As the prior week focused on Mark’s departure to Florida to save Max the Manatee (as that adventure should resume tomorrow), so this past week Cherry learned about sister Peach’s weakness for men who check several of the macho boxes: big, strong, handsome, hunter, poacher, bipolar, … uh, hold up. Too many boxes. Seems boyfriend Rick illegally lured a protected deer onto private property so he could shoot it. Well, nice to know that even Peach has some standards, so she dumped the dude.

Unfortunately, Rick turned angry and violent after the rejection, threatening Peach, Olive, and other family members. So the two sisters fled the state to seek safe shelter in Lost Forest. And that’s where things stand at the moment.

Well, this is an interesting departure from the usual Sunday nature blab, and I’m happy to see that Rivera’s approach to the Christmas holiday is not some sentimental greeting card blather. Focusing on the animals of The Twelve Days of Christmas is a clever idea. Well done, Rivera! She clearly spent extra time designing and drawing today’s panels. It’s actually quite good and makes me wish all of her stuff measured up.

And I do like the “country squire” attire Mark sports. I can actually imagine spinning off a 17^th century Lord Mark Trail adventure strip. We’d see Lord Mark rising from his snobbish upper class ways to become focused on learning about and protecting animals and their habitats during the early days of the Royal Society, while also interacting with scientists, nobles, and lawbreakers of the day.