Garden Update

I really wanted to get out and examine the garden today before the rain comes in.  The sky looks like it's ready to rain so I better check out the garden now vs. later. 

 Ugh oh, this isn't looking good.  Clearly my green paw isn't working this plant.  Jerry, what do I do?

 Ahh, this is better.  The onions are coming nicely and I must admit the green compliments my orange color.  I can't wait to try the onions - we planted sweet and yellow ones this year.

It was time for us to get a new rosemary plant.  Our current rosemary served us well but we think we need a new one.  This plant is beary small - hopefully it grow soon.

 The cilantro looks good.  Who wants salsa?

 Speaking of salsa I noticed that we got a few volunteer cherry tomatoes sprouting up.  Should I pull them and plant new tomatoes or should we keep them and see what's going to happen?

 No, I am not traversing the jungle of Peru I am just enjoying hanging out in the mint patch.  Good thing it was planted in a container versus the ground.  Speaking of mint, maybe it's time for a Mojito?

Welcome Fern!

Hello Blog Pals,
Thanks for everyones help in naming our new fox and after a very complicated selection process our new fox has a name.  Welcome Fern!

Thanks for the help in choosing a new name and thanks J & B for letting me know a fox was available for adoption.

Recipe Contest Update #1

I can't believe how many recipes I have gotten from my recipe contest.  In fact some of the recipes were seasonal and now it seems odd to be making some of these items in the Spring. Anywho, let's get down to business. 

Recipe: Ben's Spinach Pomegranate Salad

Chef: Ben

Reindeer is very interested in this dish.  Reindeer thinks the feta cheese, baby spinach and pomegranate make an excellent combination.  As a tried and true vegetarian Reindeer gives this two paws up.  Thanks Chef Ben.

Our next entry is from Jerry and Ben's friend Jake.  It's called Jake's Special Cranberry Chicken Wraps.  These wraps have chicken, feta cheese, baby spinach and some miracle whip to hold it all together.  Jake these were delicious, Drunk Fox and I are partial to chicken recipes.  Way to go. 

Another recipe for Reindeer courtesy of my friend up north.  Sandy submitted this awesome spinach dip recipe.  Reindeer appreciates the vegetarianness of this meal and Drunk Fox likes this recipe because it reminds him of bar food/bar appetizers.  Rarely do Reindeer and Drunk Fox agree on a dish but this is one that meets both of their tastes.

Ben shared another recipe called Ben's so good and easy party meatballs.  Drunk Fox is all about this one.  He loves meatballs (we made these with Turkey as per Ben's suggestion), created a great dip with chili sauce and grape jelly, and baked them in the oven.

A cooked set of meatballs courtesy of Ben sure brings out a crowd. 

All of this good food needs a dessert type dish.  This next one comes from our tour guide friend.  Freshly bake banana bread is one of our favorites.  Little Bear loves the bread (probably reminds him of something you could pick up at Starbucks) Reindeer appreciates the vegetarianness of this recipe, and I am always happy to try banana bread fresh out of the oven.  

Round one has been very successful.  I need to get on my roommates to help me make the recipes for round two which include:

1) Ben and Jerry's Poor Bear Soup

2) Ben's curried squash soup

3) A special dessert from Jerry

4) Bacon wrapped pork tenderloin from Sandy

5) Dark Hot Chocolate from Sandy

Pet fox needs a name

As you may know Jerry and Ben adopted a pet panda on their website, Max. They told me that the website now has a pet fox for adoption.  I am going to ask Ooogie to get the paperwork together for the adoption process.  One of the things I need is a name for the fox.  Can anyone help me out? Feel free to submit your suggestions in the comments.  Thanks in advance.
Little Fox.

Little Fox Archaeologist and Wildflower Explorer

I have always wanted to be an archaeologist and today is my lucky day.  I am up at an abandoned ranch that now has some neat hiking trails and some great wildflowers.

 This is a comfy post although I should be careful of the barbed wire.  Mt. Hood in the background even a small white wildflower to the right.

 It seems that archaeologists should be careful.  Don't worry friends I didn't get too hurt, nothing that a large hot chocolate won't fix.

 Sequoia to the rescue.

 Best I relax a moment at this stream.  The water is beary cold but I have to admit I look pretty cool hanging out at the stream.

 Right-O back to the archaeologist adventure.  Looks like an old horse corral in the background.  Upon further inspection the corral is in bad shape.

 This new fence (you can see glimpse to the left) is courtesy of the Forest Service is protecting a rock arch that is sacred to the Native American's who lived worshiped hear.

 
 Flowers are looking good, aren't they?

I think my roommates need a better camera to pick up all the colors.
I wished there was more areas to practice archaeology - I bet Sequoia would be a valuable asset to help me dig holes.  Speaking of practicing, I think my roommates might need to practice their videography skills as well.

  Now that I have caught the archaeology bug I better find an Indiana Jones movie to watch on Netflix.

NCAA Basketball Bracket Winner

Hello Blog Pals,
I have been busy crunching numbers, examining spreadsheet after spreadsheet, and analyzing a ton of information - no I am not paying my taxes (hmm, probably should think about doing that soon) but I am trying to figure out who won our NCAA Contest.

Our contestants were: Drunk Fox, Big Bear, Ajdin, and me (along with "canvoota" whoever that is).  If you are a stuffy "canvoonta" welcome, if not thanks for playing anyway.  But being this a contest for stuffies I am going to remove "canvoota's scores" unless I hear otherwise.

Drunk Fox came in first place with a total of 87 points.

 He chose Kansas Jayhawks to win but Drunk Fox only likes the Jayhawks because it reminds him of his favorite food, chicken.  Anyway, back to the results - the Jayhawks lost to Villanova and that pretty much ended Drunk Fox's bracket.

Big Bear came in second with 86 points and almost had first place.

He too chose the Jayhawks to win but not because the Jayhawks remind him of chicken - his reasons for choosing Kansas are only known by Big Bear.

I, Little Fox, came in third.

I chose University of Arizona to win.  Every year they are in the tournament I chose the University of Arizona to win.  I didn't attend that school, have only been to Tuscon once but I just adopted that school for Basketball (along with Univ of Montana as my adopted Football School - because there mascot is the Grizzly)  and every year I choose them to win and every year they don't come close.  Someday they are bound to win.

PS - I had 45 points - didn't do too hot.

Finally, my stuffy tour guide friend Ajdin.

 He chose Duke University to win.  A strong player in the NCAA tournament and an excellent choice (versus throwing it all away every year with Univ of Arizona) but sadly Ajdin came in last.  That being said, he was in great company being only 6 points below me, Little Fox.

As with every good contest we must talk about the prizes.  Ajdin, I might send your prize along with the recipe contest prize - but it's coming in the future.  I still have to make a few recipes for the contest but don't worry it will arrive in the future - sometime...


Thanks for playing everyone!

Spring Wildflowers are out!

We have been lucky to have a few days of sun in a row and I have a good feeling that some wildflowers are going to be out in bloom.  Let's go see.

I think I will take a little break at this table while my roommates get Sequoia set up with his leash, harness, and some dog chow.

Enough with the break, I better check the map as well.  I learned from Ajdin's stuffy tours it's always good to check maps before any trip.  This map looks easier to understand than the DC Metro Subway so that's good for me.

The Deschutes River is fed by melting snow - in this part of Oregon we only get 11 inches of rain per year - compared to where I live in the state where we get about 40 inches per year.  This river looks pretty calm right now. 

I left my wildflower guide at home but I know this is a tree so it's name would not be in it anyway.  Who cares?  The blooms are wonderful.

One of my favorite wild flowers - Lupine.  

Sequoia seems to be enjoying himself.  So many different smells are out here - it's like a buffet of smells for this dog. 

Could it be?  I better get closer to examine but it looks like it might be one of my favorite flowers.

Yes! Yes!  Yes!!!!!! 

The Balsamroots are out.  Balsamroot is a part of the daisy family and is closely related to the sunflower (go figure).  It's a perfect sized flower for this little fox to pose next to. The vibrant yellow is a nice contrast for a little fox who lives in a cloudy region of the country. 

I like this picture a lot.  First, this rock is perfect for holding me up while I pose and you can see the balsamroot and a couple of lupine in the same shot.  

No lunch on this hike but my roommates promised we would enjoy lunch elsewhere.  Apparently we are headed to "Big Jim's" drive in, I hope they have chicken!!!

Option for Ajdin???

Bloggers, we all know Aidan's aversion to pants but one of of my travels I saw this bear and thought "Hey, this might work for Aidan".

Ajdin, what about shorts?  This bear even looks like a Bear Scout, shorts might complete the outfit.