A pithy comic strip about life, love, lust and puthy cats.

Est. 1985

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A Botany Lesson

By Jimmy Johnson

It is forecast to be 100 degrees  around here next week. If that proves accurate, it will be the first time ever the temperature has hit three digits in May. The time for initial spring flowers is long past, but I like this Sunday from 2017. Maybe our friends in the upper Midwest still have jonquils.

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40 responses to “A Botany Lesson”

  1. Ghost Avatar
    Ghost

    As we used to say about triple-digit temperatures in the Deep South, “Suck it, up, buttercup.” 🙂

    1. Ghost Avatar
      Ghost

      As Mark mentioned earlier this morning (on the previous post), what didn’t blow away in Oklahoma seems to be either under water or threatened with flooding. The Lake Eufaula water level is high enough that some lake-side businesses and campgrounds will probably not be able to operate this weekend. Since the economy of the City of Eufaula is very dependent on visitors to the Lake, this does not bode well for local businesses on the “Unofficial Beginning of Summer”. Including ours. But we are still grateful not to have suffered wind or water damage. Many have not been that fortunate.

  2. TruckerRon Avatar

    We had some gorgeous irises in our yard until yesterday’s hailstorm.
    🙁

  3. Steve From Royal Oak, MI Avatar

    I am surprised to learn that it has not been above 100° in your neck of the woods. I know that we have had 90° days in May when I grew up in Indiana and assumed that it had been above 100° down there. Stay safe and keep hydrated.

  4. Tom (formerly) from the front range. Avatar
    Tom (formerly) from the front range.

    Here in Florida, 90° + temperatures in May are not uncommon however those temperatures are usually accompanied by late day thunderstorms that deliver 1 to 2 inches of rain in an hour. Not so this spring. I have two weather stations that both registered the relative humidity below 30% (I wasn’t going to believe just one) earlier this week. That low of level of moisture is almost unheard of. In Florida, even paint doesn’t get that dry.

    Meanwhile back at my old residence in Colorado Springs this past Monday there was a freak late May snow storm that dropped 14″ in some areas.

  5. Bookworm Avatar
    Bookworm

    The pictures on the news of snow, floods, and tornadoes have been depressing. Not meaning to get political, just factual, but I’m hoping it helps more people to understand what global warming can do. Here in the Dallas area, it’s been nice — more rain and cooler temps than usual, but hot and dry is coming.

  6. Mark in TTown Avatar
    Mark in TTown

    I heard from LLee. She is doing well but her house had flooding on the first floor. That has now drained away and she is trying to dry things out. The good news/bad news of living next to a deep drainage ditch. You get the flood but it goes away quicker.

  7. Brent Avatar
    Brent

    We still have them here in Southern Ontario… all the flowers are two weeks or more behind this year. Which is very unusual.

  8. Mark in TTown Avatar
    Mark in TTown

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyZD7eoHZT8 Appropriate music for Oklahoma right now.

  9. Rick in Shermantown, Ohio Avatar
    Rick in Shermantown, Ohio

    It seems that many people no longer remember. I have already had one well-meaning person tell me to “enjoy the holiday.” With luck, I won’t hear anyone say, “Happy Memorial Day!” But I am not holding out much hope.

    1. Ghost Avatar
      Ghost

      FWIW, Dictionary.com today suggests “Have a thoughtful Memorial Day.” I’ll have to think about that.

    2. Steve From Royal Oak, MI Avatar

      Well we need to Never Forget the young men and women who sacrificed their lives so that we can be Happy over the holiday. They died to allow us that right.

  10. Steve From Royal Oak, MI Avatar

    I am still trying to get used to my new schedule. Before I had to compensate for a 40 minute commute. However with our bathroom schedules, I haven’t slept in. I take the added time to look at social media and read the comics as well as the daily scriptures.

    This morning I took my time as the last day of a holiday weekend means that fewer people will be in the office anyway. I dressed, grabbed my wallet, keys handkerchief etc. and realized that my Shinola watch that I got for my birthday was missing. It is the most expensive watch that I have owned, so I when I take it off, it is only located in roughly 3-4 places in the house. My wife is working from home so we rummaged through the house. Finally I gave up.

    So as I pulled out my keys, I realized that I had grabbed the watch with it. I told one of the guys at work about it (already a good friend) and he told me just this week he was packing his car and talking on the phone at the same time. He was taking inventory and said to the guy on the other end of the phone “Oh man, I can’t find my phone!” Doh!!!!

  11. emb Avatar
    emb

    Over 2 dozen white [inland] pelicans on a log [?] in a dammed lake in the Mississippi, SE MN/NW WI.

    https://explore.org/livecams/birds/mississippi-river-flyway-cam

    Peace,

    1. Rick in Shermantown, Ohio Avatar
      Rick in Shermantown, Ohio

      Thank you. For me, they are deeply moving.

      JJ has also given us several equally moving strips.

  12. Old Bear Avatar
    Old Bear

    Steve
    I have looked for papers with my right hand only to discover
    that they were in my left hand.

  13. Ghost Avatar
    Ghost

    Re 5-24-19 real-time cartoon: Janis, in Panel #5 – “What do tapas bars* have to do with anything?”

    *Classical A&J cartoon reference (I’m fairly sure)

  14. Blinky the Wonder Wombat Avatar
    Blinky the Wonder Wombat

    Ghost-

    Several years ago, an enterprising restaurateur in our smallish town opened a tapas bar. It was fairly successful for a while, but the owner had to explain to some disappointed customers that a tapas bar was not a topless bar.

    1. Ghost Avatar
      Ghost

      I’m “fairly sure” an old A&J cartoon had Janis suggesting they go to a “tapas bar”, and Arlo mishearing that as “topless bar”.

  15. Steve From Royal Oak, MI Avatar

    I did not look at the comments on the last thread until today. I would like to thank everyone for the good wishes. They are appreciated.

  16. Bryan Avatar
    Bryan

    Here’s another weather related first: for the first time ever Purgatory Ski Resort outside of Durango, CO will be open for skiing on the final weekend of May. They received a couple feet of fresh powder in the past week and will have their front-side main lift open for snow activities while spring/summer activities go on at the base of the mountain.

  17. Ghost Avatar
    Ghost

    Favorite t-shirt seen in the Boutique today (tie):

    “Free Range Chick”

    “Baby, I’m Worth the Whiskey”

    Jackie says we have to keep our party-themed t-shirts separated from our religious-themed t-shirts, lest the former lead the latter astray. 🙂

  18. Nancy Kirk Avatar
    Nancy Kirk

    Ghost and Jackie:??

  19. Nancy Kirk Avatar
    Nancy Kirk

    Huh. That was supposed to be laugh till you cry. Rats. Here I thought I was being cool with emojis.

      1. Ghost Avatar
        Ghost

        Thought I fixed it for you, Nancy, but obviously I’m no cooler than you. Perhaps that’s something that will work when Jimmy finishes the Village construction work.

  20. Ghost Avatar
    Ghost

    Favorite ball cap seen in the boutique today: “Hot Southern Mess”.

    I’ve known a few of those over the years.

  21. curmudgeonly ex-professor Avatar
    curmudgeonly ex-professor

    https://www.gocomics.com/garfield/2019/05/25

    Great first comment on that strip. I don’t believe I ever encountered that joke before.

  22. Ghost Avatar
    Ghost

    Favorite (party-themed) ball cap seen in the boutique today: “Sip Happens”