Hoo boy. Building a shelter is only part of the solution, Cherry! The kittens have to be taken care of, too, beyond having Doc Davis “fix” them. Still, celebrate the accomplishment for what it is.  

Cherry’s point about unexpected phone calls (panel 3) is valid. This “unexpected job-related phone call” is a convenient and common story trope in comic strips, books, and movies. And for new readers of Mark Trail, it’s a long-running joke related to the idea of Mark wanting little more than getting back on the road as quickly as possible.

On the other hand, we could entertain the hypothesis that Mark had his phone deliberately turned off during the construction job and having it now turned on, he is getting the alerts.  So much for Bill’s sixth sense!