Cinnamon Buns & Bears

Well, until such time as I get another site up and running, we'll revert back to the original...

<------------Raquel Raccoon ... hope she brings the kids by soon♥

It was my intention to get more work done for the garage sale today, but I got sidetracked (again)... My Dad loves cinnamon buns and I intended to ship some to him for Father's Day from a bakery site.  After further investigation, I decided to make and ship some from my own kitchen.  So, change of plans!

Oops, turn the volume down......

I'm happy to report that both cats were inside this morning when I saw the bunny hopping across the lawn, so I closed their door and watched with Smokey from his perch at the garden window.  I went outside when I saw it come into the garden, and it turned and ran so fast it smacked into the chain link fence and bounced back into the yard before realizing it had to go UNDER the rail.  But it was fine, and scampered off into the woods.  There are so many rabbits around here (surprised??), I guess my Shadow & Smokey have just been doing their job in ..err ... thwarting wild critters attempts to infiltrate the garden.

So, I cleaned off all my counters and island ~ ya know... don't need any stray cat hairs in the cinnamon buns ~ and put together a sweet yeast dough. Love the KitchenAid...  As that was raising, I snapped a couple pictures of the bear that came by ... probably the same one who visited yesterday.  I think it may be the cub of the "Spooky Mama and cub" that I saw on trail cam a few weeks back.  Thinking family break up may have occurred, at least between this one and the Mama.

I suspect it is about the same size as HOPE (www.bearstudy.org). It will be interesting to see the den dynamics of Lily, Hope and Faith again this year... I envision the bears in my area to be living out similar dramas.  Having spoken to someone working closely with the Pennsylvania Fish & Game 

Commission recently, I can attest to the fact that there are more bears around this year than I can recall in past years ... 

I think there will be an extended hunting season in some areas of Pennsylvania this year as a result.  Many people have been co-existing with the bears and other critters for generations, but it is the actions of a few folks who fail to secure garbage, or worse ... that can cause problems for the bears. There was an incident just 15 miles from me which resulted in the shooting of a young bear by the F&G officers, because it had been tamed to the point of eating out of peoples' hands and became a "nuisance" and potential liability when it approached other people in the park.  But there was a much happier incident near Harrisburg, Pa:

http://abcnews.go.com/US/video/bear-caught-swimming-familys-pool-13829796

(sorry about the commercial at the beginning)

Anyway ... the bear didn't stay around long, or at least not that I observed; I was busy rolling, buttering, sprinkling and baking cinnamon buns. Fresh out of the oven, I popped them in the freezer ... well except for a couple I put aside for hubby and the one I ate warm.  I think they could have used a bit more cinnamon, though ... may have to make up a drizzle with more, to make up for what's not in the bun itself. But they look good, and the one I ate was sweet and light, and gooey. I hope Daddy likes them, that's the important thing. Three hours later, and his are already winging their way to Florida ....  Whew, now I'm tired, but it's time to put the oven stuffer in the oven and get supper started ..... Then, I'll be ready to go Barefoot.  Wish you were here♥

I sent the best looking ones to my Dad, BTW♥ these may not look great, but they taste good!