Puzzle Notes

Dear friends,

Inkubator Puzzle #5 offers a yogic remedy for those winter-weary souls among us who cannot wait for spring to be fully sprung already. If the Ides of March have you feeling stressed out, tense, on the verge or at your limit, this puzzle reminds you to relax and breathe. With a little patience and give, we'll find ourselves before long tiptoeing through the tulips barefoot, enjoying balmy breezes by day and fireflies at night. Until then, we invite you to unwind a bit with 'Please Be Flexible,' a moderately challenging puzzle by Tracy Gray.

Tracy has been constructing puzzles since 2010 and has had 24 puzzles published in the New York Times. She also has been a regular contributor to the USA Today Crossword for 1 1/2 years and has had puzzles published in the Wall Street Journal, Universal Crossword, NYT app, and Simon & Schuster Mega Books. Besides crossword constructing, Tracy has a passion for gardening and spends many hours in her own backyard perennial garden as well as doing the bookkeeping for her and her husband's lawn/landscaping company in Baltimore County, MD.

When you're done solving, check out Diary of a Crossword Fiend for a write-up and discussion, every Friday after an Inkubator puzzle is published. For general updates, follow us on twitter at @InkubatorXWords, and visit our website. Thanks to all of our subscribers for your continuing support, feedback, and kindness!

Next week we'll be delivering to your in-box a very challenging bonus cryptic puzzle by rising star Stephanie Cerra, followed by the Inkubator's first collaboration by talented newcomers Wendy L. Brandes and Martha Jones. Also coming soon: a bundle of classic Inkwell puzzles for our Kickstarter backers!

Here's to spring!

Laura and (the other) Tracy