Cherry Orchard Adventure

 Hiya Gang,

Little Fox here.  No, I am not at a National Grassland although that is on this fox's bucket list.

I am hanging out near the Columbia River.  It's a nice fall day and I decided on a little adventure. 

Ah, there is the Columbia.  Except for some wind the weather is beary nice.

The leaves are changing colors.  Mainly oak trees and there are a lots of acorn looking items on the ground. I assume they are acorns.

This is a nice hike.  Open areas.  Tree lined areas.  Cool rock cliffs.

Getting closer to my lunch spot. 

A detour through the woods. 

Can you see it?  Mt. Adams in the background. 

Okay, time to find a nice viewpoint for lunch. 

This will do.  Time to head back down the hill.

Now all I have to do is convince my roommates to buy me a sugar cookie as a treat.

A fall adventure

 Greetings Stuffy Pals.

Little Fox here. I am enjoying a nice fall day.  I'm at the Coyote Wall and Catherine Creek area of Washington. So many hiking choices for this little fox to make. 

This rock looks like a good rest.  It's a nice fall day.  This little fox is enjoying the sun.

A secret cave for me to explore.  

The wildflowers are gone but the wild grasses are very soothing to this fox. 

So much for this fox to explore.  Onward.

This looks like a good place to stop and have lunch.  Turkey sandwich and cheese for this little fox.  Dog chow (and some cheese) for Sequoia. 

Finally some fall foliage.  I don't have my botanist hat with me but I am guessing these are Oregon White Oak.  

The Oregon White Oak is also known as the Garry Oak in Canada.  Apparently, the Garry Oak is found on Vancouver Island. I wonder if Sandy has seen any of those oaks in his neighborhood. 

This fox had a small adventure because I was busy at home working on my Halloween Costume for Jerry and Ben's contest. 

Jerry and Ben's Halloween Contest.

Wish me luck stuffy pals on my submissions for the contest.

Costume:  Little Fox, Master Sommelier.

Scene:  Hosting a wine tasting for his stuffy pals.  

Drunk Fox wanted to make sure everyone saw that he was having a non-alcoholic drink. 

For the new category of Halloween Themed Dessert I searched the internet and came up with many ideas.  Here's my submission.  It's titled "Graveyard".  Chocolate cake, chocolate frosting and Milano cookies as the tombstones.

Dessert: The Graveyard

Good luck to all the contestants.  
Little Fox

Second Summer Adventure

I am a very lucky fox to experience a second summer.  Today I am at Oceanside Beach on the Pacific Ocean.

In attendance with me today is my trusty hiking pal Sequoia. 

I thought for sure that Sequoia would want to dig in this hole as he often digs in the sandpit at the neighborhood park.  Apparently, there was too much going on that he didn't have any interest in this hole. 

Onward....

This hike required some planning as there are some tight areas on the beach and if you visit during high tide you could be wading through the ocean instead of walking on the sand.  Saltwater and stuffy fur do not mix. 

Getting close to our turn-around point.  Along the route I found pilings....Professor Jones, my archaeology professor told me there used to be an old fishing pier here. 

Darn kelp

Time to refuel with a snack.

After lunch we started heading back.  Now that the tide is lower there is a secret tunnel at the beach.

Time to explore.  The beach on the other side of the tunnel is called "Star Trek Beach".  

If the tide was lower we could explore Agate Beach and if there is a negative tide then we could venture to Lost Boy Beach.  Perhaps another time. The humans stopped at a country store and I decided to venture out. 

Apparently, this old pump still works.  $5.00 a gallon. I guess they have a captive audience being the only pump in town.  

A good day at the beach. Even Sequoia is tired. 

 

Stuffy Class: Food Service Division

 Hello Stuffy World.

Little Fox here. I'm enjoying a nice afternoon at the beach.  This weeks stuffy class is a little different.  As you know we have many instructors at stuffy class.  Fortunately, they work for free so as a good administrator I always make sure my team is fed. 

Hello friends.  My name is Young Fox and I am one of the newest foxes here at the house.  I am in charge of feeding the guest lecturers at Stuffy Class.  Today, I am working on some fresh salsa.

Step 1: I am washing the class "B" tomatoes from the garden.  What's a class "B" tomato?  They are the ones with imperfections, spots, and dents but they still taste good.

Fresh onion from the garden.  Just need to get the dirt off.

The tomatoes are dry.  Now they are ready to be processed. 

I have most of my ingredients in the food processor.  The trick to making salsa for a large group of people is to use a food processor to grind up the tomatoes, cilantro, onion, garlic, and jalapeno.

I need some lime.  I had to ask my pal Drunk Fox to help me with the limes.

Um.  Looks like Drunk Fox needs a nap.  I know what will wake him up.  

\

Fresh chips and homemade salsa.  This ought to keep the guest lecturers happy for awhile. 

Of course stuffies can't live on salsa alone.  Let's see what else I can make? I have baking soda, whole wheat flour and regular flour.  I also have some over ripe bananas and chocolate chips.  I bet I can whip something together. 

Voila.  Banana muffins. 

Drunk Fox wanted to get his spot near the muffins.  

Funny how fresh muffins bring all the stuffies out. 

I hope my fresh salsa and homemade muffins are acceptable to our teaching staff at Stuffy Class. 

Stuffy Class: Today's Topic: Karma

Good Afternoon Stuffy Class Students!

Little Fox here and today's class is on the concept of doing something for others.   

Wait, who is our guest instructor today? 

Did you guess Wolfy?  If so, you did great.

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Wolfy here.  Welcome to my Stuffy Class today.  Today's topic is Doing something for others and the basic principle of Karma.  I am going to teach you how to make some vegan ice cream for my pal Reindeer who is a vegetarian.  

Am I a vegan?  Nope.  Am I a vegetarian?  Nope, but I want to do a nice gesture for my pal Reindeer.  Let's get started.

PS -I know a lot of my students disliked the $10.00 lab fee for this class so I have decided to waive it for this class and all future classes.

Step 1: This recipe requires confectioners sugar and we are out.  No problem, you can take regular sugar and grind it up in your food processor or blender with a little bit of cornstarch and you are good to go.

Next step is to get some aquafaba.  What is aquafaba?   Well, it's the liquid that comes in the can of chickpeas.  You will need to whip 3/4 cups of aquafaba to form still peaks.

A hand mixed will do the trick. About 12 minutes or so.  Hard to believe it but it works. It really looks like egg whites.

I hope these are stiff enough peaks.  

Next step:  Get 10 ounces of peaches.  Your confectioners sugar and grind it up in a food processor.  Be sure to add some vanilla as well.  

Okay class.  Grind up those ingridents.

I have this weird peachy paste.  I thought it would be smoother.  I hope Reindeer enjoys the ice cream, this Wolf is a little skeptical.  I decided to whip the aquafaba a little more to ensure stiff peaks.  Then all you have to do is mix in the peach vegan stuff to the faux egg whites.

Voila!  The finished product actually looks pretty good. 

As Tom Petty would say: "The waiting is the hardest part."  So, it's time to put the vegan ice cream in a 9x5 loaf pan and let it freeze for at least 6 hours.  

Let's loop back to my topic.  Karma is an action not a result.  I will have to remind Reindeer about that if this vegan ice cream is an epic fail.

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6 short hours later the ice cream is ready to taste.  I think that Reindeer should get the honor of scooping the first scoop.

  Notice how fresh ice cream brings out all the stuffies?  Funny how that happens.

 Reindeer gets the first taste (being that I made this specifically for him) and the verdict is.....  Texture is strange but the taste is good.  Reindeer gives it two paws up!