…like so much Andy-scat.
Look, If I want to learn new things about nature and such, I would find the Sunday edition of Mark Trail… The Dailies used to be focused on action and moving a plot forward…
…instead we are using Andy clip art from day to day- notice how the shot of Andy is I- (clap hands once) -dentical from day to day, just superimposed onto a new back ground?
Ataboy, Rusty. That’s using the ol’ bean… Mark’s face has returned to unrecognizable… And what’s with the lonely log in the fireplace… that’s an interesting metaphor… Has the flame at Lost Forest gone out, signaling the end (blessedly) of Mark Trail??
The Daily Trail 
What’s all the hubbub for, anyway? Andy stays out one night, and suddenly the family starts prattling about dogs traveling across the country and focusing on scent. As for homing in on a scent, what scent could travel the distance implied by this adventure?
As usual, Mark lectures his own family about how dogs operate. I’m surprised they stuck it out, rather than remembering some chores that needed doing. You’d think, given their living conditions, they would already know this stuff now. And look how motherly Cherry is in the second panel of the middle strip, where Rusty appears to be regressing to his naive, clueless little boy image.
This is evident from his goofy actions and comments in the bottom strip. Whatever confidence Rusty had out in the woods has all but disappeared. He is back in his Lost Woods home, resuming his inherent role as “the clueless, adopted 10-year old boy.” I’m not sure if Andy can smell his bed, but I bet the humans probably can.
As for the single-log fireplace, I wonder where its fire screen is, or the usual iron fireplace tools?
Curious that every other day the artwork morphs into something different. I have a hunch… Allen may be alternating with someone who will eventually take over the Mark Trail saga. As we’ve seen Mark, Rusty and others look completely different some days. The Sunday Mark has developed grey hair around the temples and definitely has a odd face. We’ll see where it takes us but that is my theory.