Harts Pass No. 561

Yes. The new superheroes! SO many doctors and nurses and science and emergency health workers who deserve our gratitude and appreciation! #happyhalloween -- As if the real world isn't scary enough already!

Harts Pass No. 559

Ah, the "rewilding." I like this one. We've been cooped up too long. It's time to get back to our roots!
PS I mean we're not really ready to get back to life as normal - in fact who knows HOW long the effects of this pandemic will be with us - but we should aspire to it over time :) 

Harts Pass No. 558

Alas, I skipped one here. No. 557 just never came to pass. It happens. To be perfectly honest about the whole endeavor, I should probably NOT skip on the numbering as well, but that's what I do. This is all a part of an eleven-year experiment in comics making... and sometimes you make up the rules as you go :) Happy science comic!

 

Harts Pass No. 556

Not an actual fall, but in the often autobiographical inspiration of this strip, I did have a harder week at school this week. Getting back to the flow. All will be fine. Momentum, people. That's the ticket!
 

Harts Pass No. 555

 

Alas, the division in this country over things that are supposed to help... Speechless. 

Harts Pass No. 554

 

Uhg. Back to the regular scheduled programming here. It's September... and it's STILL too HOT!

Harts Pass No. 553

OK, this one is perhaps overly sentimental -- but also totally true! There are SO many times that I have upped my game to hopefully set a good example for my daughter. And not just about being nice or working hard... but about doing things like riding roller coasters (which I actually hate) or hiking late into the day, or pushing through a VERY challenging first year of teaching -- just to show my kiddo that she too is brave and can do hard things. And she is. And she does. It is awesome! Thanks for making me brave Kit!
 

Harts Pass No. 552

A different kind of "first day" for us this year. Our little kit is off to college! SUPER hard to believe that little ol' Kit is off to Yale, but a super exciting new adventure nonetheless :)

Harts Pass No. 551

 

Back to school week! A few new school supplies and perhaps a new shirt or two. Keep it simple people :)

Harts Pass No. 550

 

After a terribly long stretch of heat and fire this summer, my daughter and I got extremely lucky with a respite in the mountains. We weren't quite sure of the weather... and banked more on roasting rather than freezing. That being said, it was two nights and three excellent days of amazing exploration in the hills! The smoke FINALLY cleared as we headed up Valley. The breeze kicked up and we had three glorious days of overcast skies and cool-ish temperatures. A little excitement on the trail -- and MANY many trees to climb over in some farther reaches of the loop (and actually SO much rain and coolness on the last day that we missed a LOT of incredible mountain views) but it was a 5-star excellent adventure all around :) 

Harts Pass No. 549

Another #haikucomics as inspired by the heat and smokey air. Truly. Winter please!

Harts Pass No. 548

OK. This week the Virgina Ridge fire forced us to evacuate our home. We are fortunate. My mom was out of town and visiting my brother, so we set up camp in her house... for nearly two weeks! Ultimately our house was fine. I mowed back a ton of stuff, cut down shrubs, and watered like crazy. We live in a neighborhood on the fringe of the woods, but it is a neighborhood with dirt roads and most people have 30+ feet of cleared and watered lawn or landscaping. It felt reasonably safe to leave... and the fire crews checked on everything and touched up a firewise effort or two in the process. The blaze came within about 1/4 mile of home -- on the ridge above -- but it felt much closer than that. So many of these strips are autobiographical... and this one more than most. Thank you fire fighters!

Harts Pass No. 547

To me, this strip perfectly illustrates both Thor's insatiable curiosity... and the kinds of things that happen when you sometimes just blindly follow your gut. Keep it up, Thor! We love you for it!

Harts Pass No. 546

 

Amazing to think that we can now make a joke or two about masking. Don't get me wrong. It was invaluable and NECESSARY! With the return on wildfire smoke however...  

Harts Pass No. 545

Just a little pondering on the one potential upside of the summer heat... 

Harts Pass No. 544

The "heat" comics continue. I need some kind of outlet for my existential angst about the temperatures!

Harts Pass No. 543

Getting into the mountains is usually a good way to escape the heat. This summer? Not so much, but the wolverines are hopeful!

Harts Pass No. 542

Another #haikucomic to kick off the summer days. And hot, Hot, HOT ones at that! 100+ degrees on June 14th. What?? This is no an auspicious way to kick things off for the summer fire season :( #soitgoes #climatechange

Harts Pass No. 541

Today's comic takes us up to the final days of school and the first "unofficial" days of summer. Still a few more days until we hit that calendar solstice, but we'll take it! The adventure begins!!! 

 

Harts Pass no. 540

The wolverines are watching here, but my own daughter just graduated from high school! We feel INCREDIBLY fortunate that we were able to host an outdoor graduation and that on some relative scale as compared to last year and the most recent school year -- graduation was about as normal as can be. Congrats, kiddo, to you and all of your fellow graduates in the class of 2021. GRRR!!!