“There is always an easy solution to every problem – neat, plausible, and wrong.” ~H.L. Mencken
That’s not to say that a mystery picture in my Mystery Picture Game is a problem. It’s not. It’s just some imagination exercise. Thank all of you who did some of that imagination exercising. And then I forgot to post the “solution” or the rest of the story last night. I remembered late, very late, last night that hey, it’s Wednesday. That’s what holidays do for you. Get a person all off schedule.
Or it could be the book I was listening to. I have been saving it, a Louise Penny Three Pines mystery, to listen to the audio version as a reward for getting my work in progress off to the editor. I love listening to audio books, but I have to be careful about what I listen to while I’m actively writing a new book because, for some reason, hearing the book read to me sometimes gets that author’s voice in my head when I need my author’s voice in my head. Anyway, I ending up listening to that book instead of remembering it was Wednesday and I had promised the reveal of my first mystery photo.
I regret to say that although I had quite a few guesses, nobody got the complete answer. Well, you know I’m not really regretting those imaginative wrong answers. I’m actually smiling because I thought this one was going to be too easy. I almost rejected it as a possible mystery. But the plaid reflection did make you all exercise those imaginations. That has to be good for the brain. Some of the guesses I could see. Birdie’s of being in a giant muddy hole with a worm or a grub took more imagination than I have, but I loved the guess. Certainly plenty of mud around lately. And Amy was sort of there with Birdie with her idea of looking up at a hole in the ceiling of a cave.
Several people saw bird feathers. Lee saw a girl holding a fluffy chicken. Brenda saw a tree trunk. Marji and Wilma thought maybe I’d taken a picture of my husband’s arm in a cast. That could have happened. I did take a picture of his cast which actually just turned out to be mostly cotton padding and wraps, but no, I didn’t think about that being a mystery. Lisa saw a chocolate cake and Hope saw a pie in the oven. Almost made me start baking. Suzanne must have been reading thrillers lately as she saw a plaid shirt with a bleeding wound. Evelyn had the same idea with paint instead of blood, and Elisabeth just thought it was a cherry stain.
Deborah saw a beer bottle, but it was actually something else I’m addicted to. Sweets! I do love having some sweet jam or jelly on my toast in the mornings and a year ago I actually had enough strawberries to make some jam. Homemade strawberry jam is the best. I thought you might guess the strawberry jam, but that plaid tea towel made it very mysterious. I can be tricky at times in this game.
But right answers weren’t necessary to get you an entry into the drawing to win a choice of one of my autographed books. Una just said she didn’t know, but she enjoyed the game. I’m glad you all had fun with my first mystery picture. So here is the big reveal.
Thank you for all the great guesses. You made the first mystery photo fun. Of course, I always think it’s more fun when you don’t all get it right.
So now we have a new mystery picture. I thought this one might be more difficult, but then my granddaughter got it on first guess. So, you might too. Sometimes I just don’t know what is mysterious and what is plain to see.
I will need to hunt a new photo for Sunday. Don’t have one picked out yet.
But here you go on Mystery Photo #2. If you guessed on the first photo and guess now on this one, you get another entry in the drawing. I’ll have three more photos, very mysterious or perhaps not so mysterious, for the next three posts. So, if you guess on all of them, you’ll have five chances to have your name picked, in a random drawing, to win one of the book prizes. I’ll pick two winners and the deadline to enter is June 7, 2025 at midnight EST. I will intend to announce the winners on my blog, One Writer’s Journal, on Sunday night, June 8th – if I don’t let Sunday slide away from me that week the way I let Wednesday slide past yesterday.
I had some grandkids visiting. We played cards before we went out to the garden to set out tomato plants, by season, in our very muddy garden. By season means the ground was plenty wet without carrying a bucket of water out to pour on the plants. The kids are very experienced gardeners and have been helping their dad plant garden since they were very young. They used to have more fun doing it when they were five than now that they are teenagers, but they got out there and mucked around in the mud with me. I should have taken a picture of the mud caked on my shoes. Might have made a great mystery photo.
Now it’s guessing time – or maybe knowing time. What is mystery photo 2?
Comments 30
I missed seeing the first one. All I can figure in the second one is some kind of flower.
This one had me stumped. Looks like a skull of some kind of animal on a dish towel.
A deer licking an orange popsicle on a hot day. 😂
looks like deer statue
A painting, or maybe a coffee mug?
I don’t know what the orange is. I do see a vase with a flower in it.
I say an Aardvark sitting on a sparkly A
Author
Evelyn, I didn’t intend to be silly about your guess. I liked it and while I definitely don’t have an aardvark pet, I could have an aardvark picture, now couldn’t I. It could be in a kid’s alphabet book sitting on a sparkly A. Not a bad guess at all.
I’m guessing a faucet.
I see a weird animal like a giraffe, but I am going to guess a faucet with a towel hanging up in the background.
I see an orange popsicle, a glittery silver letter A and a broken egg. Putting them all together, I have no idea. Christmas cookie makings, maybe?
This photo has me stumped. I see something metallic, so I’m going to say you’ve been sewing and took a close up of a zipper.
I see a fruit pop, but the white item reminds me when you are making items out of clouds.
Possibly some kind of flower
I see a Deer eating Berries.
Well, at least I got the tea towel part correct on the last one, I guess I was just thinking a fruit pie over jam. 🙂
Photo 2 has me completely stumped though. I have zoomed it in and out and can’t guess like your granddaughter did. I think it looks like water flowing on one side and maybe the inside of a red pepper on the other with something strange in the center, maybe potato or onion skins? I am all over the place with thoughts on this one and can’t wait to see what it really is, because I am pretty sure I am nowhere close to correct!
These holiday weeks mix us all up, I think. I keep forgetting it is Thursday today.
Author
You did get the answer half right, Hope, and you were on the right track with a fruit pie thought.
I like that you are zooming the photo up and checking it out. I have to admit I was very surrprised and a little discouraged when my granddaughter got it right away. But sometimes you see things others don’t. I like your guess of the inside of a red pepper. My granddaughter does help her mother and dad cook. So, she has seen the inside of a red pepper and peeled potatoes and onions. So, you’ll have to check it out next post to see what in the world this mystery picture might be.
I will guess things in a broom closet. But there seems to be buckets or pans for Berry picking and a bandanna.
I’m going to say a coffee mug.I don’t know why , and I know it’s wrong , but that’s my guess. 🙂
Something like a candle???
Those jars of strawberry jam look yummy.
I have no clue what this new mystery picture is.
Looks like an origami deer head, so, that’s my guess.
I see a flower in a vase, but I also see a popsicle! lol!! The popsicle could be because it’s sooooo hot right now in FL!! And, no it’s not because I’m hungry! I just finished lunch, which also included applesauce with cinnamon and walnuts!
I see a lily but maybe because that’s my favorite flower. Not sure about the other things.