Gnome Sweet Gnome

I love Gnomes.  If you pass my front porch you will see two gnomes that light up at night that were presents from my co-workers.  Most of my other gnomes are in the back yard, since several years ago I was gnome-napped.  The said gnome, never returned home and is missed to this day.

The word gnome comes from renaissance latin gnomus, which first appears in the works of a 16th Century Swiss alchemist Paracelsus. He either made up the word or derived is from the Latin word genomos, literally meaning earth-dweller.

Paracelsus described gnomes as two spans high (a span is the distance measured by the hand, from the thumb to the little finger), very reluctant to interact with humans and able to move through solid earth as easily as humans move through air.

The first garden gnomes were made in Grafenroda, a town known for its ceramics in Germany,  in the mid-19th century. Philip Griebel made terracotta animals as decorations, and produced gnomes based on local myths as a way for people to enjoy the stories of the gnomes' willingness to help in the garden at night (hey, why don't mine help with the garden, don't they see the weeds?). The garden gnome quickly spread across Germany and into France and England, and wherever gardening was a serious hobby.

. The image of the gnome changed further during the 1960s to 1970s, when the first plastic garden gnomes were manufactured. These gnomes followed the style of the 1937 depiction of the seven dwarves in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs by Disney. 

Catasauqua is full of beautiful lawn ornaments, decorations and flags.  When I took my walk this morning I went all different ways to check out all the different lawn ornaments.  I think one of my favorites is the little boy fishing,.  I love the cats next to him, are they waiting for fish or scoping out the ducks?
I saw birdbaths, frog, ducks and bunnies.  Yes Catasauqua's lawns are a feast for the eyes.  Next time you take a walk, check them out and enjoy.....Another day in Catasauqua