This past week saw the possible conclusion of the Tad Crass v. Solar Farm land fight adventure, hidden within the rather dubious Woodsman Olympics competition. That it took place in Las Vegas was originally put forward as a major draw, with its glitzy, if tacky, casinos and family-fun gambling. But that proved to be little more than a “Gotcha” headline (so far, at least), as very little of the famed Strip or even its street hustlers have been shown. That’s a pity. Jules Rivera gave us something of a tour of parts of Manhattan during Mark’s AI Conference adventure; but all we’ve seen is a hotel and a desert hiking trail.

The haphazard Log Camp Boxing event ended abruptly by Tad Crass as he had his two security guards manhandle Mark over to his office building for a confab. Mark’s plaintiff cry “Let my wife know where I am” to Cliff was a pointless bit of melodrama. Who knew where she was? We hadn’t seen Cherry or Rusty since the March 30 strip, when they were at an apparently different venue, wondering where Mark and Cliff were. So what chance would Cliff have of locating them?

Back in his office, Crass made his pitch to get Mark to drop his expected article against him, with the promise of bigger money and fame if Mark agreed to join his (suddenly made up?) Log Camp Boxing League. Mark sat there, nonchalantly, through Tad’s pitch. When Crass thought he had made a deal, Mark declined the deal and left, without clobbering him or his two security goofs.

Is this the end of the tale or will there be unfinished business this coming week? There is certainly much left unsaid or not shown. But in case you are getting impatient for what happens next, fix a nice hot chocolate, do some relaxing breathing exercises, and read today’s Sunday Nature Chat!

Awright! A page on flora instead of fauna is welcome. I used to hear that cactus was a good survival plant for people stuck in the desert, so it’s good to learn that it isn’t the pulp but the fruit of the cactus we can imbibe. Other sources point specifically to Prickly Pear cactus pads and fruit as safe to consume, assuming you are really, really careful about removing the spines! But do your own homework; don’t just go by what I write! Also, the sources confirm Mark’s information that cactus pulp (other than prickly pear) or extracted water is bad news for your innards.

Once again, I applaud Rivera’s pun in the last panel. It fits without being forced or exaggerated. If she keeps this up, we’ll have less to critique.