"Let's Go Fishing"!

by guest blogger, Elmer Prather

This is the 58th Cobble Hill puzzle I have had the pleasure of putting together. It is a 500-piece puzzle titled, "Let's Go Fishing" by Greg & Company. I really like his puzzles; I have put nine other puzzles of his together. Those other puzzles are Blue Truck Farm, Deerfield, Summer Afternoon on the Farm, Cozy Fireplace, Welcome to the Lake House, Hooked on Fishing, Sheep Field, Summer Truck and Happy Hen House.

I must have a connection with a puzzle before I spend the time putting it together. My connection to this puzzle is the beautiful Apple Green Chevrolet pickup truck sitting at the edge of a lake with its owner’s golden, chocolate, and black Labrador dogs in the bed of the truck. The truck is, I believe, a 1938 model.

I fell in love with this puzzle because of the truck. The Apple Green paint on the truck reached out and grabbed me. I fell in love with old trucks when I was a teenager. When I was 16 years old, I saw a 1936 Chevrolet truck parked beside an old barn near my home. I stopped and asked if the truck was for sale and when it was, I purchased it for $50.00. That was a lot of money for a teenager but it was one of the best vehicle purchases I have made. I have owned five other trucks since then but I still have many fond memories of that old truck. It was special; it was like a member of our family. I expect that the truck in this puzzle picture is held in the same esteem by its owner because of its pristine condition; it still looks new.

Along with putting puzzles together I have a passion for photography. When I take a picture, I try to capture the story I see through the camera’s lens. A good picture tells the story of what the camera sees and what the photographer imagined when he clicked his camera’s shutter. When I look closely at the picture displayed in this puzzle it tells a story of an angler who loves his old truck and his dogs. He has his trusting dogs posing for a picture he is taking of them. You can imagine that this is what is happening because of the expressions on their faces. He has finished fishing because his tackle box and his rods and reels are sitting beside the truck. He was fishing for largemouth bass because I see what looks like a yellow sally fishing lure laying on the top shelf of his tackle box. He has changed from his muddy fishing boots to other shoes because he does not want to drive his truck home wearing those muddy boots that are sitting on the bed of his truck. He took this picture at just the right moment because he was able to capture the image of the man sailing his boat on the lake in front of his truck, the blue heron, the Canadian geese and the two American Goldfinch birds flying over and beside the truck. He took this picture at just the right time of day to be able to catch the clear blue sky with the cumulus clouds floating along. In the photography world, this is what is known as a Kodak moment.

"Let's Go Fishing" 500 piece by artist Greg Giordano

Commentary: How many of us really stop to investigate our puzzle and put as much thought and consideration into the scene as Mr. Prather? We applaud him for this write up and for taking the time to truly appreciate what Greg Giordano has captured with this picturesque image. Thank you!