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The Week in Review and the Sunday Nature Chat

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Another story skedaddled to a conclusion. Cherry and Doc Davis continued their hunt for Banjo Cat, finally locating the feline by accident, in spite of Doc’s futile attempts to lure the cat out with his banjo playing.  But Banjo Cat wasn’t done playing them, as it showed itself in the open before taking a run across fields and busy road traffic. Of course Cherry and the Doc pursued. How elderly Doc gets around with a banjo strapped across his back is a wonder. Anyway, wouldn’t you know it, Banjo Cat somehow made its way into the office of the Sunny Soleil Society, where it interrupted Violet playing her now-repaired harp. Would Banjo Cat finally face Violet’s violent wrath?

Of course not! In Rivera’s Trailverse, villains are truly cartoon stereotypes manifestly incompetent or mushy inside. Rivera is the latter type. Perhaps in gratitude for their détente, Banjo Cat went up on its hind legs and plucked feline arpeggios on Violet’s harp. Violet, Cherry, and Doc Davis looked on and all had a nice TV episode-ending laugh.

There is a moral to this story, as Cherry kept repeating:  Cats kill birds, so keep your cats inside! But there is also another moral:  Weak stories and sketchy art chase away readers, so try harder.

I’m sure most of you have heard or read the discussions about the failure of plastic recycling and the dangers of plastic pollution in the seas. So this is a decent-enough summary for a Sunday strip. If we are clever enough to create so many useful materials out of petroleum we sure should be able to figure out how to clean this stuff up and begin manufacturing plastics that do not become “forever pollution.”

As for Mark, if he is going to stand on his track record of using the “fists o’ justice” for solving problems, the petroleum industry can rest easy. Maybe Rivera can write a story for Mark about going after a local company illegally dumping plastic waste into Lost Forest river (or whatever it’s called). For once, maybe there could even be some actual dangers for Mark to overcome, rather than goofy confrontations with the usual cast of clowns and bunglers.

The Week in Review and the Sunday Nature Chat

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Rivera focused 11 days of the strip to Mark’s interview with Tad Crass. Too bad only about 3 days were dedicated to the actual interview (sort of), which quickly went south when Tad exploded over Mark’s aggressive questioning. The six days of this week fixated on Mark’s physical altercation with security staff that Tad called in to throw Mark out of the building. As Mark got away, a phone call to Diana Daggers revealed that she fully expected this to happen, since she told Mark that Tad always gets mad at journalists and throws them out. Okay, fine. So what, then? Mark never got anywhere with his interview, and it seems as if he was not meant to. Is there an ulterior motive for Diana’s sending in Mark?

Just so, their growth and longevity may also benefit from the lack of human contact in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, a more than 1000 sq. mi. area off limits to humans. Still, we can hope the scientists find something useful for humans with regard to cancer.

The Week in Review and the Sunday Nature Chat

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In developing this story about wild horses supposedly running amok in Salt Lake City, Jules Rivera has Mark working for Diana Daggers, head of Instigator Magazine. Her point of view has already been established and Mark’s job is to get conformation and create lots of reaction. Her point of view presumes a greedy, uncaring land developer suborning Bureau of Land Management agents to remove free-range mustangs running across land he has purchased. There are additional rumors that the mustangs may be ill-treated in captivity and sold for slaughter to companies that sell horse meat for human consumption.

For the sake of the plot this week, Rivera ensured that Mark did not know the name of the person he was to interview until they met for the first time. That person turned out to be Tad Crass, the former comedian-turned-author of a notorious AI-based camping survival guide that was a significant plot device in the earlier “Rusty and the alien invasion” story (If you missed that adventure, you can search for it using the above-quoted title). This put Mark on the defensive, a poor way to start an interview!

Anyway, meeting Crass greatly affected Mark, who was torn between questioning him about his dangerous camping guide and asking about his position on the wild horses. In a near-repeat of his engaging interview with a US senator involved in the Ohio train derailment story, Mark’s aggressive, accusatory questioning once again led to a quickly-terminated interview. Crass, getting angry and defensive, called in security to (illegally) confiscate Mark’s recorder and throw him out.

“Bighorn sheep are known for their  horns.” Who knew!? Mark forgot to mention that low numbers of Bighorn Sheep are also due to overhunting and animal predation. The National Wildlife Federation reports that males can weigh more than 350 lbs. and carry horns that weigh up to 30 lbs.  Females normally top out at 130 lbs. No wonder that, when males smash into each other at 40 mph, the sound of their impact can carry for a mile.

The Week in Review and the Sunday Nature Chat

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In case you missed it, King Features originally posted Saturday’s strip in glorious black & white, but later reposted it in color. Why that happened is a matter of conjecture; but it was an elucidating experience to see the difference, so I posted both strips for us to see the difference and think about whether Rivera’s drawing technique is based on the expectation of color or can stand on its own.

As for this past week’s strips, we returned to Cherry’s search for the elusive Banjo Cat, because of his indirect responsibility in damaging Violet’s harp. But Cherry was more concerned about the fate of birds at the hands, or claws, of outside cats. It’s a valid point, I suppose. Lo and behold, somebody else suddenly popped up in the bushes. No, it’s not some sexual predator, but Cherry’s dad, Doc Davis, also looking for Banjo.

This provided an opening for a short backstory on Banjo, that being an outdoor cat attracted to Doc’s banjo playing. But Doc Davis exerts no control over Banjo Cat’s comings and goings, accepting them as a philosophical necessity of personal and musical freedom. Okay, Doc may be guilty of anthropomorphizing. But Doc does have a clever theory that playing his banjo will make it easy for them to capture frisky Banjo Cat. We’ll just have to wait a few weeks to find out, as we return to Mark’s horse fantasies tomorrow.

A timely subject for St. Patrick’s Day, or St. Patrick’s Day Weekend, as it has become, with an appropriately-designed and well-drawn title panel. Wikipedia’s article on the four-leaf clover states that the cause of a “fourth leaf” is still a matter of debate, centered on environmental and genetic influences. The article also points to the existence of five- and six-leaf clovers being rarer and highly coveted by collectors. How lucky is it to find one? It may depend on what patch of clover you happen to be searching. In fact, there are places that specifically farm and sell four-leaf clovers, in case you are only interested in results and disdain the joy of the search.

The Week in Review and the Sunday Nature Chat

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For some reason, Rivera chose to portray Mark this week as some kind of urban fanboy from the 1950s getting to meet Trigger for the first time. This Mark Trail is a Jules Rivera reboot, of course, so Mark’s pre-Rivera experience with horses means bupkis here (There, I got to use that word again!).

Diana Daggers drove Mark to the Happy Hoovez horse sanctuary, an organization set up to rescue mustangs from possible slaughter or government oversight. Weird spelling aside, this organization is concerned with seeing that mustangs get a safe home, along with a dose of birth control (owing to the rapid increase in mustang populations). Or so it claims. Meanwhile, Diana just stood around.

While Clayton (the program’s caretaker) delivered his “what we’re about” speech, Mark spent his time slobbering with excitement over the horses. When Clayton said Mark could offer an apple to one of the horses, Mark almost wet his pants. Hmm, I suppose that could have happened as well, given Mark’s rear-facing final appearance this week.

So, my initial reaction this week was that Rivera was treating this story more seriously than normal, which is good! But that feeling dissipated with her depiction of Mark. Hoo boy.

I read that crows and ravens do not get along. Anyway, it’s a well-drawn and informative Sunday sequence, along with a clever “Mark Trail” bird call title panel.  Heck, even the normally cornball joke in the last panel seems to be more relevant and less obnoxious than normal. But I still prefer Mark’s original beard.

The Week in Review and the Sunday Nature Chat

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I know; I just belatedly posted last week’s Sunday blog, and here I am posting the next one! Well, it’s been a somewhat chaotic time these past few weeks. As I’m back once again on the road Monday morning to return home, things may likely get a bit chaotic for a few more days. Please excuse the mess and try to stay with me! 😀 It might be easier for me to again collate several days into one post. We’ll see how things go.

Anyway, this past week Mark was picked up and driven to his assignment by Diana Daggers, who turns out to be the owner of the magazine that hired him for this job. Daggers admitted that she needed a “loose cannon” and Mark came immediately to mind. Frankly, that was my impression of her at one time. Dagger’s position on the wild horse controversy is clearly on the side of “wild horses” being as American as apple pie, and that corrupt businesses and government officials are deliberately mistreating and misrepresenting the horses for personal and commercial gain. Daggers wants Mark to push that angle in his investigation and subsequent article. This coincides with Mark’s own feelings, so these two should get along, right?

Here you are again with the jokes, Mark? You should stick to what you are good at. Er, I’ll get back to you on that. But I hear you write pretty good nature articles. Never seen one, though.

The 17-year cycle is not for all species of cicadas, and not all cicadas follow that exact pattern, as some of them appear annually. But a swarm of the periodic cicadas is probably something you want to avoid, especially walking or in a car.

Can’t say much about the title panel this week. I would have expected to see swarms of cicadas in the sky, spelling out Mark Trail. Today’s panel looks rather bland, compared to many of Rivera’s Sunday panels.

The Week in Review and the Sunday Nature Chat

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Apologies! I wrote this 2/25/24 Sunday blog early Sunday morning, whereupon I forgot to post it; so, it remained in my draft folder until an inquiry from a reader inspired me to take a look. Hoo boy! I’ll blame it on my being away from home and out of my usual element. So much for easily adapting to changing circumstances! Though it probably won’t mean much, I’m still posting the Sunday blog to ensure some continuity in the record. SCROLL DOWN TO SEE THE MONDAY POST.

Greetings! Our return to Cherry’s day this past week started with Cherry trimming trees but getting called by Violet to help with moving her harp into her office. Seems she feels the need to get in more practice. Cherry used the opportunity to get in a few digs about Violet getting upstaged in the talent show by Doc Davis and Bango Cat. Violet was not amused, but kept complaining about how difficult it was to move the harp, even with Cherry’s help. That might have been because the instrument was mounted on a too–small dolly. But wouldn’t you know, Banjo Cat suddenly appeared and surprised the two gals so much that they lost their balance and wrecked the harp. The week ended with Violet even angrier with Banjo Cat and ordered Cherry to capture her.

The pacing seems to have been deliberately drawn out to ensure that Cherry could deliver her passive-aggressive comments and “jokes.” The artwork was pretty sketchy, not the relatively finer style Rivera has been lately showing in Mark’s story. How come? Maybe Rivera wrote and drew Cherry’s story very quickly, so she could give more time to Mark’s story. Just a thought.

Rivera once again presents a Sunday nature topic based on the location of Mark’s current adventure. As such, it is a good topic, developed well, and without being too hokey. I’m glad to see that Rivera has again used her imagination and design skills to come up with another original title panel.

Did you catch Mark’s age reference in the last panel? I think he refers to the age of the comic strip, itself, which is now about 77 years old (“nearly 80 years”).

The Week in Review and the Sunday Nature Chat

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Valentine’s Day formed the backdrop for the week, as Cherry tried to keep Mark on point for a romantic evening. However, Mark was distracted by his upcoming assignment to Salt Lake City and a bunch of “rampaging” horses. Unfortunately, he picked a bad (as in very late) time to reveal this information. So much for the evening. Well, if Rivera wants to have Cherry indulge in a bit of unrequited flirting over Valentine, I reckon that’s fine. Who can argue against romance?
So, it was Friday before Mark managed to get out of the house, into a plane, and land in Salt Lake City, only to be met by popular frenemy Diana Daggers, who may once again be his chauffeur and argumentative assistant. After all, that worked out so well in Texas!

Well, the title panel for today is most unusual, if not unique in the history of Rivera’s Sunday strips. Not every one of her custom title panels hits the mark, but many do, and her perseverance and imagination are commendable. But I just don’t get today’s title. Hmm, maybe I’m wrong, and it is designed that way to parody something that I’m not picking up. That sucks. Anyway, today’s subject is a classic Sunday Mark Trail nature topic that might have appeared at any time in the past 70 years, excluding the final panel, that is.

The Week in Review and the Sunday Nature Chat

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This week Mark spent the week ruminating over his feelings about wild horses:  how they are often characterized and how he should approach writing his article. By the way, we still have no better understanding of Mark’s assignment other than to “investigate rampaging wild horses in Salt Lake City.” Part of his rumination included a chat with his old pal, Ralph the Rat Snake, a character we have not seen very often. Of course, that is the way it’s been with numerous secondary characters in the vintage Mark Trail strip. The debate is still open whether Ralph actually talks or if it is just an avatar of Mark’s subconscious. I lean towards the former position because it is more original and interesting.

There has also been a noticeable change in the art, most clearly seen in the color scheme, but also in compositions. I also think the image of Mark has been given a facelift, so to speak, for the better. I have hopes that this approach will continue.

Well, the Greater Sage-Grouse has a mating routine even more interesting and complex than Mark is letting on. No doubt, lack of space prohibits providing more detail. But check out the Wikipedia article or the Cornell Lab page on this bird. 

Art Dept. I have to say that the title panel today is pretty weak sauce. Not at all up to Rivera’s usual standard, the title looks kind of “arts-and-crafty” with the name decorated by small hearts. Sure, that echoes the mating theme Mark focuses on, but the image of the Sage-Grouse does not show his air sacks expanded. This panel looks like the title screen of an old Hanna-Barbera animated cartoon.

The Week in Review and the Sunday Nature Chat

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Mark’s men’s-only survival camp came to a pathetic end by diluting itself down to a simple weekend fishing event. Even that fell apart when Mark finally got The Call. Bill Ellis was determined to get Mark on board with an assignment involving rampaging wild horses in, or around, Salt Lake City. Ellis’s comment about them being considered an invasive species (like the zebra mussel) sent Mark into a near-catatonic state. It seems Mark was under the impression that the wild horses were a native species in our country and had a symbolic patriotic value equal to the Bald Eagle. So Bill’s statement just did not compute. Let it be known that Mark reacted to this situation in a way that we probably have not seen since his assignment to investigate his own father’s shady business dealings.

It turns out that—in the real world—wild horses (aka mustangs) have a complex background that involves genetics, ranchers, animals rights activists, land activists, and governments at the local and federal level. None of what I wrote in this paragraph has yet to be brought up in the strip, but seems to underlie the direction of the drama. Let’s hope Rivera presents a fair summation of … oh, who am I kidding!? This is Mark Trail! Whatever Mark decides to do will be considered fair and just. It’s the way things are in the Trailverse. So hang on, buckaroos!

Here is Mark Trail once again making me look flat by apparently contradicting himself. No wonder he was in shock just the other day! Mark knew all along what the story was; or at least, one version of it. Does this knock the stuffing out of the daily’s continuity? Well, you know, we Americans of non-native stock are also an invasive species to this continent; we just tend to forget that from time to time.

The Week in Review and the Sunday Nature Chat

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We had a surprise (to me) epilog to Mark’s “Men’s-Only Nature Retreat and Fishing Expedition Extravaganza” story this past week, where everybody decided to become friends for life and go fishing together every weekend.

That aspiration floated for about 30 seconds then sunk to the bottom of the river when Mark got a call from Bill Ellis—on the verge of apoplexy—concerning a wild horse rampage taking place somewhere (presumably out west), but needing Mark’s personal onsite attention. One might assume that, as the managing editor of a publishing empire consisting of several magazines, Ellis would have more than one reporter on call, if not at least one reporter living somewhere in the western states who is more familiar with—and closer to—those crazy wild horses. But then again, the name of this strip is Mark Trail, not Hopalong Cassidy. So I’m afraid (I’m really afraid!) Mark will once again be flying out to some western location. Let’s hope he learned his lesson earlier and does not wear his embarrassing “western” Square Dance costume to the job!

Art Dept. A crowd of commenters (well, at least one) remarked on a noticeable improvement in the artwork, specifically the fish and water scenes that excluded people. I concur. I also noticed a marked improvement (or reinvigoration) in the drawings of Mark’s face, especially close-ups and mid-range views. I’m thinking that Rivera may have upgraded her model sheets for Markey. We’ll have to see how all of this plays out.

“…cats never stop hunting because they’re always well-fed.”  I’m not certain of this logic. I grew up around cats. They are inherently hunters and carnivores. Cats will hunt or even just practice hunting because it is in their nature to do so. They will certainly hunt to feed themselves. Misguided pet owners who try to conform their cats to “vegetarian” diets could harm them; but that also encourages cats to hunt small animals (e.g. mice and birds) to fill in their missing nutritional requirements, assuming they are let out.

The Week in Review and the Sunday Nature Chat

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This past week saw an abrupt shift in story- and time-lines about mid-week. It’s a bit unusual, as if higher-level editorial decisions were made to shorten the story. The week began with Mark and Ranger Shawn showing up with homemade bat houses at the Sunny Soleil Society to help Cherry and Violet remove the bats living in the “Great Hall.” While Mark once again promoted bat houses, Honest Ernest was drafted to help carry them to the site.

Thursday was the big switch. How they got the bats out of the Hall and into those bat houses was skipped over. Instead, the storyline suddenly jumped ahead to the evening of the festival and talent show! I dunno, but learning what Mark and Ranger Shawn did might have been educational.

We learned that Violet had stage-fright, but Cherry was there to cheer her on. Good on Cherry! Turns out that Violet was in her element and doing a fine job with her harp.  Suddenly, Cherry inexplicably interrupted Violet’s performance by walking on stage to bleat out the next act, as if she was calling Rusty in to dinner. That next act happened to be her dad, Doc Davis. From offstage, a humiliated Violet was none too happy and gave the evil eye to Cherry.

Unless I totally misinterpret things, Cherry’s abrupt change in behavior is the bigger mystery. Will we learn more on Monday? Well, let’s see what we can learn today….

I thought that Rivera’s title panel for the September 24 (2023) Sunday strip on spotted lanternflies was more creative, don’t you? But I do think that using lanternflies in the pail to spell out the name of the strip today is not too bad, either.

Okay, what is the reason Rivera is posting the same subject a second time: Is it just to give out more tips on getting rid of lanternflies!?

Did Rivera forget she already devoted a Sunday strip on this invasive species or did she hope that we forgot? You’d think that Mark would have at least explained to us that he is merely providing new information for a topic he previously covered.

The Week in Review and the Sunday Nature Chat

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Everybody rallied around Eli at the hospital, where he received the first of several rabies shots for being a doofus. Interestingly, nobody rallied around Connor the week before for his self-inflicted thumb wound. I’m not too sure what warranted a hospital bed for Eli, but it’s a small hospital and maybe they thought he might have a reaction. Mark took this opportunity to apologize to everybody for his incompetent teaching and leadership, which should be a clear signal for him to stay in his safe lane. In the end, Mark was happy that his students were nice (or gullible) enough to accept his apology and share in his kumbaya gratitude by agreeing to go fishing with him. Quietly, one presumes.

Wrap Up: Well, even for Rivera, this was not your typical Mark Trail adventure. It was not based on a job-related assignment. There were no clear villains or environmental issues to resolve, other than Mark’s consternation at perceived dangers from bad survival guides. Mark pledged to create a survival school to teach men how to survive by providing real and accurate information. Good intentions, to be sure, and a sure-fire plot setup for useful information and even some drama. Unfortunately, Rivera dumbed down the survival concept to a fishing seminar. Also, why did Mark want to limit the retreat to only men? It was not at all clear at the start. It became apparent when the De-Bait Team talked Mark into focusing on helping men express their feelings to help them with their domestic issues. Why was this a good idea, anyway? So this story changed course and became a soap-opera parody of how men (like Mark) don’t like expressing their feelings. Did the story resolve anybody’s emotional issues? No. Did the men learn to deal with their feelings any better? No. Did any student actually learn to fish? No. Was this story worth our time? No!

Let’s see if today’s nature talk is more worthy.

This is a nice bite-sized piece of information, focusing on the contrast between the LMB’s invasive status in U.S. waters and its popularity for fishing. In other words, fishing for LMB is actually good for the environment and local water species! I may have to dust off my cane pole and bobber this summer.

The Week in Review and Sunday Nature Chat

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The week-before concluded with Cliff and Mark at the hospital so Connor could get his finger fixed from a hooking accident. They ran into Cherry and Violet, who were there with Honest Ernest. This ER meetup saw Cliff pushing the “express your feelings!” mantra on Mark, while Connor and Ernest were literally out of the picture and forgotten for the week. Mark started to wonder whether he was suppressing.

This past week, we found Cliff and Mark back on the job taking Eli, Ranger Shaw, and a repaired Connor on a hike. What survival techniques were discussed or demonstrated? Oh, dear readers, don’t be naïve!

On the hike Connor had a mini-meltdown that turned into an impromptu group hug around Mark, who was decidedly uncomfortable with this forced situation. Can’t blame him. As they broke to return to the fishing lodge, Eli had his moment in the sun when he spotted a bat (order: chiroptera) lying on the ground, so he touched it and got scratched on the hand…sound familiar? What are the odds!? This week ended like the prior one, with Cliff and Mark (back) at the ER.

Was this Adventures in true feelings meant to poke fun at the presumed troglodyte Trailheads who miss the old strip? Rivera should know that males and females do not always express emotions the same way. But it never seemed to me that Mark has had problems expressing his true feelings, even to Cherry; at least since Rivera took over. So I hope this week puts an end to Mark’s survival retreat. I also hope Rivera gets this adventure strip back on track, with Mark putting the hurt on people and companies taking advantage of animals, nature, and the environment. But if expressing inner feelings is your drama of choice, try Garfield.

A classic animal-centered Sunday topic with a clever visual pun in the title panel, connecting a Ford Motor Company logo style with a running mustang (I presume). Wikipedia has a decent article on horses, if you are curious.

The Story in Review and the Sunday Nature Chat

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If you are new to Mark Trail or just behind the curve, I’ll catch you up with Mark’s current adventure. That is, today’s post is really a “Story in Review.”  

After rescuing a paranoid and delusional camper named Connor who got “lost”, mentally and physically, in Lost Forest, Mark was inspired to start a “Survival Retreat” to teach men proper camping skills instead of having to rely on dangerous tips in phony survival books (such as the one Connor used). Mark’s friends at the De-Bait Team fishing lodge were recruited to help out. They recommended that Mark’s retreat could also be useful to help men express their emotional & relationship issues. Unwisely, Mark agreed to this needless complication.

Mark began the first day with a fishing class held indoors, not an auspicious decision. He had three insecure students, including Connor, who complained and blamed Mark for everything. Cliff pushed the idea of going for a hike so the guys could talk out their feelings. It was vetoed by Mark. After Connor impaled his finger on a fishing hook, the class self-destructed. Mark and Cliff rushed Connor off to the hospital.

Then Cherry and Violet arrived at the ER with Honest Ernest to get him rabies shots because he got scratched by a bat due to his bad judgment. You see the symmetry between these two events? Cherry spotted Mark, so they wound up consoling each other. Mark had a sudden revelation that his own fishing activities (over the years?) must have been an excuse to suppress his inner feelings. It’s a wonder he didn’t fall down on his knees and beg Cherry for forgiveness.

I’m guessing that Mark’s confession was necessary for Rivera to help pull the story together and push the real plot of this adventure. It also gave Cliff the opportunity to rub it in: “That’s what I’ve been telling you (see above) … hikes get men talking!” Frankly, this seems incongruent, since Rivera’s version of Mark Trail has never been one to hold back on expressing feelings, even in this very adventure!  And now that you’re caught up, prepare yourself for the nature chat, below.

That’s a good cloud title panel. Rivera is back to one of her go-to topics: The environment. It’s a timely message, though I wonder if Rivera wrote this during the Oregon Trails story (Feb-Jul 2022), which featured an NFT and virtual coin scam.

The Week in Review and the Sunday Nature Chat

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This was the week where a solution for removing bats from the Great Hall was thrust upon Cherry when Honest Ernest suddenly showed up in his trademark yellow jumpsuit. Violet confirmed hiring him to remove the bats. Cherry was less than impressed.

Cherry questioned his knowledge and preparedness, even offering him her gloves for protection, since Ernest had no protective clothing on. Naturally, he had the situation under control and declined Cherry’s offer. Ernest retrieved a pest-control sprayer from his work van and entered the Great Hall. Not surprisingly, the bats once again fled, one of them nicking Ernest in the face as it flew out. In spite of his attempts to play it down, the gals insisted on taking Honest Ernest to the hospital for rabies shots.

While this story may not exactly be a barnburner of drama and action, it has the advantage (like other adventures of Cherry’s) of being more or less a slice of daily life, however nutty the people are. Her stories are grounded in the local landscape of her community. I wish Rivera would open up the community even more and expand the cast of characters and storylines. She has made a start with Jeanine, Georgia, her mysterious brother, and Squirrely Sandy. C’mon, Rivera! Don’t sell Cherry or your readers short. Cherry does not need to face off against the same cast every time. New characters simply have to inspire new ideas and storylines.

Anyway, while we wait two weeks to find out what happens, Mark has another Sunday topic to present. Take it away, Mark!

So, Mark focuses on reindeer over Christmas holiday. Seems like an appropriate subject! I listened to an NPR interview the other day that discussed reindeer and covered most of these points with regard to their surviving the cold. Another point the interviewer went into was the sophisticated “heat exchange” setup within their thin legs to them from freezing and breaking off.

Normally, Rivera’s punchlines are like bad “Dad jokes.” But I think this one hit the Funny Bone. Well done.

The Week in Review and the Sunday Nature Chat

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As another week concludes, some of you look forward (I hope) to this modest (okay, verbose) weekly digest as a way to keep abreast of Lost Forest Follies without having to wander through the briars and brambles of its daily treks. But be of good cheer, for I will fear no lanternfly. My baggie and spray protect me. Mark’s grandiose plan for hosting a men’s survival retreat to protect inexperienced dudes from getting victimized by phony survival books (such as the one used by Connor) finally began its inaugural class this week. Huzzah!

Well, almost. Mark’s survival retreat for men got watered down to an Introduction to Fishing seminar, inside the De-Bait Team’s fishing lodge. Rivera skipped us past the plan’s revision and organizing phases, including how it was that the initial class wound up with only three students:  A game warden, lonely because his wife was on vacation; a nattily dressed fellow named Eli who just likes fishing; and Connor, who immediately began a week-long tirade of insulting Mark.

While inside the lodge, Mark figured it was a good place to teach the class how to cast a fishing line (rather than doing this outside). Can we blame Rivera for a lack of fishing experience or is she simply indulging in more Mark Trail Mockery? She focused most of the week on Connor, who managed to entangle his hands in fishing line, while blaming Mark. It was a missed opportunity. Had this happened outside, Connor might have suffered another accident, such as falling into the river and drowning. The week ended with Mark berating himself for thinking up this whole stupid idea. But the drama continues on Monday. Until then . . .

Now this is very interesting. It led me to discover that the European Robin and its American Cousin are not really related, as the American Robin is part of a different genus: Their similarity is cosmetic. The topic was interesting enough for me to do a bit of research. Biology shows that the European Robin (and some other birds) do utilize electromagnetic fields of the earth to help navigate during migration. This process is not fully understood, as far as I can tell, but does not appear to be in doubt. But I saw no mention of animals exhibiting their own electromagnetic fields, or robins using each other’s magnetic field for navigating. Rivera clearly has sources I do not and I’m not a biologist. The literature is complex, so I may just be misreading things. Anybody out there experienced enough to shed any light?

The Week in Review and the Sunday Nature Chat

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As most of you know, I add a title to Mark’s and Cherry’s adventures. This can make it a little easier when searching through prior strips, as the titles show up under the Categories label.  However, I’ve not yet been able to settle on names for either Mark’s or Cherry’s latest adventures. With regard to Cherry, I’m not even sure what the actual point of the story is just yet. My current assumption is that it will still have something to do with an outdoor festival. Moving on to the review:

We returned to Cherry this past week to see her walking through the Sunny Soleil Society’s gardens with Violet, looking for anything that will give Violet a purpose to enjoy the outdoors. She came up with an outdoor winter festival. Violet was excited by the prospect, especially as she saw an opportunity to play her harp (not sure what kind). Walking past the old bee-headed pioneer statue (cf “Sunny and the Bees”), they came upon a little-used hexagonal meeting/performance hall. Thinking it could be useful, they opened the double-doors, only to be knocked tail-over-teakettle by a swarm of bats that had taken refuge inside. The week ended with the two ladies sitting on the ground and commiserating over the shock.

So where does the story go from here? We’ll likely have to wait a few weeks to find out if this is yet another short tale. In the meantime, squander a few minutes of your time on today’s nature exposé.

People older than they want to admit may recall a red fox named Ferdie in an early episode of the animated cartoon series “Caspar the Friendly Ghost.” He and Caspar were friends, until Ferdie met his end at the hands of a hunter. This resulted in Ferdie turning from red to white as he became a ghost fox, a rare species not usually mentioned in discussions on foxes. But he and Casper remained friends, at least as long as the series lasted.

But it was not destined to last. When the series ended, Ferdie the ghost fox fell on hard times as roles for ghost foxes became as hard to find as, well, ghosts. Ferdie was apparently an “extra” in some of the Ghostbuster movies but was not able to get royalties.  A proposed talk show failed to materialize. He turned to drinking but discovered he couldn’t hold his liquor. Ferdie’s depression only increased when he realized that even suicide was no longer possible. Ferdie tried to sue Casper and his animation studio for wrongful death and illegally withholding earnings, but he didn’t stand a ghost of a chance of winning. Ferdie has not been seen in years.

The Week in Review and the Sunday Nature Chat

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If you were too busy this week with Thanksgiving, preparing for Winter, preparing to avoid Winter, or just watching as much “MeTV” as you could stomach, then I can fill you in on the past week’s strips.

There was not much in the Action Department; this was a week for Man Talk. Mark arrived at the De-Bait Team’s lodge, where he met up with Duke and Cliff to discuss his idea for a men’s-only nature retreat. Based on the sad plight of the lost-then-found camper (whose name we learned is Connor), Mark expressed strong emotional rage against the bad influence of the error-prone survival guide of Tadd Crass and how it could lead to future disasters for men who live around Lost Forest. Mark must fix that!

Along the way, it came out that Connor was having relationship issues, and it was suggested that it might have led to his unwise decision to escape into Lost Forest. With that untested assumption in place, Duke and Cliff actually suggested Mark should also offer relationship advice to all of the men who are sure to sign up for the retreat (because why else would men want to go camping?) Mark’s off-the-frayed-cuff response about successful relationships was to the effect of “Look good, bring home the bacon, and don’t forget dessert.” The question remains: If this is a sample of their wisdom and experience, what does Mark want from Cliff and Duke?

Meanwhile, I had questions about the underlying purpose of the strip, itself. You’ll have to go back and read the daily posts for the details. With luck, I’ll be totally wrong.

No arguments about this from me. People continue to cuddle up to wild animals as if they are having tea with Bambi and Thumper. It’s foolish and dangerous. That includes putting food scraps on your steps or in your yard for the benefit of raccoons, possums, etc. They start showing up in greater numbers or frequency, leading to potentially bad outcomes for pets and children.

BTW, I still think Mark’s beard upgrade is cheap. If Rivera doesn’t like to stipple beards, she can just drop the whole beard thing. Mark can sport bandages from shaving with his wilderness survival knife.

The Week in Review and the Sunday Nature Chat

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Welcome to TW3: This Was The Week That Whoofed. The Kudzu Commander Caper came to a less-than mysterious ending, revealing that Violet Cheshire was the slanderous Kudzu Commander,  all because of her need for companionship and long walks in the wilderness. But the only way she could find a solution was to slander Cherry’s reputation in order to create a reason for teaming up and going on the hunt. Violet might have gotten more mileage out of this charade, except that she bungled the job by accidentally revealing her complicity.

Squirrelly Sandy and her zombie squirrels were bribed to come along for this final act, performing more or less like an ancient Greek deity in Homer’s Odyssey:  cajoling the two women, interfering in their actions, and reacting with indifference to the climax of this sad adventure. At least this adventure didn’t last ten years.

It now looks as if Rivera has wrapped up both Rustys’s (Mark’s) alien/camper story as well as Cherry’s kudzu quest. What new adventure awaits us on Monday? I don’t know, but there’s no need to wait for the Sunday nature discussion.

Okay, that’s an interesting title panel formed by turkeys sleeping in trees. We see numerous wild turkeys around the Twin Cities in the fall, even in town. They will strut along sidewalks, hang out on corners, and sometimes just stand in the street, as if daring traffic to hit them, which sometimes happens. They don’t seem particularly concerned about humans, which isn’t a good strategy for them. But seeing them fly is remarkable, both because of their appearance in flight and because it doesn’t seem like they would be capable of flying. You can ponder Mark’s politics on your own.