Deer Management

 

The conversation in this comic happened in January, which apparently is when our local park management, um, manages the herd. I like my mental picture of the deer wearing neckties and staring (deer in the headlights, ha) at the park ranger sitting behind his desk in the woods as he calls each of them up to his desk and asks for five-year plans. Did a quick search and the average deer lifespan in the wild is three years, so that's just rude to ask for a five-year plan. I thought about having the guy in the comic holding a rifle of some sort, but wasn't sure it would look right so I left it out. 

Ha, I just thought of changing the guy in this comic to be a park ranger so he'd be holding a shotgun, saying the same thing as above, but the lady would say "Are you park rangers etc..." and that might be funnier since he's clearly not going to do that.

Text:
B: There's going to be some deer management in the parks nearby next week.
A: Are the park rangers putting neckties on the deer and asking for five-year plans?
B: ... Sure. 

Parenthood with Teeth

So our child is starting to walk (might be walking by the time this posts, who knows!) and she has a bad habit of grabbing with her teeth (i.e. biting) when she loses her balance and is going down. She does it to tables and people alike. She has teeth and it hurts, also this is not socially acceptable behavior, so we have been working on changing this behavior and she seems to be getting better. Don't want her little baby teeth to get damaged from chomping a table like the littlest kid from A Series of Unfortunate Events. Also don't want bite marks from her on my arms and shoulders. 

This also is one of those phrases you never thought you'd say but then you're a parent and somehow it's what needs to be said.

Text:
Title: Parenthood
M: Your mouth is not a stabilizer!!!
L: *CHOMP*

Little Bird Gossip

HAPPY 2'S DAY!!!! Yep, it's 2/22/22 and Tuesday. How nice for that to line up.

I don't recall what prompted this one, probably I heard the phrase "a little birdie told me" or maybe I read that passage in the Bible that mentions it. I thought about drawing the birds as stick figures, but honestly I don't know how to do that unless they are little m's in the sky and that doesn't really work with this dialog.

The phrase means you aren't going to tell who your source is when sharing a bit of information, as if a little bird dropped down and gave you some info. Which sounds like something from the song "Do you hear what I hear" - is one of the characters in that telephone chain a bird? Night wind, little lamb, shepherd boy, mighty king, people everywhere - nope, no birds.   

Text:
Title: "A little birdie told me"
Raven: What's up, little bird?
Bluebird: I have all the gossip.

Sketchy Area

I don't recall what prompted this comic. I am curious why sketchy means what it does (undesirable, not the best area). Is it because a sketch is your first pass at creating a piece of art and therefore rather rough and unfinished? I could see that being the meaning. Per Merriam Webster, that is the reason.

My last workplace was on the edge of Baltimore, and I many times wanted an option in Google Maps for 'avoid sketchy areas' because wow, there are places I want to avoid around there. I'm not sure how they could do that in a PC way though - what would the factors be?

Text:
A: Are you going to that new art store?
B: No, it's in a sketchy area. 

Sneeze Coaching

 Yes, this is a play on Captain Marvel's catchphrase "Higher, Further, Faster" from Marvel's movie about the heroine (not to be confused with DC's character Captain Marvel who now goes by Shazam and also recently had a movie).
I have a surprisingly loud sneeze that I inherited from my grandmother, and I hope to pass it on to my daughter hence the coaching. I have been told it can raise the dead, and I am wondering if there is a superhero that can do that (raise the dead by sneezing loudly). I have looked into superheroes a little and what I found is that there is a hero or villain for every random thing you can think of. Laser from your forehead? Unicorn. Polka Dot fanatic? Polka-Dot Man (who doesn't even actually have polka dots because his spots are different sizes but that's semantics apparently). Oh wow, there is the Sneezemaster from Darkwing Duck, who has a super powerful sneeze but no raising the dead abilities. Maybe I'll fall down this rabbit hole again and add more to the list here.

Text:
L1: Bigger, Stronger, Louder!
L2: *ACHOO*

Let Me Tell You a Tale

 I thought this one up when family was visiting and I kept hearing the children closing doors and I was having flashbacks to an incident involving a door, my little toddler finger, and my first Emergency Room visit. There thankfully were no incidents while my relatives were visiting, but there was stress. 

Text:
L: Gather 'round, children, let me tell you a tale titled "this is why you are stressing me out."
Four Children: *silence*

Valentine Cave System

 

They are wearing yellow hard hats for safety :) Yes, this was all a ploy to use 'Bee Mine' in a comic. Yes, there is an (overly commercialized) holiday happening tomorrow; many chocolates and flowers will be gifted; hopefully there will not be any stinging incidents in any caves. 

Text:
M1: How was I suppose to know that the Valentine Cave System is totally full of hornets?!?
M2: It got its name because it's a Bee Mine ♡

Death to Cupid

 Just a reminder for a holiday next week :) Not much to add to the comic, just a play on 'flirting with death' - thought it would be funny to have Cupid making people fall for Death. Interesting note on Greek mythology - some list Eros/Cupid as a child of Nix, who has many children including Thanatos/Death. So you could interpret this comic as having sibling banter. 

Text:
Title: Death to Cupid
D: Stop making people flirt with me!!!
C: No

Parenthood in a Nutshell

 

I don't recall what sparked this comic, but I think it was something my nieces or nephews did over Christmas and New Years. I feel like any of them could fit into this comic. But not my darling child - she won't be like every single other child with their rebellion and such. 

Text:
Title: Parenting
Parent: That won't end well.
Child: That won't stop me!

Odd Numbers

 

I attempted finger guns in this comic, and I'm undecided on them. It's an extra layer of detail since my stick figures don't have distinct fingers normally, but I felt they were necessary to get this feeling across. Also, the smiley face emoji since the stick figures don't have facial features. 

Text:
A: I need to score 267 points to get the reward.
B: 267? That's an odd number :) *finger guns*

Dispense with the Pleasantries

I saw a sign for a dispensary and thought this up. It's an interesting name for a business - they don't say what they are dispensing but we all know (and the five-leaf helps). Technically though, it is a vague term and anyone who is dispensing items could call themselves a dispensary. It would lead to confusion. But when has that stopped anyone?

Also, why does the phrase "dispense with the pleasantries" mean stop them rather than dish them out? I feel that is backwards.

Text:
M: Need to stop by the dispensary?
L: Is that where they dispense with the pleasantries? I could use some pleasantries.

Tilt vs Whirl

 

Happy Birthday to my sister-in-law!
I don't recall what sparked this comic but I have many memories of the carnival that would show up seemingly overnight in the cow pasture down the road from my parents and we all wanted to ride the rides but now as an adult I'm like, second guessing riding those. But how often do you hear of accidents at them? Not much I believe. They probably are very good at what they do, with setting up for a week, packing it all up, moving, and setting it up elsewhere. 

Explanation: There is a ride called Tilt-A-Whirl that is at many carnivals and fairs, and when the dad is told that his child is tilting (sliding down in his arms) he responds that he's glad she isn't whirling (hurling, i.e. spit-up or vomit).

Text:
A: Your baby is tilting.
D: As long as she isn't whirling!