The eternal question with Drunk Fox.

 Hello Blog World,
Drunk Fox here. I am in charge of the blog this week as Little Fox is out and about.  I wanted to show off my favorite hot chocolate mug.  Isn't it cool?  A fox giving a gift to a rabbit.

Wait a minute!  Is the fox giving the gift to the rabbit or is the rabbit giving the gift to the fox?  

Let me assemble my team. 

We are divided.  Looks like sides are forming.  Little Bear and Big Bear are choosing the side that thinks the rabbit is giving the fox the gift.  My side believes the fox is giving the rabbit the gift. 

It looks all like the bears are sticking together on this one.  You can even see that I lost a supporter.  The little bear (no, not Little Bear) switched sides.  Team Bears vs. Team Other Animals.

It's a tie!  Four to four.  I think we all need to step away from this debate, I can see a look in  Wolfy's eyes that he's ready to take this debate to the next level.

Time to practice diplomacy fox style.  I will brew up some hot chocolate and get some peppermint sticks to redirect our attention.

Snow day

 A mid-February snowstorm.

Garden Planning Session

 Hiya Gang,

Little Fox here!  Ooops...just wait a second.  

Okay, now that I have gotten rid of my Santa hat we can get down to business.  Today's task is planning out the Spring garden.  

Let's see: I have seeds for rocket (aka arugula), delicata squash, cilantro and lettuce.  I better make a more detailed list (tomatoes, peppers, jalepenos, onions, basil x2) and send out the sekrebearies for more seeds and starts.  What else should I get? 

Pioneer cemeteries of Oregon's history #1

 Little Fox here.  I have been trying to keep busy this winter and I have decided to research a little bit of Oregon's history.

Today I am at Champoeg State Park.  In the 1840s the question of the area known as Oregon was a disputed area.  The United States and the United Kingdom both wanted to lay claim to the Oregon area.  In 1843 one hundred and two representatives voted whether to join the United States and/or United Kingdom and the vote was 50 to 52 in favor of joining the United States.  It took a couple of years for the territory to be established but by 1848 the Oregon Territory was established.

The next stop on our trip is to the Lone Fir Cemetery in Portland.  It's a pioneer cemetery.  In Oregon, a pioneer cemetery must have at least one person buried before 1909.  Clearly I need to be careful around these monuments. 

Lone Fir is the first cemetery in Portland.  

We will start at block 14.  

Block 14 is an area where patients from the nearby Oregon Hospital for the Insane (yes, that was the real name).  They also buried over  800 Chinese men at block 14 and from 1928 to 1940 they disinterred many of them and sent the bodies back to China.  However, research has shown that there are still bodies buried at block 14.  In the future, a memorial garden is to be planted at block 14 to honor the patients and Chinese who are/were buried there.

Crawford Dobbins is Lone Firs first resident. Crawford died when the steamship Gazelle exploded killing many aboard. Colburn Barrell owned the Gazelle and the land where  Dobbins and others from the explosion are buried here and hence Mt. Crawford cemetery was established until Barrell's wife suggested Lone Fir as the name.  

Let's see who else we can meet. 

Happy Birthday Little Fox

 Note:  This is post moderately out-dated, all cards arrived early.  Kudos to the sekrebrearies.

Hello Gang,

Little Fox here hanging out with my stuffy pals.  I am honored that a few of the Christmas stuffies decided to hang out for my birthday.  Kermit, Drunk Fox, Wolfy, Baxter, Little Bear, Penguin, Christmas Bear, and Christmas elf are all in attendance.

My first card is from Sandy (how does he get his picture on a stamp)?

A beary nice card, in fact it's in the style of Droopy.  Sandy and Cocoa are getting some cabin fever (I can't blame them).  Stormy weather up there is cancelling ferries and trails are flooded.  I think Sandy should take Cocoa on a chocolate tasting tour on the mainland. 

Sandy did mention they are planning their garden.  I need to get the humans on that too.  Spring is near...

Team Ajdin wished me a very happy birthday via this e-card. 

Droopy and his pals wished me a very happy birthday.  Is this card upside down?  Ugh, sekrebearies. 

Droopy also wished me a happy birthday with mucho chicken.  I am all up for that and I hope the new year brings Droopy mucho bacon. 

I bet you can guess who this next card is from?  Last time I checked the temperature in these bears hometown it was cold! I hope it warms up soon.

Jerry and Ben sent an awesome card.  It has snoopy on it wishing me a happy birthday.

Jerry did mention that if there was any cake left over he would assist in eating it.  He's so helpful.

Um, sorry Jerry there was no cake this year.  But I did get a dessert. Stuffy sized oranges for all of my pals. 

These are mandarins and they are only sold in winter, are they available in other parts of the country?  I sure hope so.

I did get a nice adventure to the mountain.  You can even see Sequoia on the right hand side of the picture.

Thanks everyone for the birthday cards.  Whose birthday is next? 

Spring is near.

 Happy Spring!  Well, not quite yet.....but this Winter has been pretty warm so the plants and animals think spring is here. Daffodils are trying to come out.  

Nutria babies are out.  They live in the stream by the park.  They were introduced to Oregon in the 1930s for pelt production, the in the 1940s the Nutria pelt market collapsed.  The Nutria farms closed and thousands of Nutria were released into the wild.

On my snowshoe today some of the rhododendrons are really green. 

The snow is really nice today.  It hasn't snowed for a few days so it's a little icy but I must explore.

Sequoia agrees.  Time to explore.

 

An adventure with Sequoia at the Dalles Mountain Ranch

 Hiya Blog Pals.  
Sequoia says "Time for a hike".  I am not one to argue with Sequoia so let's go!

And....we are off!

Today we are exploring the Dalles Mountain Ranch.  A former homestead for a few families now a state park.

The trail today takes us all over the ranch.  You can see the power lines, the Columbia River and Mt. Hood in the background. 

The ranch was pretty quiet today.  There were people out for sure but the ranch is really popular during wildflower season.  But the sun is out and the temperature is in the 50s, not bad for January.

The ranch was originally homesteads from the 1850s.  The biggest homestead was the Crawford's.   In the late 1860s the Crawford boy married a local girl whose parents homesteaded the adjacent land.  Growing crops was a big fail but the Crawford's ranched the land for years (until the Great Depression hit).  Once the depression hit, a wealthy doctor bought the ranch, ranched it until it went bankrupt, and sold it to another ranching family in the area.  The Blakely's ranched the land until their retirement and then deeded it to the state in 1993. 

The park has preserved many building from the Crawford ranch.  Original buildings, the original home from 1905 (built from timber from the original homestead house), a cemetery and lots of random farm equipment. 

The plan was to eat lunch at the ranch and explore the area.  The park removed the picnic tables for the winter so we continued onward to another lunch spot.  Perhaps another time to explore the ranch?

The land out here is not great for growing crops.  There are a few groves of decidous trees planted randomly....or so it seems.

The Timber Culture Act of 1863 granted homesteader an additional 160 acres of land if they planted 40 acres of trees.  The belief at the time was that trees would bring rain to dry land.  The program lasted about 20 years and wait for it.....didn't work (shocker right).  Anyway.

Sequoia has informed to be quiet, quit the history less, and continue hiking.  Not wanting to upset this little dog we are off!