Rare Birds

Rare Birds by Allison Strine – Buffalo – 500 pieces

After completing Unusual Animals by the same artist, I had to check around and see if there were any other images of hers to be found – thank goodness there were! This was so beautiful, great fun, and went together very quickly because I couldn’t walk away. I adored it!

This Buffalo puzzle had EXCELLENT quality. I know that some Buffalo puzzles are being made in China, but this one was made in the US. The fit was especially nice, it felt great going together.

It was so hard to choose which birds to show closeups of, they were all so interesting. I must have changed my mind at least 10 times. At least. And then I changed it again. 😎

Such interesting facts about this stork! It’s brave enough to fight a crocodile, and then it eats it! Yikes. *Making a mental note to NEVER mess with a Shoebill Stork.* Of course after reading that to cool down it poops on itself, I highly doubt I’ll be getting anywhere near it.

Loved the look of this section, and how the Kakapo’s face looks something like the kiwi it’s perched on. Plus, I wonder why they smell good – that’s so interesting to me – is it their diet or how they preen themselves? Plus they live to be more than 90 years old, that’s amazing!

The Three Wattled Bellbird, that’s another new one for me. And it has a bird call that’s called a bonk – new information for me as well. And it’s call can be heard a mile away? Holy guacamole! (guacamole made from this bird’s favorite food – wild avocado)

A Wysocki In Progress

Sweetheart Chessmate by Charles Wysocki – Buffalo – 300 pieces

Regular readers might remember that for me sometimes Charles Wysocki’s images can seem a bit repetitive, this one is NOT one of those! I’ve assembled a few of his puzzles with only one building in them, and adored each and every one – and I’m hoping this will be another in that same vein.

It’s only been sorted so far; but it makes me so glad I ordered myself a few smaller piece count puzzles. Having only 1000 piece puzzles around was stressing me out. It was actually causing anxiety to the point that I didn’t even want to go into the puzzle room – and that is not good.

But this 300 piece Wysocki image is just what I need, and hopefully it will help me build myself back up to working on the bigger piece counts. It’ll be lovely!

In Progress

Colorful Destinations by Lewis T. Johnson – Buffalo – 750 pieces

Still in my funk I’m afraid, and haven’t touched my current puzzle in a couple of days. Hopefully today will be the day I get back to it.

The border is completed, and so are the words, and a few of the sections that I picked out on the initial sort; I’m somewhere between a third and a half done. I’d take a picture, but I’m just not feeling up to going into the puzzle room at the moment.

Hope you all have a great week. Happy puzzling!

National Geographic Magazines

National Geographic Magazines – Buffalo – 500 pieces

This was much more entertaining than I’d expected, what a lovely surprise! There was something about this I saw when shopping for puzzles, and honestly it confused me why I wanted it so much. Normally photographic images aren’t my pile of pieces at all, but this one spoke to me on some level and I knew it needed to be here for me to assemble. I was right!

It seems like a broken record for me to tell you what good quality Buffalo puzzles are, but it’s the truth with all the puzzles I’ve been assembling lately. The image reproduction especially on this puzzle was exceptional, and the rest of the quality was wonderful too.

This is the oldest actually dated magazine in the collage, from March of 1921. At 50 cents a copy it seems quite expensive (according to my internet search it would be about $8.00 today). There is a partial cover with a 25 cent price at the bottom, but the date is covered by another magazine and I can’t tell you which year it’s from.

National Geographic is 134 years old, with the first issue published in 1888. It began as a scholarly journal, but became a popular magazine a few years later. It didn’t begin publishing photographs until 1905, but photos are what it’s become known for.

Not only was this bright with easy pieces to pick out, I love what the article is called – Dragons of the Deep. It does look slightly like a dragon at the front, doesn’t it? 🐲

I just like the look of this one, that’s it. It reminds me of one of my favorite books series by Jean M. Auel that begins with Clan of the Cave Bear; there was an exciting mammoth hunt in the first book, and mammoths played a big role in subsequent books as well.


This puzzle was so much more enjoyable than I’d imagined it would be; it was wonderfully entertaining! If it looks like something you’d enjoy it is highly recommended. Great quality, great image – great puzzle.

Country Kitchen

Country Kitchen by Olga – Buffalo (Country Life Series) – 1000 pieces

This beautiful image was perfect for puzzling, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself! Great colors, just enough dark areas so that it wasn’t too easy, and just a lovely picture all around. I’m wishing I had a piece of that apple pie right about now too. 🥧

Excellent quality all around, as has been the usual for Buffalo puzzles that I’ve been working lately. It had a great fit, nice reproduction, very good cut – it was just pleasant to work with in pretty much every way.

All the images through the window were sharp and beautiful. Each had their own assembly challenges, but it was thoroughly engrossing.

This was one of the last sections I put together, it looks as though momma kitty is trying to get her little one out of the cupboard. I’m not really a cat person, but it’s cute.


I truly enjoyed this puzzle, it went together quickly – partly because it was pretty easy to sort; curtains, window, flowers, etc. It wasn’t overly difficult, but was just difficult enough so that it wasn’t boring.

I had a great time with this one, it was only my second image from this artist. I think she’s a cat person, but I won’t hold it against her. 😉