(I’m recovering from all that typing on Saturday!) For this past week, Mark pretended to know how to manipulate a video camera while Tess seduced Rex during a tour of the Tiger Touch Center. Yet Mark did little actual filming. He spent most of the time talking to himself about animal abuse and possible quackeries at the Center. He was also bothered by the sensual manipulation of Vulnerable Rex by Temptress Tess. Mark feared that Rex might be drawn into Tess’s cult (for which no evidence has yet appeared), as Diana Daggers feared.  What to do, oh what to do?
Rivera ended this two-week’s story arc with Tess looking over her shoulder at Mark with an arched eyebrow and sly smile. Is she confirming Mark’s suspicions or recognizing Mark’s ulterior motives? On Monday we go back to Cherry’s story and see whether she and Doc have made any progress in proving the source of the pet rash. But, to help you transition from Mark’s reality to Cherry’s, first rest your eyes on the Sunday Nature Chat.

In Minnesota, it is legal to trap and remove live raccoons from your city property. I’m all for that. As far as killing them is concerned, that depends on the circumstances. “Inhumane” is a ridiculous and erroneous term. A better word is “cruel”. I have a younger brother who actually leaves food out for raccoons, though away from his house. Well, truth be told, my father does the same thing, and also away from his house. I think it is a bad idea. Wild animals are not to be coddled or trifled with. Get a pet cat, if you must, preferably an aggressive one that will patrol your yard at night and scare away the raccoons. “Here first” is also an over-used and simplistic argument. Rattlesnakes and poison ivy may also have been here first, but I wouldn’t let them continue to exist on my property.