Notification Repeat: I’m on the road now and will be for the next 3 days, heading for a family visit. See details on Friday’s blog. There may be delays in posting, but I’ll eventually catch up. So if you don’t see the current strip you expect, check back later or the next day. Once I’m in Virginia, things should normalize.

The non-tech nature walk is finally over. But it’s disingenuous for Mark to suddenly get apoplectic over his missed technology, don’t you think? Rivera might be saying something along the same line in panel 4, but she gets no laugh from me, since she’s the one that made it all happen.

So, Trailheads and Neo-Trailheads, what shall we find on Monday: A new assignment for Mark or another misadventure with Cherry and Violet (as seems to be the running trend)? I think it would be nice for Cherry to have a new client once in a while, with new issues to resolve. As for Mark, would attaching him to a new magazine editor really make a difference? I was hoping that this multiple-magazine hook Rivera set up for Mark way-back-when would introduce different types of stories and goals. But I haven’t noticed much difference. And we haven’t seen much of these different magazines lately, either.

Notice: We’re leaving on a road trip this Saturday to visit my Dad and my siblings down in Virginia. There may be a bit of delay or stacking of strips for a bit, though I think I’ll be able to sneak in the Saturday strip on time. Maybe Sunday. Why the trip now, you wonder? My Dad turns 99 in March, so I figure I better get back down there real soon!

It’s not as if Rivera was caught up short in her storylines and had to plug a plot hole. Like most comic strip artists, Rivera has to work up her stories and art weeks in advance. Theoretically, anyway.

Rivera had long ago met her goal of illuminating more aspects of “At Home with the Trails” beyond the traditional, limited sessions of porch chats and pancake dinners we used to see. And that’s just fine. But this week sure takes the pancake … uh, cake. Most of the nature walks Rivera has portrayed last just one or two strips. But this time, Rivera apparently showed us an entire walk!

That long of a focus might make sense if Rivera was the type of artist who spent a lot of time creating and showing really impressive, detailed drawings of flora and fauna. But that is not her style. Furthermore, nothing particularly exciting or dramatic has happened on this walk.