That must have been some impact, as it appears to have knocked Mark right out of his PFD – Personal Flotation Device- (if not his BVD’s…) So now he’ll owe money for that as well…

What must is be like for a whale, who can only give the world a side-ways glance…  who must have a giant blind spot in front, which denies it binocular vision and any hope of depth perception?  Does it maintain two distinct fields of view?  How does the whale brain process that?  Apparently that’s still a mystery, even going back to Melville’s time when he captured Ishmael’s pondering of the very same question…

Close, that is…  or “CLOSE!,” as Mark puts it…  Hair only slightly out of place while he swims away from the concussion of the whale’s “KARAASH.”  Sort of light Chris Farley (rest his soul) doing a cannonball in a kiddie pool…  not that he ever did, to my knowledge, but the effect would be the same…

So as Mark is driven underwater, he’ll have to surface and find his personal watercraft and paddle… but maybe he’ll run into Abbey Powell somewhere out there… or maybe Abbey and Cherry are already tying one on poolside, new “Besties” not even aware of the tie that binds them…  I think that Cherry had decided to not return to Wally’s forest after a single visit where she got to witness his misogynistic thought patterns, and thereby never met Abbey Powell who then came into our consciousness as an Agent of the USDA, to help Wally with his Emerald Ash Borer problem…

But I digress.  Here we are in sunny, wonderful Hawaii, and unless there is a man-eating shark waiting in the wings, Mark should be able to return to Cherry unscathed, if only a bit rattled by the fact that Nature seems to have it out for him…

…and convince him that a story would move along just fine without you ending up on the wrong side of some natural force…  this time, a humpback whale feeding and and then breaching on your ass…  (the linked video is hilarious… the videographer is entranced but his mate is less than happy about the whole thing…)   I have to admit my first reaction when reading this was laughter.  Good thing this is a family strip otherwise Mark might have let loose with a more appropriate “oh sh*t” or “oh, f*ck me…” I am sure he’s quite sick of being in harm’s way.

But such is his lot in life.  So Mark, you’d better react quickly and get out of the way- at least get off the paddleboard, so you can be driven underwater, and not driven into the shards of the soon to be demolished rental craft.  Then there will be the matter of the damage deposit… much like every other thing you have ever rented that floats… it never ends up well…  if there was a list, his name would be on it, and he’d be forever barred from signing a rental contract…

Whales, huh?  I think some of you out there called this ahead of the big reveal…

And for those of you doubting, (certainly not me…) here’s what happens in nature…  pretty amazing… and accurate right up to the bubbles and such…

And look… Mario’s back… in all his clipped glory!  But one would think that the close proximity to the exploding whale pod would have knocked him off the paddleboard…

…and speaking of exploding whales, check this out…

The pace is staggering here.  Don’t know if I can take it.  I thought Mark would be on the paddleboard for a week before anything really happened!! Bravo!

…a law, even, against the single panel.

I sit here, dumbfounded.  Searching.  Wanting to say something.  I think to myself (much like Mark is now..) “This is like the cave all over again… There are different ways to be trapped, even on top of the water within a paddle-board’s distance from shore…”

Of course they are fish! What else is going to live in the water?!  I guess the “suspense” is in asking the question, “What’s causing this phenomenon?” Predators (probably billfish of some sort) are working together to form a bait-ball and have a little dinner.  The fish, forced to the surface, are easy pickings for the gulls, and they are grateful.  Mark, the supposed naturalist, is transfixed.  Next.

I am not even compelled to google ‘bubbles n the water’ since it will probably be related to gas…

Help me Obi Wan, you are my only hope…  Maybe tomorrow…

…taking your chances that a rip tide isn’t gong to suck you out to sea, and also content in the notion that Cherry is going to be all right drinking daiquiris all by herself on the beach!  Oh, OK, I mean what could possibly happen, especially when it’s not even clear (to me at least) who is on the paddleboard.   Is that Mark?  We recently learned a lesson that just because someone is wearing a familiar swimsuit ensemble doesn’t guarantee it is who you think it is…

I mean, it doesn’t even look like him…  looks like Luigi from Mario Brothers- is that a mustache??

But back to the adventure…  It is in fact Mark on the paddleboard, doing what Mark does- taking stock of his surroundings and noticing things that are off-kilter…

No “What th-” but rather a full blown, “What in the World!?” Talk about being off-kilter. With Mark’s Spidey Senses tingling, I guess we’ll have to find out tomorrow what is blowing bubbles.  My first though is whale, but that would be one source of big bubbles, not many sources of little bubbles…

But I am sure many of you wondered what became of the Saturday edition… well turns out I was back in Adams County, WI home to my Aunt and Uncle and any number of amazing things, the least of which (left) is not the fact that Uncle Tommie, after years of trying to make the senior tour, has set his clubs aside to work on becoming a bona fide hummingbird whisperer…  Now, getting this little guy to slow his heart rate down is no mean feat, not to mention getting him to lie still long enough to get a couple of pictures off…

… and not to mention the fact that our friendly Black Squirrel (common to these parts) at the Petenwell Pub has a new summer outfit- a snappy red cowboy hat!  Recall the trip from last winter, where the temperature was well below zero- the little gal had her fleece on!

Well, it’s back to reality, everyone!  Another day to give my liver a rest and look forward to tomorrow’s installment!

Cherry’s got her red highlights back…

And Cherry, by that private thought I assume that you are comparing this experience to other vacations like the trip tot he Great Dismal Swamp (BOOOOOM!) or some awful wind-swept and  bug-ridden canoe trip… So with umbrella drink in hand and bikini-ready body on display, Cherry is quite happy to be doing absolutely nothing…

But of course Mark is already bored and wants to go rent a couple of boards!  Why not challenge the famous surf and dangerous rip-tides?

This is getting creepy.  The thought of Mark and Cherry Trail sharing the “King’s Cottage” is more than I can fathom… I wasn’t following things terribly closely when they finally tied the knot, but I can only imagine the honeymoon involved camping and canvas…  with maybe even Rusty (adopted ward) and Andy (the Saint Bernard) along for the ride…  For years (decades) it appeared that Mark avoided any form of intimacy with Cherry and now he’s (willingly) heading right into the maw… Am I the only one that is nervous about this whole thing??

Bonus points for Cherry in knowing that it’s a conch shell being sounded…  all that time watching NatGeo or the Discovery Channel at Lost Forest is paying dividends!  But of course Mark has to rain on her parade… like she didn’t also know that doormen in Hawaii are generally shirtless and use such native gestures to welcome visitors!

Footnote- I googled ‘Rusty Trail’ and it would appear that this is not a common search combo for Google, at least not in reference to the adopted son of Mark and Cherry…

Obviously there are many other more important things going on, mostly having to do with the unwanted oxidation of iron…

The Coco Palms Resort…  Ripe with History going back to the 1800’s when the grove was planted… later to be the set for the Elvis Presley movie, Blue Hawaii.  Hurricane Iniki wiped it out in the early 90’s and has been deserted ever since.  It is scheduled to be re-opened in 2017 as a Hyatt resort…  I guess Mark and Cherry are A-listers who were invited to experience a soft opening, or something like that… Careful at the beach, guys, Wailua is know for poor water quality and dangerous rip-tides!

Well that was a lot of research for a Wednesday morning… but I have never been to our 50th state (that’s right… Alaska is the 49th…) and for the first time I realize that Hawaii, which became a state in 1959, wasn’t even a state when the attack on Pearl Harbor happened.  Huh.

In 1893, a group of American expatriates and sugar planters supported by a division of U.S. Marines deposed Queen Liliuokalani, the last reigning monarch of Hawaii. One year later, the Republic of Hawaii was established as a U.S. protectorate with Hawaiian-born Sanford B. Dole as president. Many in Congress opposed the formal annexation of Hawaii, and it was not until 1898, following the use of the naval base at Pearl Harbor during the Spanish-American War, that Hawaii’s strategic importance became evident and formal annexation was approved. Two years later, Hawaii was organized into a formal U.S. territory. During World War II, Hawaii became firmly ensconced in the American national identity following the surprise Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941.

Same old story I guess…  back when invading and conquering was an accepted way to expand one’s territory…  But then without this act of colonial aggression BHO couldn’t have become our 44th president…  And with that I may have set a record for the greatest number of links in a single post…

…and where he comes from… so for all we know he comes from money- sort of Bruce-Wayne-like… which would explain how he can afford to live the life of a career dilettante…  posing as a Nature Writer, but able to go wherever he wants and rent the fanciest of cars  (Porsche 911??)… it was about time he brought Cherry in on the secret…

But wait!  I thought Honey was dead!  Mark, you sure get around!  What a cad!  Telling Cherry that she is going on a (an?) Hawaiian Vacation only to leave her stranded with Rusty, Doc, and Andy in Lost Forest…

Well it’s only a matter of weeks before Abbey and Mark run into each other and then Mark will have some “splaining” to do…  and we can get on with this “fire ants ruined the island” story…

Abbey reminds us that her glasses are not just for show, which we learned in the last story she was featured.  We are also reminded that she doesn’t go anywhere without vials, empty or otherwise…

But thanks to Mainer7, for those of us, including me, not paying as close enough attention, for the answer to the ant-as-invasive species riddle…

Remember??  Well I hadn’t…  nice work!

Which of course begs the question as to why Honey and Darling’s yacht had a cache of firewood on it…  Because they assumed they’d run into a deserted island and need fuel for a romantic sleep-over, or because the ship had a working, wood-burning fireplace?  Or why the entire boat wasn’t infested with ants…so many questions!

But I also recall that Darling got bit by something as he was toting the wood…

And I had assumed that he had been bit on the toe or something… but clearly I was wrong about that too…

Boy, it’s difficult to admit, but I am certainly not doing a very good job of keeping up with these story lines…  thanks again, Mainer7, for shining a light on this most complicated situation!

…whether the only plot device available to Mark Trail these days is putting human beings in peril…  Whatever happened to the eco-villains?  The poachers? The rapers of scenery?  Those who would enrich themselves in ways contrary to the Trailian world view??

Not sure whether I could form full sentences if I were hurtling down a rock face, but I guess this is better that a sustained “AAAHHHHHHH!!!!!”

So as Abbey lies on her back in repose, or in a Pilates stretch maneuver, we are led to believe that she is OK, otherwise she couldn’t be wise-cracking at this point…

It takes tremendous discipline to not let fly with really dark oaths- especially when you are all alone and it’s just you, the sky and some stinging ants that probably hurt like hell!  I know from my own garden- upset a hill and they will climb up  your leg and start doing their worst!!

And it would appear that the ants are venomous as Abbey’s hand in panel one is swelling with each bite!!  And what makes Abbey such an expert on what should and shouldn’t be on the island?  Did she study extensively on “native” flora and fauna prior to arriving?  And what makes something native vs. invasive??  Isn’t it all just a matter of perspective?  I mean, any person in the United States of European descent is by definition invasive, not to mention the “First peoples” who walked the land bridge out of Alaska to populate what is now the lower 48…  So chill out, Blondie- and just admit that you are in over your head and that gravity is about to win!

By the way… I love your comments!  Keep ’em coming!!

hurrah, hurrah?  Well, this is certainly random…

As is the idea that the birds, nature, if you will, (which we know always finds a way) will be better off in Abbey’s rosin pouch that on its own, dealing with a little “Ant Invasion…”

Friendly and fearless finches?  That’s great alliteration…  Perhaps Abbey is completely read-up on the Bird Lore Audubon Guides…  But Abbey, are you now prepared to re-locate them?  Find them a new nest where the ants haven’t taken over the neighborhood?  What exactly is your plan?  Start a gofundme page to help support their relocation and study the invasive nature of the ants and determine what the birds are doing there in the first place?

As Abbey scales the rocky rocks, she is nothing if not focused on that bird!  And it seems that she is just as intent on determining its origins.  It’s a mystery to me how she will do that, as birds don’t speak and couldn’t understand her questions anyway…

My but what risks these Trailians take in there leisure time!  Recall Mark also free climbs in his spare time to “relax,” much to the chagrin of Cherry.  And if Abbey is going to become a recurring character, then she is also protected by the same force that Mark is- that no harm will come to her regardless of what peril she faces.  There’s worse than that fate for those less fortunate!!

I wonder if the real Abbey Powell has to sign off on what her character does.  Is there some kind of agreement that one signs where a likeness of you (right down to your first and last name) is put in the funny papers??  And this isn’t the first time Mr. Allen has pulled from real life… recall that he brought congressman Trey Gowdy into the story at the end of the Rhino Horn adventure?

Well, kids, I will be away for a day, but fear not, I will catch up Thursday morning!!

Whilst sunning herself on the beach of a deserted island, Abbey Powell just happens to have her free-climbing gear along…  special shoes, shorts shirt and of course the belt pouch that holds the rosin for her fingertips.  Just what you’d expect from a French and Sociology/Anthropology major working for the USDA… But she does have Peace Corps experience… if only in a Marketing capacity.

I wonder where she got her sunglasses with the blue tint, though.  Very stylish.  As mentioned here, they are of little practical use and used mostly to ‘look good…’  How terribly un-Trail…

…that makes all kinds of sense…

I am so glad that we learned of “Abbey’s” identity.  I’d still be scratching my head.

I will say, though, that Mr. Allen’s propensity toward drawing the female figure continues to delight, I’m sure.  Recall, dear readers, an unpublished strip, back from the Great Dismal Swamp Adventure, showing Cherry and and a very flummoxed Mark…

And in time honored Mark Trail fashion, Abbey talks aloud, alone, to no one in particular in the second panel.  Has sort of a Ferris Bueller quality to it, as if looking into the camera and speaking to her public…

I can see now that Mark Trail is adding some new, recurring characters…  nice touch.

Thanks to Michael Leddy who set me straight with a comment yesterday!  Great Sleuthing!  Mark would be proud!!  Turns out James Allen is active on the Social Media and helping us navigate his story lines, since they certainly can’t navigate themselves!

So now that we know that this Abbey is our Abbey, we can stop scratching our heads for a moment or two…  but seriously- who could have known that a bikini-hard body lay beneath her government-issued khakis…  Well, this is the James Allen Era, so why not?

Oh take us, little bird, to our prize- a couple of skeletons locked in mortal embrace, with wedding bands still around their left ring fingers…  Why is it I assume that H&D are dead?  I don’t know, wishful thinking?  The fact that we found a skeleton in the old bi-plane (for what turned out to be absolutely no reason) that appeared and disappeared over the course of the weeks…  Sorry to take you all back to the cave-venture, everyone…

As to why Abbey and Honey have the same color bikinis and hats, my only guess is that the colorizing happens off-shore with little supervision, and the team was just as confused as we were concerning who was on the beach, alone, with towel and flask…  and figured it still had to be Honey… who knows…

…OK, maybe I do, but really?  In a medium that relies largely on visual recognition cues, it’s really important to maintain some semblance of consistency with how the characters are drawn…

Here we have three pictures of (I assume) Abbey (formerly known as Honey) and aside from the hat (with the changeable hat-band, apparently) we’d hardly know it was her…

I know, way too much time on my hands… I could be solving for world hunger and yet I am (mostly) content to drink coffee and criticize this comic strip… Does it ever get old? Surprisingly no, but I must say that I was more than likely to be “in” on the joke and laughing “with” the author in the old days… Now I am prone to actually criticize…

But back to the story…and more research- the Nihoa Finch.  Looking at the picture, it would seem that this particular Nihoa Finch flew through a bleach bath, with none of its typical color palette showing… It does appear to be critically endangered, though, so maybe that’s the angle- looking for new habitat… And what makes you think you aren’t on Nihoa Island??  Perhaps in judging by the pictures, in real life it looks quite rocky and formidable- not sandy, lush and inviting…

So we are still left to wonder what became of “Darling…” Maybe Abbey is like the Black Widow Spider- kills her mate after making love…