We see you in the midnight sky

Yes, that's a garden gnome. Yes, he has an axe. And yes, he's guarding a tombstone. I know. It's a tad, um, unusual.

The theme this week at Photo Friday is "religion" and while I am definitely not formally religious, I do have lots and lots of photos of churches, stone angels, grave sites, etc. All represent religion. And then I remembered this photo I took on the same day I found the swamp. In a tiny graveyard on a back road, I spied the gnome. The grass had grown up around him, so he had been at his post for quite some time. Why he is there is anyone's guess, but someone -- maybe a family member honouring the wishes of the deceased, or just a survivor who hears a different drummer -- was obviously not afraid to buck convention. And if you're at peace with your beliefs, whatever they might be, then more power to you. And if you need an afterlife guardian, don't forget your gnome.