys. 

Here's a better picture of my training plane.

How did I get into flying you ask?  I was an aficionado of a popular flying movie from the 80s.  Two of the main characters were nicknamed Maverick and Ice.  Perhaps this picture will help you figure out the movie.

I spend most of my days in the air and each day the instructor and I have lunch.  Part of the deal of my flight lessons (I get a heck of a discount) is to provide the instructor with a sandwich everyday we fly. 

 

Other questions that come up when I talk about flying that hopefully I can answer.

1)    Why do you wear a lei?  I wear it once school lets out to celebrate summer (I come from a long line of teacher bears).

2)    What happened to your leg?  I broke it years ago……..still hasn’t healed.

3)    Does your broken leg interfere with running the pedals of your plane?  Nope, I have adapted.

 

As my stuffy class is coming to an end let me summarize a little.  

1)    A hobby is a great thing to have.

2)    It’s Ok to take lessons for a long time.  Although I recommend trying to negotiate a good deal.

3)    A hobby that lets you travel is always a bonus.

Thanks again for taking my class.  Course evaluations are optional.

Card from a certain card writing bear.

Hiya Blog Pals.
Little Fox here.  I am just hanging out with my pals Grinnell and the Easter Bunny.  Easter Bunny wanted to mention that he is on vacation but will be back on the job next Spring. This fox has had many neighborhood walks and I was telling my pals about the cool bird I saw today.  I don't know what kind of bird it is.

Does anyone know what kind of bird this is?

My roommates mentioned that I received some mail today.  I can't believe how big this letter is. It's addressed to me and I assume it's beary important. 

It came with this cool stamp from Canada.  Are those mountains in the Canadian Rockies? 

Lot's of stickers on this card.  Looks like Sandy is sending cards with lots of stickers to Gramma too.  Good idea. 

This card is from Sandy's trip to the Yukon back in 93.  I have always wanted to visit the Yukon and Northern Territories.  I even had my travel agent look at hotels in Yellowknife.  Unfortunately there is a short travel season so it hasn't worked out yet.

This card is of an old mine and Sandy said that he choose it for me for it's archeological value.  I will have to consult my textbooks to learn more about the mine (yeah, a project to help pass the time).

Wow, Sandy almost wrote a book. He mentioned that he's still supervising the decluttering process.  Also, he mentioned my state is in the green for Covid-19 (which is a good thing).  Our cases are pretty stable (although we have had an increase lately).  Sigh.  It's important to stay at home but this fox is so ready for a proper adventure.

Sandy mentioned that he was happy to get away on vacation last year since he too is pretty mcuh stuck at home.   Sandy also mentioned Sequoia who is also bored out of his mind.  He's on high alert protecting the roommates since they are both at home working.  

Here's a better picture of Sequoia.  I can't figure out how to rotate pictures in the new blogger (sigh) and Sequoia wanted a good picture on the blog. 

Thanks Sandy for the nice card(s) and providing this fox with some distractions. Sequoia wants me to mention to the roommates that it's time a groom.

Happy Independence Day

Hello Stuffy Pals!  Little Fox here.  I just wanted to wish everyone a happy and safe Independence Day!  Today, I am celebrating by having some fresh salmon (well, fresh from the grocery store).

Patiently waiting for the marinade to marinate my fish.  Patiently waiting for the humans to fire up the BBQ.  I wish they would use coal instead of propane (grumble grumble).

Where's the finished product?  Well....this little fox could has minimal patience and ate it hot off the grill. 

Happy Independence Day everyone. I will leave you with nice fireworks over Fort Vancouver (one of the larger shows west of the Mississippi (except for this year, where it was canceled because of Covid 19).

That reminds me.....stay healthy blog pals.

Visite des jardins et une belle carte d'Ajdin

Little Fox here.  I am doing my best to stay home and this fox is experiencing cabin fever.  Luckily I got some mail from Beanie.  This is odd, it has a US stamp.  Is Beanie in the US right now?  A mystery.  

Mystery solved!  It's from Ajdin.  He wants to know if I have done any socially distancing hikes.  Sigh..... I haven't been on a proper hike in months.  Perhaps there is an adventure for me  in the near future?

It's such a nice day.  I should  take a walk through the garden.  Looks like I will have to get the humans on cutting the grass sooner than later.  Do you see the garden in the background?  Cilantro, lettuce, arugula and onions.    Fresh arugula is the best.  Anyone ever have it before?

In this raised bed we have three types of tomatoes growing.  One cherry tomato plant, one early girl, and one glacier tomato (an early variety as well).

Down this long line of planters we have basil (it's ready to go), peppers, and another cherry tomato (sweet 100s).  Why are these in planters?  Well, we ran out of raised bed space and this location gets a lot of sun. 

To get some exercise I decided to climb this cherry tree.  The cherries should be arriving soon. 

Not ready yet....but close.  Did you know the modern day maraschino cherry was perfected Oregon State University?  Yep, Professor E. Wiegand was approached by Oregon cherry growers in 1919 to find a way to preserve the Queen Anne Cherry which grew well in Oregon but had a mushy consistency and didn't preserve well in traditional canning process. 

Wealthy Americans who traveled in Europe came back to the United States and wanted to have maraschino cherries like they had in Europe. Long story short.......he created a way to better preserve these cherries and now Oregon is a "world player in the maraschino cherry industry" Now-a-days Oregon is the major producer of those neon colored cherries adorning bars and ice cream parlors around the world.

Oregon Encyclepedia

Are these Queen Anne Cherries? Nope, they are Van cherries and they are delicious (but not ready to eat)

Besides basil and salad greens what else can a little fox eat in this garden? Let me check in on the strawberries.   They were planted last year and did OK they are doing much better this year.

Wait?  Do you see it? Yes, strawberries (and they look like they are ready to eat).  

I'm a lucky fox.  Thanks Ajdin for the card.