The Argyle Sweater by Scott Hilburn for March 02, 2013

???

Not so fast there, Arnold! Sneaky, traitorous bastard!

That was my thought, but I can’t find the connection.

Those look like it’s tail feathers.

OK…..I THINK…..

Eggs Benedict is expensive because it’s made with “poached” eggs.

And egg poaching can be hazardous to the chef’s health and even his bank account.

Old Eagle Eye…..Glasses.

I was just re-reading an old "Smithsonian Magazine from the early 1990s. Egg poaching by and for egg collectors was a major problem in the English countryside back then. Ground-nesting bird populations were being badly affected. Is that still a problem over there, anyone?

“EX-Benedict”?.

@Alexikakos…….Greek? Restaurantuer?

Susan, I think you nailed it. It’s a play on the word “poach”. With Eggs Benedict, “poach” refers to a cooking method, but the comic is interpreting is as “poaching wildlife”. Much like illegal poaching of elephant ivory, seal skins, etc.

sunnyside up please

Alexikakos: That’s the saddest news I have heard all day (but the day is young). Back in the ’70s when I lived in Canada, all bacon (back or side) was Canadian. Has NAFTA destroyed the pork industry there?

once saw a raven steal a fish from a bald eagle in midair. eagle was good fisher, but kind of wimpy otherwise.

franklin proposed the wild turkey for state bird. very intelligent, resourceful creature. (turkey too). if you get the chance, watch the pbs film “my life as a turkey” about the guy who raised an entire brood. wonderful piece.

Interestingly enough, the dish was named after Pope Benedict XIII in the eighteenth century.

If the poacher were intending to make Eggs Florentine, presumably his arm would be much more muscular and have an anchor tattoo.

If the turkey was the national bird, as Franklin suggested, would it be protected from hunting? That’s probably about the second most popular game animal in the U.S..

Unfortunately, there continues to be a poaching problem among “collectors” who now have the ease of the internet to ,ake deals. It is entirely despicable and is in no way justified by the thevery of one species over another (any more than “pet” cats left outside to do the same). As a bird lover, I also admire the raptors (and will be watching daily at Cornell U’s great web cams as soon as they reopen for the season) to see a new clutch of RedTail Hawks.