Harts Pass No. 570

 

#haikucomics - again :) I love this form if you can't already tell. And in the spirit of New Year's resolutions, we DO have a LOT to decide about how we move ahead. I can't say that I'm entirely optimistic... but all I can do is chart my own path and hope that others see something positive (and reciprocate) regarding the actions that I take. Thank you 2022 and Happy New Year!

Harts Pass No. 559

Another #haikucomic with some double-down on the thrill of getting to have our kiddo home again for over a month! Merry Christmas to all!

Harts Pass No. 568

TOTALLY stolen - in a way - from all of those incredible Calvin & Hobbes strips with all of the snowmen. It's my own version of course, and my daughter and I DID get to do a little teamwork shoveling of the driveway this week. Let it snow!

 

Harts Pass No. 567

This was an idea that almost made it -- a not-quite-finished Christmas ornament with Kit. Perhaps I will revisit this at some future date. The folding and the shape work... I just needed to start it earlier so that it actually got completed by the deadline. Alas :(

Harts Pass No. 566

Seasonally speaking, this strip is totally out of context. Please do NOT embark on any winter kayaking trips! That being said, the date, the subject, the t-short that Thor is wearing... these are palindromes. Enjoy!

Harts Pass No. 565

A little bit truth, a little bit fiction - so goes the inspiration of the weekly cartoonist! Also, we are very much looking forward to a Thanksgiving visit from our kiddo :)

 

Harts Pass No. 564

I don't know that much about hockey, but my daughter's college roommate plays for Yale, and I'm suddenly paying just a little more attention. Also, the local youth team has taken the wolverine it's mascot - so that makes sense :)

Harts Pass No. 563

We've made the world more complicated. We've changed the game on patience and "approximations." And by that measure - in creating more immediacy and urgency and the supposed need for precise and exact answers - we have made ourselves less creative, less flexible, and more exposed to anxiety and worry. Analog thoughts in a digital world...

 

Harts Pass No. 562

COP26 The "Conference of Parties" -- these climate action conventions need to up their game!

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!!!

Hart Pass no. 539

One of those fun little attempts to find a connection between animals in the world and the wolverines right here in our little slice of the North Cascades. 

 

Harts Pass no. 538

 

We have reached to stage of this pandemic, where the masks can come off a bit. Vaccines are here and the spread (for now) feels calmed. That being said, I'd really like to NOT be wearing masks again for poor air quality and smoke. Be smart out there people!

PS Sorry, I missed last week with the comic-making. It happens :)

Harts Pass no. 536

Almost Mother's Day. Have a good one :) 

 

Harts Pass no. 535

Since 2006 I have walked the woods above our house. It is the edge of wilderness - coyotes, black bears, maybe a cougar or two watching me as I walk. Today there are flags. Change. Someone is marking things -- reclaiming their space. What is happening? All I know is with the intrusion of "civilization" I have never felt more uncomfortable in these woods. 

Harts Pass no. 534

 

Some of my favorite strips are the ones that make sense both philosophically... and in relation to current happenings and/or a liberal use of Harts Pass critters as anthropomorphic stand-ins :) And here we have a very nice match-up (if I do say so myself) of both some good advice, the current track season, AND of course the hawk (or eagle) and the hare -- just a little quick and obvious for his own good. More updates on the way!

Harts Pass no. 533

Kind of fun when a current news brief fits nicely with the comic. Sometimes I seek out news on wolverines or specific stories about the North Cascades. This week, a blurb about grizzly research just came across my "feed." Interesting to a degree, but based on following deer paths through the woods etc. I am usually surprised at how "logical" they seem. When looking up the hill myself and trying to plot the most efficient, least steep way to ascend, it commonly fits with some sort of animal trail. Nobody wants to work TOO hard if there isn't some more compelling reason to make the path more direct. 

 

Harts Pass no. 532

Ah, the spring break. And so it always goes. Something of a break. Something of a chore. I know that some people really embrace this annual ritual with an escape to some sort of warmer clime. That has not been my practice, nor, I think, would it be my preference. A little yard work. A little wandering the hills. Call me "vacationed." Let's get on with it. 

 

Harts Pass no. 531

THIS comic is a total inside joke based on some discussions amongst the XC team. And so I ask you, which is more pleasant, a worm or a snake? Somehow the "worm moon" coincides with this ongoing debate. Snakes are clearly the best!

 

Harts Pass no. 530

Birds chirping insanely in the morning. Blustery, windy days that look warm but are actually frigid... spring is delightfully cruel. 

 

Harts Pass no. 529

I DO really like this one. Just a simple visual with a kind of nice surprise at the end -- AND it makes perfect sense with the 3.17 publication date for the comic :)

 

Harts Pass no. 528

Phew! At this point in the ever-evolving pandemic, I feel like we might be removing masks and getting a little too comfortable with the idea that a vaccine with fix everything. I mean, for starters, we have to convince a bunch of people to actually go and GET the vaccine... 

 

Harts Pass no. 527

If you don't already know Yayoi Kusama's artwork, you should check it out! Amazing patterns. Awesome, saturated color. Every inch is covered in dancing lines and texture. We've been exploring and replicating her work with my JRH art classes. Art imitates life and visa versa.

 

Harts Pass no. 526

Maybe not one of my best efforts here. Sometimes, when you are doing something like this mostly for fun and weekly practice, you end up phoning it in... I WAS thinking about Covid, and art, and being cooped up and looking for something new, but at the same time I was pretty much trying to hit a deadline :) GRRR!

 

Harts Pass no. 525

My wedding anniversary coincides with this comic... and Thor and Melanie here are based loosely on my own relationships and happenings. No one I would rather take a walk with, Melanie :)

Harts Pass no. 524

I like this one. Sorry to brag. It's a simple conceit, and it was fun to draw -- to try and pull off the consideration and change of expression in a fairly limited range of movement. Not a huge audience for this strip by any stretch of the imagination, but I've definitely practiced a LOT of comic-making with these characters in the last 10+ years and 524 strips. I should be decent at it :)

Harts Pass no. 523

No masks in this one. Sometimes you just have to go with the flow. Don't overthink it. Don't "understand." Just cruise and enjoy that rare moment of effortless motion. And smile too :) Such feelings will happen again for sure, but they are hard to plan for and never predictable. 

 

Harts Pass no. 522

And today's strip continues -- like ALL things in the world right now -- in the Covid vein. Like many times in history, it does go to form that even a simple comic strip in a random small-town newspaper can take up the call to public service and hopefully help to spread information in an approachable way. GRRR!

Harts Pass no. 521

I usually find a Dr. King quote to honor this week and to pay respect to his work for civil rights and social justice. This year, I came across a statement from Senator Robert F. Kennedy given on the eve of Dr. King's assassination. It seems appropriate to our own current moment in history and carries in fact a similar sentiment to President Biden's words from Wednesday afternoon. 

 

Build Back Better Bears no. 9 - 1.20.21

Amanda Gorman's poem was AMAZING... inauguration bears!

Harts Pass no. 520

There ARE indeed too many people skiing in the dark while listening to music. They are also, by all appearances, too far from the trailheads with too far to go and with no additional light to guide their way. I'm all for adventure and that thrilling experience in the "out of doors" but please, please, please DO remember that we take certain risks here on the urban-rural fringe. Best not to look TOO much like a clueless chew toy for the wild kitties!

Harts Pass no. 519

I wrote this strip on Tuesday morning, January 5th... with a "no news is good news" sort of hope for the first full week of 2021. With the comic hitting print on Wednesday, I really wish that I'd been right. I mean I was, "nothing" happening on 1/6/21 would have been MUCH preferred to a riotous storming of Capitol Hill, but I was wrong in that way too much happened and we are really just beginning to hear the full extent. Truly hoping for a quieter week ahead. Best regards.