Monarch v. Viceroy… hmmmm. Didn’t know about that one. Note the cross-hatch in the veins on the Viceroy!

Last year I planted some Milkweed (at least that’s what my neighbor is telling me, since I didn’t save the tag…) It didn’t do much last year, but this year grew tall and flowered profusely, much to the delight of Monarchs and other pollinators. It’s amazing how they find their favorite plants, despite being located so randomly…

With all the drought and fires this summer, I am sure that insects will enjoy any port in this “storm.”

Nothing like a dose of conscience to ruin a take-down! And it’s super funny how quickly Cherry is associated, without even a moment’s thought or question, with feral hogs…

Can you just here the “ding” that goes along with Jeanette the waitress/proprietor’s wink? I love the reference to flapjacks and coffee, even as Violet, with her chapeau back on, is going to have the worst gluten hangover of her life!! And where are the rest of the customers? Does ‘Planet Pancake’ survive on only the drive-by patronage of the Trails and (with) whomever they happen to be quarreling (with)? Along with offering to help put the round-about back in order, is Cherry going to pick up the tab?

Give us a break, Cherry, you know exactly how to take a stand… You just playin’ with Dirk…

And wait a gosh-darn minute- is that Salvia in the foreground of the second panel? Would that be a tip-off to a more native species of perennial? Or am I getting ahead of our story line here? Looks like Dirk’s beard has been given a touch more relief in the last frame… we can even distinguish the mustache from the rest of it!

The only question I have is Transportation! How do Feral Hogs get penned and toted? I am supposing that Dirk the Hog Whisperer has an answer for that one…

And apparently, Extradition! What do we suppose Dirk went IN for? UP the River, so to speak? Prepositions are funny things… One would be IN Jail, but (if IN a canoe) one is ON the river… But then why does one go UP River to go to jail? Does all the Crime-ing and prosecuting happen DOWN-RIVER?

I will say this much about Dirk- He’s a big fella! Check out the difference in stature in panel 3, while panel 4 reminds us once again of the most unnatural and unholy of all beards- looking like one of the beards worn by Ulysses Everett McGill in Oh Brother Where Art Thou?

But I call your attention to the third panel… Dirk really does look like a lady with a fake beard… Maybe that’s just me. Or Maybe what forced “Dirk” to live off the grid is that his only other option was to star in a circus sideshow?

Guessing we will see an exposé on Feral Hogs this Sunday (That is if we already haven’t covered that territory… have we?)

Thanks George for keeping the flame lit, and safe travels back to the hot (and finally steamy) North Country. I swear the only thing that recommends this region is the fact that it will remain arable and livable long after sea levels rise!