The Nesting Lure ~ Kel Snake

The Nesting Lure

At first glance, The Nesting Lure appears to be nothing more than a rustic birdhouse in the style of an old bait shop. Its weathered timbers, dockside piers, and hand-painted charm place it firmly at the water’s edge of imagination, where memory and story mingle like ripples on a quiet cove.

Yet those who linger discover something more. The piers seem to float, suspending the little shop in a half-world between shore and dream. No outward signs betray its deeper purpose. It hides its secrets well, asking the seeker to look closer, to trust curiosity, to dare the unknown. You begin to notice exotic woods, you are further intrigued, ...then panels remove revealing what? ...oh my.

Feel totally immersed as you open the lid. The entire interior of the Big birdhouse is lined with a collage of vintage fishing magazines and well-loved cookbook pages, creating a tapestry of nostalgia. It’s a real visual treat—like stepping into the memory of a summer kitchen by the lake, where fishing tales and family meals mingled together. This unexpected interior detail gives the piece both warmth and character, rewarding those who venture deeper into its secrets.

Inside this humble frame lies a second wonder — an exquisitely crafted birdhouse of exotic wood, concealed within the outer shell. This is art nesting within art: a puzzle and a treasure, rustic disguise wrapped around polished beauty. The finder holds in their hands not just a birdhouse, but a mystery box layered in meaning.

The heart of the piece beats with something more than mechanics. Like a wooden oracle, The Nesting Lure has kept within its walls a Wise Sage of an Owl with twelve scrolls of Lost Wisdom, each one awaiting the right question to be asked. It offers a single answer to the one who seeks, but with a caution — only the question held truly in one’s heart may be given voice. Ask twice, and the Owl within will remain silent.

In this way, the piece carries the spirit of divination. It is not only solved, but consulted. It is a puzzle, an oracle, and an altar all at once — a place where wood, myth, and imagination conspire to reveal what is most needed in the moment.

Though its magic may feel timeless, its beginnings were humble. The Nesting Lure was born from five simple boards, plucked from a kindling pile and spared from fire. What might have been consumed in smoke was instead given a second life, rising into form as a vessel of story, illusion, and wonder.

In honoring these rescued timbers, the maker has given them not only shape but voice. Every grain of wood now carries both memory and message, binding the commonplace to the sacred. It is an invitation to see potential where others see only waste, to uncover treasure in what was once forgotten.

Thus, The Nesting Lure is more than a puzzle. It is a shrine to curiosity itself: a bait shop at the edge of the waters, an exotic birdhouse hidden in plain sight, a divining presence whispering through wood. To those who open it, the piece reminds: sometimes the simplest shelters carry the greatest mysteries, waiting patiently to be found. 

How hard can a 21 moves to open puzzle being guarded by a Sacred Sage Owl be anyway?  Only the worthy will find out.

The Nesting Lure Backstory 

Long ago, when bears smoked and birds kept the secrets of men, there was a fellow named Kel Snake who kept a crooked little bait shop off the coast of Georgina Island. His shelves were cluttered with jars of worms and crickets, yet tucked among them were curious birdhouses and puzzle boxes — each one stranger than the last, each one whispering of hidden things.

From time to time, folk would arrive with outstretched hands, holding a small lapel pin. They could not explain why they had brought it, only that some quiet urging had pressed them to carry it all the way there. Kel knew, though. The pin was the token, the key, the silent invitation. With a silent nod, he would lead them to The Nesting Lure, affix their pin and leave them be for as long as it took.

The box mirrored the bait shop itself — weathered wood, crooked signs, a compass that spun with mischief. Inside was another more finely crafted puzzle, each exploration luring the seeker deeper, each step a measure of their patience and wonder. Some turned away confused, leaving puzzled and betwixt. Others, the ones who endured, found the heart of it: the Wise Owl, keeper of the secrets of men.

To those few, the Owl would answer their one burning question. But Kel gave warning: “There are twelve wisdoms hidden here, yet only one is yours. Take more than what you are given, and your fate will twist into confusion.”

And so the legend grew. The Nesting Lure was not simply a birdhouse, nor merely a puzzle box. It was a quiet quest, a lure not for fish nor fowl, but for the curious soul — calling out across time, waiting for the next set of outstretched hands.

Big Birdhouse Dimensions: 12" wide x 13" long x 14" high

Wee Birdhouse Dimensions: 4 1/2" wide x 5 1/2" Long x 8" high

Tracked shipping included.

P.S. ~ This Birdhouse themed puzzle will be one of ten I will produce over the next handful of years, with only one being produced each year, with a total of 10 designs. This design series is dedicated to my Mum who just loves the birds!  Next year will be a Haunted House.

Good Luck

Kel