For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for March 31, 2021

Geez. Doesn’t anyone watch April?? Does she get underfoot so much that she gets dumped in the yard? I know how handful a toddler can be but still, in the yard? I know the old-timers will say THEY spent a lot of time playing in the dirt, but this is 2021. We know there is a lot of stuff in the dirt that is not safe for a baby to make mud pies with.

how gross indeed, Elizabeth (or Dawn?), on that last remark

If it spits the mud out, why’s it called a swallow?

This comic strip is from Saturday, April 25, 1992, pulled forward so they can run the April first birthday comic strip on April 1.

Elizabeth and Dawn are talking about the barn swallow, which is known for building its nest with mud and building on another existing structure, like Lynn Johnston’s house possibly. However, this is less about the barn swallow and more about Lynn Johnston going to one of her favourite jokes, i.e., kids like to eat dirt. There were a lot of them with Elizabeth, so I guess now it’s April’s turn.

The Chinese turn those nests into soup!

I grew up in central Georgia, 40’s and 50’s. Played in the dirt a lot, but don’t ever remember eating it. We did have a lot of red clay that wouldn’t grow much anyway, but it was great for sledding in the summer. We would haul buckets of water, pour it down the slope and use cardboard from boxes to slide down. Eventually, the cardboard would get soggy and fall apart, but it was fun until that happened.

Kids today live in an environmental protective bubble; retarding development of immune system.

Playing in the dirt will help build her immune defenses.

I have to admire birds. For lizards with feathers, they do okay.

Old saying…You gonna eat a peck of dirt before you die!

It was also a time when people minded their own business!

Swallows mud nests sound cool but they are extremely messy on the side of a house. Might want to discourage them if you see them starting to build on your home,,,,,

Why do birds put dirt and worms in their mouths? Beakause they can.

Atta girl, April. Find out what you like and don’t like. What doesn’t kill you will make you stronger and not a wah wah wah, cry baby when you’re grown up.

I’m guessing sand boxes have become taboo too.

Good for her, she’s building up her immune system.