This past week started out with the possibility that Cherry and Violet would have a “head-to-head” over Violet’s need to find fault with Cherry’s work at the end of a long work day. Mundane, perhaps, but the possibility of some rethinking of Cherry’s position or employment could have been the focus this week.  

Instead, the compost project resurfaced through the plot device of Violet discovering a bear rummaging through the new compost bins that Cherry just installed. Seems they were not very secure and Violet had secretly dumped her lunchtime chicken bones in the compost. The bear being a bear, it sniffed out the bones and commenced its nighttime snacking.  

While the two gals were standing mere feet away watching the bear, Cherry came up with a from-out-of-nowhere solution of grabbing an airhorn from out of her truck (part of her emergency supplies, she claimed). The sound drove the bear off. Cherry resolved to get better locks for the bins and the two gals resolved that bears were easier to deal with then men. I’m not sure that joke was funny when it used to be told the other way around. 

The lack of any real drama or danger in the storyline was a big disappointment. It is not unique, as Rivera seems to treat every situation as if she is writing for Public Television kid shows. This situation was underscored by some really inconsistent drawing. It was almost a perfect storm of indifference or ineptitude. There is more to this than a mere difference in artistic expression. 

As is common, Jules Rivera links the Sunday nature strip to the current story. But since this topic turned out to be the main draw this week, there is little new. Nevertheless, Rivera did cover some additional bear-discouragement techniques, providing a few more helpful tips.