Ballard Street by Jerry Van Amerongen for July 24, 2023

for a moment there I thought that beam is ejected out of his head.

It’s all in the presentation.

Pamela would be more impressed if he would lose the cape and knee britches and get a nice jacket and big boy trousers.

He came to my door too. Those plants he’s handing around are Poison Ivy! I called Constable Shooshingwell.

You gotta admit Sturgis has got style!

Giving up on trees, Neil Sturgis went on to have a South Dakota town named after him and he inspired a huge motorcycle rally each summer. He traded in his cape and top had for a dew rag, and leathers. If you think oddity is endemic on Ballard Street, you should hop on your Harley and head to Sturgis. The rest is history.

Good morning Balladeers!

Sorry, Neal, I have no room for it

A cape !

Anybody else notice that these presentations (since they are on Ballard street, I won’t call it a comic ) are now in some kind of frame? Last few days?

Take more than a sad plant and a cape if Neal hopes to get lucky. As the boys at the Rope and Pulley club know, it’s not easy to woo Pamela.

Don’t let him fool you, Pamela! He’s the Midnight Skulker, and that plant is from Mrs. Higglepooder’s Garden. She’s put Scooter, the Hit-Dog, on his trail…

I give to thee my sweet blossom, a token of my love, it’s a sapling bignoniaceous to plant and to grow as my love grows for you. Amo te mihi dulcem florem.!

They call him Woody

I always thought Arbor Day should be a national holiday and fall on a Monday. C’mon, couldn’t you use a tree-day weekend? :)

Claris wonders how many bounces Neal took when he fell from the family tree.

MASTER Arborist Neal Sturgis, gent., if you please.

Hope he took the price tag off. :)

He got all ‘spruced’ up just for this.

Neal presents this as though it was an orchid but Pamela knows better.

everyone knows ol’ neal is out of his tree…