Altars EVERYWHERE: Gnome & Frog Gardens

Here's a really old gnome (couple) that' I've had in my garden for a while now ... [click any photo here to enlarge it]

My husband Doug's birthday is this week ... and he LOVES gnomes so I bought him an early present, below. Gotta love the mushrooms I purchased with it. (This gnome is a bobble-head. It wiggles from a spring at the waistline.)
The next photo is a new thing I'm doing in my yard. Since Doug likes gnomes, I thought I'd build a garden to magically draw more gnomes into our gardens. Here's the front side of that newest altar.
The next photo is of the back of our gnome altar.
Here are my two garden helpers: Artemis (the pug) and Freya (the dachshund). They certainly tug on my heart every time I look at them. LOVE our fur-angels.
This year (2010) presents the very first March in 5 years of living here when my forsythia bush bloomed and it wasn't covered in snow.
Below is my personal sacred space ... I keep creating safe places for frogs and amphibians to live in our yard and so far so good ... we've got frogs croaking all the time (feel very sad to know they are endangered.) PEOPLE STOP USING PESTICIDES AND WEED KILLERS PLEASE!
The next photo is of an altar inside my home. I hope it doesn't reek too much of dogma (because we're not into organized religion at all). I feel working in my yard and hiking the woods is the best possible sanctuary for me, spiritually. Meanwhile, I do like powerful symbols from some religions and I collect such. I have Catholic items to honor Doug's upbringing. I also have a collection of Egyptian pantheon in statue form about my home to honor mythology and more free-flowing ideas of spirit.

I found this (next image) cast iron cross at the thrift store for $3. I bought the Goddess who stands on crystals yesterday from Crescent Moon Gifts in Tacoma (awesome store).

I hope this arrangement symbolizes the free-flowing Goddess worship rising out of the ashes of terribly controlling religious fundamentalism.

PEACE TO ALL.

Down & Around Seattle Today

Every now and then my husband Doug and I go on a road trip. The weather was especially awesome in the greater Seattle area today (highs around 57 °F) ... so we hit the road!

Here is what Doug looks like when the wind is blowing his hair (image below). See the Olympic Mountains behind him, beyond Elliot Bay?

Our first stop for today's adventure was in North Seattle (around the University District). We shopped an estate sale there but nothing inside inspired me. While Doug shopped, I snapped the following photos from nearby gardens!

I absolutely love the various types of soft moss that grows around here in damp shady places (western Washington). The plants (division: Bryophyta) gives this otherwise hard and cold stairway some welcomed color and life!
Below, the image captures a flowering hedge ... (looks like Summerland to me!)
Doug thought these trees might belong to the Madrona family. I liked their character!

I really liked this flowering hedge! (Below.) [Click on any photo in this post to enlarge it!]

Here's another magical-looking stairway. It looks like gnomes might enjoy living here!

I love the turret (tower-shape) on this house and notice how plants on either side of the front door guard this home!
Below I managed to capture the Olympic mountains on disc (as seen from the Seattle waterfront).
Here's a more glistening view of the water as the ferry pulled alongside our dock.
I actually took this next picture more than a week ago (but it was still on my camera so you get to see it: "Buddha!")
After we left Seattle, I needed to purchase some chicken feed. So we drove out to Enumclaw where we snapped this image of Mount Rainier.
Here's a very strange-looking amphibious vessel (pictured below).
One thing I love about Seattle is that street musicians play just about everywhere! This particular musician played excellent rhythms on the 5 gallon buckets.

That's all the photos I have to share for today ... hope you enjoyed them!