We spent most of the week before learning that Happy Trail had fallen victim to a popular Internet scam known as catfishing. It was no surprise to see that Jules Rivera devoted most of this past week to having Mark explain it all to Cherry. So Mark packed all of his household goods (it seemed) to drive down to Florida and save dad from giving away all of his retirement money to a phony girlfriend named Dreama.

Okay, this may not have the immediate appeal to suspense that we might find in saving a manatee from costume-wearing kidnappers, or attending an AI Conference in New York City, where Mark represented the anti-progressive, anti-AI luddites. But this new story about catfishing is definitely more in the realm of the ugly reality normal people face in a world filled with liars, corrupters, charlatans, and other crooks who ought to be locked up for a minimum of fifty years. So, how will Rivera handle this story? Stay tuned, adventure fans!

Jules Rivera may have avoided any direct observation of “Mothers’ Day” (which some people refer to as another Hallmark Holiday), but she countered that by giving some face time to Cherry in today’s nature chat. And the content is clearly presented, with no stupid jokes or puns. That, in itself, is cause for celebration! However, Mark’s explanation seems confusing to me. Bees transferring pollen from one daisy to another (panel 4) is not cross-pollination (as I understand it), but simply an example of pollination. So, I did some more digging. Remember, I am not a horticulturalist or botanist, though I play one on the Internet. Here is what I found out, but feel free to correct me.

Cross-pollination is the process where pollen from one plant or flower pollinates another plant or flower of a different variety within the same species. For example, Courtland apples require cross-pollination from compatible apple varieties such as Honey Crisp, Fuji, and Granny Smith. That is also why apple orchards have trees of several apple varieties. I also learned that some apple varieties such as Jonagold, must cross-pollinate from two different variety trees, because they are self-sterile and will not produce fruit on their own. The genetic term for that type of tree is triploid. Seedless watermelons and bananas are also triploid fruits.