What did we tell you?
Bubba wouldn’t be such a smarty pants if he wasn’t up in that tree (and couldn’t disappear at will)
I don’t know if I would eat that mushroom, Pinky!
Don’t eat that, Pinky!!!!
Panda on!
Bob T I’ve-been-very-very-good Panda
As December winds it’s way to Christmas and the new year, I forget that the days won’t keep getting shorter, but in a couple more days will turn the corner, and even though it is only by a minute or two right now, the days will begin to get longer. Right now, it starts to get dark but 4:15, and on rainy gray days, never really seems to get light at all.
It’s the perfect time for sitting in my warm, well lit studio, and draw pandas!
Of course down in Australia and other points south, they are about to have their longest day, as they reach the summer solstice. I hope they don’t have a repeat of last summer (was it really only less than a year ago?) when bush fires raged out of control.
Do I smell smoke?
Time to go off to find Mr. Bun!
I’ve always hated when movies do this…
Mittens: No Room! No Room! You look like you’re not from around here!
Our story continues…
Be the Bear!
Bob T Panda
Once again, we have a smidge of hope, as those bad boys and girls in black over at The Supremes smacked down the suit by the Texas AG, which thought that since they didn’t like the voting results in PA, WI, MI, & GA, that they should get to call the entire states votes invalid and appoint Mittens Electors, neener, neener, neener!
Oh tidings of treason and greed. Sad that 3 years later this ‘toon is still even more accurate.
Clear as mud!
Hey! Why are you making another character of questionable ethics a CAT???
Well *bleep* and take your *bleep* and stick it *bleep*!!!!
Is there no end to our misery?
Panda ON!!!
Bob T Panda
I know I’m kind of poking the bear here. But the election is over and You Know Who Lost! Once again I’m up far to late so I will just post today’s ‘toon and call it a night!
It’s time to call it a day, Mittens!
Be the Bear
Bob T Panda
What do you think…A 2020 Felt Dumpster fire with burning marshmallows on sticks as an accessory package for Frank and Mikey?
Mikey’s marshmallow, is, of course, on fire.
2020 seems like it was million years long, didn’t it? As we get ready to enjoy the wonder that is 31 Days of Pandas I thought it would be good to look back at a ‘toon or two from each month this year, so that we can see the many splendored (????) year that 2020 has been.
You might have noticed I have not done any post election ‘toons. Call it superstition, but until I watch Joe Biden and Kamala Harris take the oath of office, I am somewhat apprehensive that Mittens will manage to yank the rug out from under us yet again. Suffice to say, Pinky is taking the results fairly well (for Pinky) but I’m not expecting that to hold necessarily. As she said to me, “it’s been kind of hard to be my normal, outrageous self, when mittens is so outrageous on his own in real life. dis is beary unfairs to pinky. ”
In addition to the twice weekly new ‘toons, 31 Days of Pandas will feature Holiday Encore Presentations from the Panda Chronicle Archives. And…maybe a commercial or two from the Buy Stuff With Pandas pages. On Tuesday I will reveal the latest addition to the Felty Panda Pantheon (which according to my laptop dictionary can mean: a group of particularly respected, famous, or important people: the pantheon of the all-time greats.) I assume that goes for pandas too!
A reminder that PDXWildlife Auction ends today (November 29th) and that felty pandas bought during the months of November and December will trigger a small donation to PDXWildlife!
January brings us one of the more reprehensible creatures that abide in the land of pandas…
This makes perfect sense to me!
In February, the Impeachment saga went on, while unbeknownst to (almost) everyone (everyone but Mittens and some Senators who coincidentally traded stocks that were about to tank) a global pandemic was brewing.
What did Mr. Bun Know and when did he know it?
March: Later in the year, we lost our beloved icon, Ruth Bader Ginsberg. But earlier in the year, she was still kicking butt and taking names, despite her battle with cancer. She lives on in our hearts.
Meet Ruth Panda Ginsbear
April: The pandemic took hold for real, and while Mittens and his evil spawn tried to figure out how they could ignore it while making a buck off of it, governors (mostly in states led by Democrats) enacted quarantines and mask requirements to try to buy some time for hospitals that were being overwhelmed by COVID19 patients.
You can’t get more socially distant than sending everyone to their room!
Well, bless her heart!
May: Speaking of trying to make a buck off of the pandemic…
Wait…we get paid?
June: The pandemic raged on. Closed and deserted National Parks made room for the native wildlife. The Democratic field had narrowed to Joe Biden, and Mittens was aiming his propaganda machine at Biden, while continuing to mismanage the pandemic. Thank goodness Frank and Mikey were on the job to report on happenings at Yosemite National Park!
Be a wild thing!
Wild thing, I think I love you!
July: The Democratic Party stages a virtual Convention that a was surprisingly moving, and despite a few technical glitches, was both watchable and inspiring. Shortly before the convention, Biden chose Kamala Harris as his running mate. HUZZAH!!! Mittens produced a cringeworthy convention, at least partially on the grounds of the WH, which as it is a government property, I’m pretty sure was illegal. One of his lesser crimes, I guess. I’ve lost count.
Well, it IS rather easy to understand…
Personally, I think the voice of Pinky is much more soothing than that of You Know Who!
August: We learned of the death of one of the guiding lights of the Twitter Panda Community. She loved pandas and NASCAR and was a force for connection within the panda community. It was not coronavirus, but who knows if her heart condition would have gotten more scrutiny if not for the overwhelming strain that coronavirus placed on hospitals.
Meanwhile, despite a slight dip in cases in May and June, the unwillingness of some states to institute mask requirements and event restrictions, the pandemic comes roaring back. Just when toilet paper supplies began to normalize.
But late in august (the 21st, to be exact) we had some GREAT news!
Who will win? Six and Sebben battle it out on the track!
Mommee Mei has an eagle eye!
A new cubby! The possibilities are endless!
September: Ping learns he can stay forever, and Frank and Mikey become Felties!
Mommee Mei always knows the right thing to do and say!
Is that a donut I see before me?
October: Frank applies for a new job!
Frank is off on a new adventure!
And now here we are! November! Mittens Removal Day!
Mittens Removal Day!
Be the very brave Bear!
Bob T Panda
Yes, we are in the middle of Beary Poppins and I *MIGHT* have left him tied to a chair, thanks to a little bit of…um…high spirits from Six and Sebben, bless their hearts!
The holiday shopping season is upon us, and while who on your list wouldn’t want felty pandas, I have a couple of suggestions of some wonderful things being made by some of my artist/artisan friends here on Whidbey Island.
These are things I have acquired for myself, so I can definitely attest to their general awesomeness.
The first are the products made by Silly Dog Studio in Langley. We all are thinking more about creating less waste in the products that we use, and there are a number of shampoo bars on the market now. Silly Dog also makes a hand lotion bar, as well as some other products, and are about to release a dish soap bar, which I am very eager to try. I’ve been using their shampoo bar for about 3 weeks, and they are lovely. They are scented with things like mint and rosemary, and mint and lavender, which they grow on their small, just out of downtown Langley lot.They dry the plants and then extract the essential oils, and then make the soaps, shampoos, lotions, etc. Sounds like a lot of work to this panda, and I’d much rather have them do it. You can find their products here.
Silly name, wonderful products! Tell them the panda sent you!
I moved to Whidbey Island in 1989, following in the footsteps of one of my good friends from graduate school, sculptor Georgia Gerber. She and her husband Randy had a daughter, Laura, who eventually grew up and went to art school and became a painter and a printmaker. After grad school, and meeting and marrying her sweetheart, Laura and Victor moved back to the island, had a couple kids of their own and moved down the road from mom and dad. In addition to her paintings, Laura also does some pretty cool prints on t-shirts, kitchen towels, table linens, kids clothes, etc.
She doesn’t have a website at the moment (it’s under construction) what with keeping up with her kids, her painting and production printing, and her husband Victor, but you can find her work on Instagram, and probably arrange to buy it there and maybe bug her a little bit about getting her website up and running. Ha ha. Don’t do that. At least don’;t tell her I told you to bug her.
An assortment of kitchen towels. She has all sorts of animals on her products. I happen to be fond of the chickens.
Wait no longer! Biscuit’s official Chinese name is Xiao Qi Ji, which means little miracle!
Bikkie has a name!!!!
Panda on!
Bob T Panda
I’m not sure this is what Beary Poppins signed up for!
But before we get to today’s feature, did you know the PDXwildlife is having an auction to support their important panda research projects? Why yes they are! And did you know that there is a Mommee and Cubby felty being offered as one of the items? Why, yes there is!
If you miss out on bidding on this item, never fear! You can get a felty from yours truly and STILL support PDXwildlife. For the Month Of December and remainder of November, I will donate $5 from the price of each felty sold.
There are some great things on offer over at the auction, including some beautiful black and white original ink drawings by Kathy Morton-Stanion.
Don’t you just LOVE six and Sebben?
Oh, here is a photo of the felty for The PDXwildlife Auction!
Mommee Mei with a tiny Biscuit
Be the bear!
Bob T Panda
This is one of those days when I don’t really have a theme for the Sunday ‘toon round up. Yesterday the power went out on the entire island, and I am rarely prepared for the first power outage of the season. For instance, I don’t have my little propane stove, which works without electricity all ready to go. Don’t ask. Also, the batteries in my smoke detectors picked that very moment to tell me they needed to be replace.
The smoke detectors are hardwired into the electrical system, but have battery back ups for when the power goes out. On this occasion, they started beeping incessantly. WHICH THEY DID UNTIL THE POWER CAME BACK ON AT 1;30-ISH IN THE MORNING…
So, here goes nothing. I’m just going to look up random dates and see what strikes me as funny today.
Uh oh! has there been Russian tampering with the selection of the Torch Bears?
Hey! watch where you put that torch!
Clear as mud!
Panda Cam Follies
Oh those red pandas! They are such characters!
You knew Mommee was going to get angry, didn’t you?
I have extra frosting!
This is very scary, don’t you think?
Aw, Pinky…Bubba loves you!
Do we HAVE to go?
Things are about as real as they can get.
Move over Ping! I’m coming in too!
*Speaking of funny….
Be the Bear!
Bob T Panda
Joe Biden and Kampala Harris being declared the winners of the 2020 election (sorry, Pinky!) and hope returned to the world.
Then POUTUS (not a typo) returned from the golf course and continued his insane quest to have the election invalidated by lawyers. Fortunately judges to this point are having none of it, and we have some very good lawyers on our side, who are, quite frankly, way better than Mittens’ lawyers. Maybe he should have paid them.
Make no mistake, he can make a lot of trouble before he leaves. But the adults have entered the room and Biden is setting up his transition teams, starting with a very impressive Coronavirus task force. While I am still having nightmares about my house being surrounded by the tRUmp cult, complete with flags and guns, I do feel like the light is starting to show at the end of the tunnel.I have to believe that some form of course correction is in sight.
Courage, my friends.
I just love Mei’s little chats with her sister Lun Lun.
There is a bit of a thing on Twitter, making fun of Colludy Rudy’s presser at The Four Season’s Total Landscaping in Philadelphia. Of course I have to join in with a design I put on t-shirts and coffee mugs over at Redbubble.
And as luck would have it, Redbubble is having a sale with 20-60% off site wide (that means EBBRYFING!!!) Sale discounts are good through 11:59 PM on November 12, using discount code: GIFTS60!
Nobody expects the panda kindergarten.
Till next time…
Be the Bear
Bob T Panda
The day is here. We have pulled democracy back from the brink of disaster. I keep thinking about how I felt on11/9/2016. I was stunned with disbelief. How could this have happened? And yet, from the moment Trump came down his golden escalator, I had an unquiet rumble sounding in my head and my heart.
But we should take a moment to savor the sudden release many of us are feeling. It’s the feeling you get when you see the car coming into your lane with just enough time to avoid a collision. It’s the feeling you get when you are the last car on the ferry, for the last boat of the night. It’s the feeling you get when a growling dog rushes the fence, and you realize that the fence will hold him, even as you feel the rush of wind and adrenaline.
We have narrowly escaped a future that writers of dystopian fiction foretell, and a past that historians write about 1930’s Germany and Europe. Meanwhile we still have a growing pandemic to deal with. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are not magicians. They can not wave a magical wand (sorry Pinky) and poof it away. They believe in science. They will lead with compassion and knowledge. They will listen to the scientists and encourage people to act in their own interest. Maybe without the threat of Trumps rage and instability hanging over them, even red state governors will start acting in the best interest of their constituents.
So be of good cheer! We have vanquished the evil overlord, who would wish to be king. There is still hope for leveling the Senate playing field by winning the two runoff elections in January (Deadline to register to vote is December 7th, in Georgia, so if you live there, please vote!)
This was then:
Remember the song “The Eve of Destruction”? That’s what today feels like.
This is how we fought the forces of darkness:
Whats a protest without pandas?
Hey, save some cuppycakes for me!
What a lovely day for the 3 pandas to relax at home!
The world swoons….
Guess who’s coming for cuppycakes!!!!
“We are NEVER going to get our security deposit back!!!”
Ruh Roh….
Look who’s here!
And now, for the earthshaking subject of HUGE great importance…COOKIE BALANCING!
And now…going for the gold!!!
Did I mention I broke the world record in cookie balancing?
There are rules here!
The roar of the crowd, the smell of a freshly baked cookie…
Actual balancing cookie!
be the Bear!
Bob T Panda