Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I know I had a wonderful time stuffing myself to the gills. Hope you enjoy this puzzle, and don’t forget to tell your friends and family about Aries Puzzles.
Rows Garden #3
Another week, another puzzle…except this week is a little special. Since it is the time for giving thanks, I would like to take a little time to thank those who have contributed to the success of Aries Puzzles this year. We only launched the website a few weeks ago, but I would like to thank Lynette Brannan for designing the banner logo and the Aries Puzzles logo, Sean Partch for his willingness to help on the layout of the webpage, and Jon Delfin for playing the integral role of test-solver for these puzzles. I’d also like to thank Gerri and Gordon Slabaugh and the editorial staff at Adventure Publications, for giving me the opportunity to know much too much about Michigan, about which I wrote my second crossword book this year (to be released early next year); Mike Nistler at Minnesota Moments magazine for a similar opportunity to write a local puzzle in that wonderful bi-monthy publication; and my uncle Rick Kleinschmidt for test-solving those puzzles.
But most of all I would like to thank the people that supported Aries Puzzles by buying a copy of Minnesota Crosswords, downloading a free Rows Garden from this site, or by just encouraging me along in my crossword puzzle journey. Without you none of this would mean anything!
I wish everyone out there a lovely holiday. I know I will relish the opportunity to watch a 3-7 football team that isn’t the Minnesota Vikings — anything but that! Oh, and I think I heard something about turkey…
Rows Garden #2
Rows Garden 1 — Answers
Rows Garden 2 — Answers
Some changes to be announced: Based on some early feedback, I’ve decided to de-colorize the Rows Gardens and make them black-and-white only. Instead of white, pink, and gray blooms, there are light, medium, and dark blooms. Same concept, just a lot easier for those without color printing capabilities to join in on our fun here.
I’ve also decided to post the solution on the same day that I post the puzzle. It’ll be in a separate PDF, so don’t worry about stumbling on it once you open the original document. I’ve taken a page from Peter Gordon and added notes and trivia to the solution, so feel free to check it out!
As far as this week goes, I think I’ve lightened it up a tad here with this puzzle. The comments I received last week on the debut puzzle seemed to suggest that it was very difficult, and while I want these to be challenging, I don’t want to be unfair. A typo in the clues didn’t help matters either. Anyways, I hope that this puzzle is challenging enough without being too tough. And I promise that Phoebe STROLE is nowhere to be seen.
Anyone else tired of the East Coast bias in most major-market puzzles? I’m not complaining, mind you…if you’re the New York Times crossword, I kind of expect you to put a little bit about New York in there. So I’ve memorized my share of New York politicians (D’AMATO, PATAKI, et al) and transportation-related acronyms (MTA, LIRR, IRT) to get me through the NYT. Well, since Aries Puzzles is a very midwestern enterprise, expect a little more recognition of that part of the country in these puzzles. Take, for instance, the first B Row entry, which happened to be the seed entry of this week’s offering.
Enjoy the puzzle, and pass on the word of Aries Puzzles! Post it to your Facebook and/or Twitter accounts if you’re so inclined. Til next week…
