More Miami

 Hiya Gang,
Little Fox here.  I was exploring some of the cool street art in Miami.  This one really calls to me.  However there was a lot of cool street art in Wynwood neighborhood. 

Beanie Mouse would love this street art.

Besides the cool street art, Calle Ocho in Little Havana was pretty neat.  The Cuban coffee was delicious.

Little Havana was a pretty fun area.  Lots of restaurants from all over Latin America.  Plus they have a ton of fiberglass roosters around to celebrate the areas culture.  This rooster is in front of a Starbucks.

After Little Havana it was time to explore the good life at Vizcaya Museum, the former winter home of American Industrialist James Deering of International Harvester fame.  This home is more of a villa, so many rooms, formal gardens and right on Biscayne Bay in Miami.  The heirs to the estate were kind enough to give the estate to the City of Miami so the could operate it as a museum.

This garden is so amazing - it's what I imagine Jerry's garden looks like.

After exploring Vizcaya it's time to explore more of South Beach.  Espanola way is a quiet little street with outdoor restaurants similar to Italy and Spain.

One more stop at the beach. 

Even the lifeguard stands are done in Art Deco style.

Miami is a cool town, but this fox is more of a smaller town fox.  Off to the Florida Keys.

Off to the Jetty.

 Hello Blog World. Little Fox here hanging out at the beach.

It's a nice 80 degrees back home so it should be a nice 65 degrees at the beach.  Note...it's not, it's cold and windy at the beach but the cold and wind doesn't stop this adventurer. 

Off in the distnace is Twin Rocks. I wonder why they are called Twin Rocks?

What's this building in the distance?  It looks like a lifeguard tower but this is the Northern Pacific and it's not really a swimming type of ocean up here.  Way too cold.

Perhaps if I can get a little closer to see what this tower is for.....well I never found out.  Sigh.

I did see this sign. Did you know that the word Tillamook (they have a cheese factory there and free samples....beanie, cocoa?????)

Anyway, Tillamook is a term in the Native American Coast Salish Tribes language meaning lands of many waters.

 Sure, the Pacific is here, the Kilchis River, and the Trask River is nearby but it rains ALOT here as well. I wonder if the Coast Salish were referring to the rivers, oceans or the rain?????

Okay, I have made it to the end.  Hanging out at the jetty. The Jetty is comprised of 37,000 tons of stone to resist the fierce force of ocean waves and extends about 5000 feet into the ocean.  Apparently explorer Robert Gray landed in Tillamook bay area (which includes 5 bays in the area). This Jetty provides access to one that is used by the fishing industry in the area (salmon, oysters, and crabs).  

Enough chit chat....time to head back for a windy lunch. 

  (Editors Note: The Coast Salish lived up North in Washington, and BC but there was a small tribe living in Tillamook as well).  Who knew? (Besides the Coast Salish people).

Stuffy Class: Art Appreciation

 Hello Blog World. Little Fox here and I would like to welcome our guest instructor.

Class, please say hello to this weeks instructor, me, Little Fox.

Let's dive right into the art world.

I like this bear.   Friendly, has some nice color with the flowers on the left and he's wearing his mask.  Bravo!

This one really "calls" to me.   Astonishing work by this artist.  These foxes do the hard work of greeting patients to the Boise Children's Hospital.  Do you have important work to do?  Best leave it up to an animal.

Idaho elk.  These two are staggeringly stoic.

This next section is for Beanie.  Lot's of painted electrical boxes around Boise. 

This is one of my favorites.  Breathtaking!

The many layers of Boise.  Farming, camping, nature, football. 

Really makes you think.

Each box is a commisioned piece of work.  The artist gets to paint all sides of the box.

In case you forgot where this class took place.

This one is in the Basque District.  Idaho has one of the largest Basque populations outside of Spain.

The final area of art appreciation will be mural appreciation.

I titled this one Home Sweet Home.  Shockingly awesome!

This is a pleasant little fellow.  Bonus points for having a fellow canine brother in the mural. 

This one agrees with me. 

Students.  I hope you enjoyed my stuffy class on art appreciation.  Yes, this does count as your humanities section so if you want your humanities credit please write a 1 page paper on art.  

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.

Beanie's Art Contest. An entry from a little fox, drunk fox, and the gang

Good Day Stuffies.  Three entries.
Entry #1: Done by Little Fox.  Titled: Untitled.
My art is inspired by the many artists who use LED displays to do small and large scale installations.

Entry #2: Done by the Gang.  Titled: Family Portrait
Inspired by every home photographer trying to get a good  portrait of their family. 

Entry #3: Done by Drunk Fox.  Titled: Selfie

Inspired by tourists around the world

Thanks for the contest Beanie. Good luck artists.  LF

Trash to treasures entry

My pal Wolfy and I were enjoying this cider and talking about our entry into the Trash to Treasures contest.  We know we have some stiff competition.  Bennie is very artistic and Droopy makes his own homemade cards.  Jerry, Ben and Sandy are no slouches in the creativity department either.

Wolfy and I dug around our closet and found this hummingbird feeder nozzle.   Then it hit us, we could make a hummingbird feeder.  All we need is wire, the nozzle and an empty bottle.  Piece of cake.

Full disclosure:  The first attempt at the hummingbird feeder did not work.  Goal: a hummingbird feeder.  Result: a broken bottle on the garage floor because the wire did not hold (but we got a clean garage floor out of the experiment).

I knew I needed helped.  Reindeer jumped in.  He has paws big enough for holding the hot glue gun.  

Reindeer and I got the wire to stay around the bottle but it does not look nice.

Reindeer suggested trying a plastic bottle being that the wire might adhere to the plastic easier.  We found a bottle, got the glue gun going and made it work.  

Reindeer and I were very apprehensive after two fails but we knew we had  to test it.

Us stuffies are not stupid.  We filled it with water, had the roommates hold it above the sink and we kept our paws crossed.  It works, it works!  I think Reindeer and I were very surprised. 

Perhaps it's time for a celebration.  Let's enjoy this nice canned wine.  I'm sure it's delicious.