by guest blogger, Elmer Prather
My most recent puzzle is a 1000-piece titled Nature’s Mirror by Travis Melin. Before I spend time putting a puzzle together, I must have a connection to it. My connection to this puzzle is the lake. The lake in the puzzle picture reminded me of my favorite fishing lake, Clearwater Lake located just outside of the Pas, Manitoba, Canada. Clearwater Lake is one of the few “true blue” lakes in the world, being the clearest lake in Canada and the second clearest in the world. It is a glacier formed lake and is renowned for its large lake trout.
Nature's Mirror 1000pc puzzle assembled and photographed by Elmer Prather |
Clearwater Lake is two thousand miles from my home in Georgia. I have had the pleasure of fishing in this lake on three separate occasions. Three of my best fishing friends and I made these trips in a Volkswagen bus. Once we left Atlanta, we drove 24 hours a day stopping only for gas and bathroom breaks. I prepared sandwiches and other food items for our meals while one of my friends was driving us along. We camped in a campground on the lake where we could walk from our campsite to the lake to fish, but we usually just drove a short distance and fished off the jetties.
Clearwater Lake measures eight miles in one direction and twelve miles in the other direction making it an oval shape. In the mornings, the lake would be very calm and around 10:00am it would have whitecaps. We towed a 12-foot Sears runabout boat with a 9.4-horsepower engine on the first trip and rented a boat from a local marina the other two times.
Besides my love of fishing and putting puzzles together, I am also into photography. Every photo tells a story. When I see the picture of the puzzle, I am putting together I try to imagine the story the artist was trying to tell when the photo was taken. The picture in this puzzle displays a pristine lake with a few stratus clouds meandering across the blue sky overhead. In the background there is a lush green forest reflecting onto the lake. With the reflection glistening off the surface of the lake the title of the puzzle, Nature’s Mirror, is perfect. The wooden canoe shown in the photo looks new. It appears to be a cedar strip canoe made from narrow strips of cedar glued together. The rocks laying on the lake shore and under the canoe reminded me of the rocks that were used to construct the jetty from which we fished at Clearwater Lake.
After a little checking, the lake pictured in the puzzle is Bearskin Lake in East Cook, MN. It's 493 acres with an average depth of 31 feet and a max depth of 78 feet. I would like to someday fish in this lake.
During our fishing trips to Clearwater Lake, we caught quite a few lake trout. We took our cooking utensils with us on these trips and used them to cook some of the fish we caught. To prepare for our evening meals, we would fry some of the lake trout we had caught that day and hushpuppies we made from a mix we purchased in Atlanta. On these three fishing trips, we all felt that we were ‘living the life.”
Elmer Prather
Canton, Georgia
U S A
Nature's Mirror 1000pc puzzle by Travis Melin |
Special Catch! Nature's Mirror will be transitioning to the new downsized box! If you want it in the current 10" x 14" box, then you can catch it on sale now before it's gone!
by guest blogger, Elmer Prather
My most recent puzzle is a 1000-piece titled Christmas Puppies by Robert Giordano. Before I spend time putting a puzzle together, I must have a connection to it. My connection to this puzzle is my love for Christmas and puppies. This puzzle has both bases covered in that the scene in the puzzle has twelve puppies in a room filled with Christmas decorations. I am also into photography and I believe that every photo tells a story. When I see the picture of the puzzle I am putting together I try to imagine the story the artist was trying to tell.
I am going to try to describe the story I imagined the artist had in mind in this puzzle. I saw a beautiful Christmas scene with twelve puppies each a different breed who are cute and cuddly. They appear to be a happy group of well-groomed dogs. Some of them look like they might get into a little mischievous behavior if the occasion came up. I felt that the owners of these pups must be at home because there is a gas fed log fire burning in the living room fireplace.
"Christmas Puppies" 1000pc assembled & photographed by Elmer Prather |
It is not Christmas day yet because there are gifts on the floor that are still being wrapped. One of the pups has a strip of red ribbon in his mouth. This ribbon is going to be tied in a bow for a present once it is wrapped in the spiraling red and green Christmas paper laying on the floor. Two of the pups have small bows decorating their forehead. This scene is a far cry from the first recorded Christmas celebrated in Rome on December 25th, 366 AD. There were no Christmas trees, decorations, warm cookies, or snow on the very first Christmas celebration in Rome. Speaking of gifts, Christian believers received the greatest gift of all on the day that Jesus Christ was born.
Nothing to see here! There may be one mischievous pup in the crowd! |
The large Christmas tree sitting in the corner of the room has been tastefully decorated with Christmas ornaments. Since all the tree is not visible in the puzzle picture, I was not able to determine if a star had been placed on the top of it. Stars placed on Christmas trees symbolize, according to Christian belief, the Star of Bethlehem, also known as the Christmas Star. This star revealed the birth of Jesus to the Biblical Magi and subsequently guided them to the town of Bethlehem where Jesus was born. The pups seem well behaved and do not seem interested in taking the ornaments off the tree. The two who are taking a nap are sleeping in a new Americana wooden snow sleigh. They must live in the Northern part of the United States because the owners would need a lot of snow to utilize the sleigh. There are doggie toys laying on the floor where the puppies can have ready access to them. The room is filled with Christmas displays so the owners must love Christmas as well as their pups.
Maybe after this cute photo, the owner is going to have some tea - we see the kettle is on! |
Except for the two napping puppies, the others look as if they are posing for a photograph. Perhaps they are posing for a picture to be used for Christmas Cards to be sent to the owners’ friends and family. Christmas cards started in the Victorian era with the first card being sent and received in 1843. The first Christmas card was received by Sir Henry Cole who set up the Public Record Office which evolved into today’s Post Office. They were designed by his artist friend, John Horsley, who was given the idea of creating Christmas cards by Cole, to help encourage more people to use postal services. The first card depicted a family celebrating and enjoying a Christmas feast. The tradition took off and now millions of Christmas cards are sent around the world during the Christmas season. Some Christmas cards today have Happy Holidays rather than Merry Christmas greetings.
Merry Christmas to all,
Elmer Prather
Canton, Georgia
U S A
"Christmas Puppies" 1000pc puzzle by Robert Giordano |
In Canada, recently purchased at these Preferred Retailers:
In the USA, click here to see the puzzle (in 1000pc and 500pc)!
We are going to release new puzzles in January 2023. How many do you ask? 123! Well, technically 94 new images and 29 that are new to that piece count.
Bird Cabin 1000 piece by Greg Giordano |
2. Christmas Flower Shop. If you're a super fan of Cobble Hill, then you know that this is a festive spinoff of our Parisian Flowers puzzle. That Cobble Hill Flower Shop stays busy year-round!
Christmas Flower Shop 1000 piece by Barbara Behr |
3. Brambly Hedge Winter Story. Being that it's the "winter" story - that means that there are also three more delightful seasonal Brambly Hedge puzzles coming your way - and they are all darling! Our Cobble Hill Creations team licensed the artwork and designed a beautiful collage that we hope brings back nostalgic memories of something sweet in your life.
Brambly Hedge Winter Story 1000 piece by Jill Barklem |
Back to School 1000 piece by Shelley Davies |
5. Family Outing. We can't resist Greg Giordano's puppies. Add in a Christmas tree and peaceful scenery - win win in our books. We wish this was available now, but if Giordano's "Christmas on the Farm" is any indication of how well this one will do - it'll very much be enjoyed throughout 2023.
Family Outing 1000 piece by Greg Giordano |
Dino Museum 1000 piece by P.D. Moreno |
Curve in the Square 1000 piece by Charlotte Joan Sternberg |
Shooting the Breeze 500 piece by Peggy Davis |
Two Wolves 500 piece by Tristan Wolf |
Butterfly Tiles 500 piece by Jane Shasky |
Ocean Magic Family Pieces 350 by Rosiland Solomon |
Cats and Dogs Museum Family Pieces 350 by Peter Adderley |
Cupcake Cafe Easy Handling 275 piece by Catherine Holman |
Marmaduke Easy Handling 275 piece by Geoffrey Tristram |
Vroom Vroom 2000 piece by Mary Lake-Thompson |
- The 1000 to 275pc boxes are downsizing from 14" x 10" x 2.375" to 11.25" x 8.25" x 2" (think standard paper size).
- The 2000 piece will be the same length and width, but deeper at 3.75", which means they'll align flush with the rest of your collection. Currently, they are 15.75" x 10.50" x 2.75" - so they don't pack in a carton as well with other piece counts and they stick out on shelves - but not anymore!
- We're packing less air and a bigger reference poster that will now be 14" x 10" for 1000 to 275pc and 17.5" x 12.5" for the 2000 piece poster.
by guest blogger, Elmer Prather
My latest puzzle is a 1000-piece titled Rounding The Horn by Ken Zylla. Before I spend time putting a puzzle together, I must have a connection to it. My connection to this puzzle is the steam powered locomotive pictured in the puzzle. I love steam powered locomotives. The train displayed in the picture is the Union Pacific number 942. It is pictured steaming along railroad tracks beside a swiftly flowing stream.
Rounding the Horn assembled by Elmer Prather |
The location is a setting comparable to the Garden of The Gods in Colorado Springs, Colorado where sandstone formations like the ones displayed in the picture could be three hundred million years old. The Aspen trees are in full Fall color.
Look at all the lovely details in this close up |
I have had the pleasure of riding on several steam powered locomotive trains. I once took a trip on one from Atlanta, Georgia to Chattanooga, Tennessee. On the way to and on the way back at each roadway crossing there were people standing along the roadway waiting for a glimpse of the train with the engineer tooting its horn as it passed by. It was apparent that a lot of people love old steam powered trains.
I was a passenger on another steam powered train that runs from Dillsboro, North Carolina to Bryson City, North Carolina. Shortly after the train departed the station in Dillsboro, the conductor announced that if we looked out of the left window of our passenger car, we could see the remains of the train that was derailed for filming the movie, The Fugitive. Much of the movie was filmed in and around Bryson City.
My favorite Steam powered train ride is the one from Durango, Colorado to Silverton, Colorado. The narrow-gauge forty-mile-long railroad track on which this train travels was constructed to move gold and silver ore from the mines in Silverton to Durango.
I live in Canton, Georgia USA which is near the Southern Museum of the Civil War and Locomotive History which is a Smithsonian Institution affiliate. The steam powered locomotive, the General is displayed there. The General is the locomotive stolen by Andrews Raiders. Andrews, a union spy, twenty union soldiers and two Union sympathizers all disguised as Confederate agents boarded the General at the Marietta, Georgia train depot. They uncoupled the train cars and pulled the General out of Marietta and headed North. They were captured by Confederate forces near Ringgold, Georgia.
The National Museum of Transportation is in Saint Louis, Missouri. It was founded in 1944. The museum has over seventy locomotives dating from the early 1800s. One of these steam powered locomotives is one of twenty-five manufactured by the American Locomotive Company and purchased by the Union Pacific Railroad. It is of the 4-8-4-8-4 Class and its number is #4006. This class of locomotive engine is considered the largest steam powered engine in the world. It is 132 feet nine ½ inches long and weighs six hundred tons. It is called “Big Boy.” During its in-service life, it travelled 1,064.625 miles-almost forty-three times the circumference of the globe. Only eight of the original twenty-five still exists.
When I put a puzzle together, I do a lot of research on what I see in the puzzle picture. During my research, I discovered a plethora of information on steam powered locomotives. This information includes the locomotive’s maker, how many each company made, the size and type of locomotive, the number associated with each engine, where it is currently located, and its condition today. Over the years, as these steam engines wore out or became outdated many of them were turned into scrap metal or converted to diesel powered engines. In Georgia there are a total of fifty steam powered locomotives. Only three of these are still operational and the rest are either being restored, stored, disassembled, dieselized, or on display.
Elmer Prather
Canton, Georgia
U S A
"Rounding the Horn" 1000pc puzzle by Ken Zylla |
by guest blogger, Elmer Prather
My latest puzzle is a five-hundred-piece titled Joyride by Anthony Padgett. To spend time putting a puzzle together, I must have a connection to it. My connections to this puzzle are old trucks, my love for dogs and farming. This puzzle fills those bills. The picture displayed in the puzzle tells several stories. One is a story of two golden retrievers getting ready to take a “joyride.” The picture also tells the story of a resilient five window, 1953 Chevrolet 3600 pick-up truck. Its original color was a Seacrest Green and now, after 69 years, is a beautiful patina color.
In 1953, Chevrolet pickup truck buyers could opt for either the three or the four-speed manual transmission in their new trucks. Buyers who purchased the trucks to carry heavy loads usually chose the four-speed 3600 model because of the “granny” gear. The “granny” gear was a low gear used to start the truck moving with a heavy load. If the trucks were used to carry heavy loads with a three-speed manual transmission the clutch would tend to wear out much faster. In 1953 a Chevrolet truck’s base price was around $1,650. Gasoline in 1953 averaged twenty cents per gallon. Today, the truck pictured in this puzzle in the condition it is in, would be worth approximately $15,000.
Joyride 500 piece assembled & photographed by Elmer Prather |
Older model Chevrolet pickups like this came from the factory with another long gone feature and that was a “foot stomp” starter. When a driver wanted to crank one of these trucks, the ignition key would be turned and when the driver’s right foot was pressed down on the metal starter mechanism mounted on the floorboard this engaged the starter and the engine would start.
The puzzle picture also highlights the golden yellow and orange Fall leaves dropping from the large trees behind the truck onto the green grass highlighted by late afternoon sun rays. The truck pictured in the puzzle is depicted as a work truck since it is loaded with freshly harvested pumpkins on their way to a market. These pumpkins will soon be decorated for Halloween and displayed on the purchaser’s front porch or made into a pumpkin pie for their dessert at Thanksgiving.
I once owned a 1936 Chevrolet truck. It was black and had a three-speed manual transmission. I took my dogs for “joyrides” and on hunting trips in that truck. They loved every minute of their adventures. My dogs were a breed known as July Walkers. They were bred to hunt rabbits, opossums, and racoons. The truck was also used on our small farm to carry whatever we needed to move from one place to another.
This puzzle is titled Joyride but as I was putting it together, I saw much more than just a simple “joyride” for the two golden retrievers. I have tried to capture and document what the artist intended for people to see and appreciate with his picture displayed in this puzzle.
The artist’s vision of an old Chevrolet pickup truck still working and still looking good after all these years is a testament to his consummate artistry.
Joyride 500 piece puzzle by Anthony J. Padgett |
Available in the USA, here. And shop for Joyride in Canada, here.
by guest blogger, Elmer Prather
My latest puzzle is a five-hundred-piece titled Fireside by Jim Mansel. To spend time putting a puzzle together, I must have a connection to it. My connection to this puzzle is my love for old log cabins. This puzzle certainly fits that bill. I have put several other puzzles together that highlighted an old cabin sitting on a lake.
Fireside 500pc assembled and photographed by Elmer Prather |
Puzzle pictures tell a story. The story I read as I put this puzzle together was “WELCOME TO MY HUMBLE CABIN.” The scene captured in this puzzle was an invitation for guests to sit by the brightly burning warm fire and enjoy each other’s company.
As I put this puzzle together, I watched the warm evening sky and the sun reflecting on the water come together. I imagined how it would feel if I were sitting in one of the Adirondack chairs placed near the glowing fire in the fire pit. This puzzle was special because it reminded me of a cabin our hunting and fishing club once rented to meet and plan hunting/fishing trips and to socialize. The cabin was built in the early 1900s for an executive with the Coca Cola Company. It overlooked a lake like the one pictured in the puzzle. It was built on forty acres of land abutting the Chattahoochee River just outside of Atlanta, Georgia. The old cabin has been torn down and the land is now a Nature preserve.
The cabin pictured in this puzzle has a massive rock chimney constructed of river rocks. There is a stack of firewood on the front porch to keep the fire burning. The cabin in this puzzle was probably constructed in the early 1900s since it has asphalt shingles on the roof rather than the wooden shingles found on older cabins. The cabin owner must be an angular since he has a boat tethered to the small dock by the lake.
The puzzle made a statement that the owners enjoyed spending time with their friends and neighbors. “Come on over.”
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