Frazz by Jef Mallett for July 12, 2020

That happened to me last week when I was hanging laundry at 6 AM. It turned up in my front yard an hour later. (It can stay and have as many rodents as it wants.)

Mrs saw a 6 inch garter snake on the hill that is part of our back yard. She would not go up there again. Early this year we saw a rabbit up there. I told her they eat snakes, so she won’t have to worry about that any more. Last week her brother told her “nah uh!”We got a good laugh about it and it worked for a while as she would go up on the hill.

Human trail cam?

This one reminded me of Johnny Hart’s classic B.C. strips.

HI ! Jeff

I would have been like “AAAAH A SNAKE DON’T LET IT GET TO MY TOES!!!! AAAAHHH WHY AM I NOT INSIDE RIGHT NOW AAAAAAAH!!!”

Is there someone in Michigan who could grab his dictionary?

Just goes to prove – time spent in patient observation can bring rewards not found in constant motion, especially for the young.

Another great Frazz. A good point is made and the art is beyond excellent. What a great way to start the day. The lass’s eyes when she saw that snek? Priceless Thx Jef.

May depend on what comes along.

Repeated exposure can help. We found a (harmless) snake in the house. The first one, freakout from everyone. Then the 2nd one, less. By the time we got to 50, it was a ho-hum event.

The newspaper version has an extra introductory panel. Girl asks: “What if I had an irrational fear that I’d go my whole life without ever getting to see a snake?” Frazz replies: “Ophidiofomophobia.” Did anybody see that in the on-line version?

this is the first time I’ve seen this comic and apparently the guy on the last panel looks like a grown up Calvin

I’ve gotten so used to skimming that I didn’t see the snake on my first read.

While swimming at the local creek many many years ago, we found that the lamprey eels were running. They swim upstream for a bit, them suck onto a rock or similar to rest up, then do it some more… Lamprey mouths are pretty scary looking. My friend, thinking to make a safe bet, told me that if I caught one, he’d fix it for dinner. Turned out that they’re slimy as heck, but I was able to use a piece of fabric wrapped around my hand to grab one. He reneged, being entirely too put off by the shape, I think. I went ahead and (thanks to The Joy of Cooking ) was able to skin it and fry it up. Tasted like chicken. Livers.

Bottom line: If you’re hungry they’re perfectly edible. Or if you actually like liver. Otherwise, don’t bother.

A snake with a head shape like that would definitely be causing a freak out. I encountered a rattler sunning itself on the road on a bike ride earlier this year.

One of Jef’s Finest