Mirror Image

Waterford, 710 pieces. Rented from Waterford's rental program. This puzzle had three replaced pieces though only one was really identifiable from the front. The image was very difficult because of the repetition. There were also some nice internal straight lines and some interacting whimsies.  4/5

flowers circling one another

broccoli maybe?

The Girl and the Sea, Linnea Pergola

Liberty, 489 pieces. This is just a beautiful image, with great colors and a fair amount of difficulty even with big color blocks. Some whimsies I haven't seen before, either, including the walrus and a lovely sand castle interacting with a person. 4/5 recommended

walrus (L), birds and fishes, sandcastle (upper center)

sea unicorn

palm tree

multipiece fish, shell, and then dolphin and octopus

birds circling together including a toucan (upper R)

butterfly and swirling leaves

Hieronymous Bosch, Garden of Earthly Delights

Artifact, 529 pieces. The details in the image remain compellingly weird. The whimsies are animals, including a few multi-piece animals. The puzzle is in the form of a triptych; there are also lots of internal pieces with flat edges for extra difficulty.  4/5 excellent example of Artifact form.

multipiece giraffe

56 Cats and 1 Very Quiet Mouse

Elms, 663 pieces. The box had mold damage and a piece seems to have slipped out somewhere, sadly. Otherwise this is a delightful puzzle--and definitely on my "to repair" list for my next big birthday. Cats putting their paws on each other's shoulder, cats napping, cats both color-line cut around the edges and inside the image.  7/10

multi-piece cat, then cats with paws out in a line, and two flowers touching

Rachell Sumpter, Wild Moor

Artifact/Ecru, 260 pieces. The pink really pops in this puzzle--the colors are just beautiful. I'm hanging on to this one.  4/5

Jethro Buck, Forest

Artifact/Ecru, 285 pieces.  A very nice Ecru with a steady assembly as the different trees come together. Mostly animal whimsies. 3/5

Chase in the Forest, Dr. Seuss

Liberty, 576 pieces. This was undoubtedly the hardest Dr. Seuss Liberty I've done. The colors were consistently chaotic. Lots of Seussian whimsies including large central figures. Lots of pictures from the back because otherwise the detail would be invisible.  5/5 very impressive.

central image with dancers

elephant and kangaroo with kid; also butterfly in upper left corner

lion in corner

unicorn

monkey lifted by balloon

Van Hulsdonck, Lemons (and an article about puzzles)

The Washington Post ran an article about puzzle shortages in the lockdown. With Liberty shutting down and Stave running out of in-stock puzzles, that seems to be the case for wooden puzzles too. I love wooden puzzles and I love sharing them with people who enjoy them. I've had some success with small-scale lending swaps. I'm open to more.

Artifact Ecru, 232 pieces. Small piece count compensated for by the hexagonal shapes (interrupted by the occasional whimsy, mostly fruit). I like the hexagonal shape because it creates some visual discontinuities. One area of the puzzle was basically all black and I had to guess based on piece shape and crossing my fingers; fortunately, it worked.  3/5

Four Trains

Puzzlewood, from postcards, pictures linked by painted rails. 414 pieces. Very difficult because of the similar pictures/lots of foliage. The rails were a super cute addition. 4/5

Cutout of Animals

Liberty, 517 pieces. Elaborate multi-piece animal whimsies. Symmetry (though not perfect, which was clearly intentional) in the general placement of the whimsies. And the rare image matching the whimsy with the cats!  4/5

deer, an elephant, a lion, and a fox peering in on the side

cats!

Elaborate bears along the bottom, among other things!

closeup on elephants, moose, peacocks

butterfly, bird, elephant