Louie

My friends came over from Seattle today, and we went to the Earth Sanctuary to see if there were any early birds. In the middle of one of the ponds was a cormorant, with a bufflehead duck joining her on the log. Some mergansers and mallards, and a couple of turtles completed the wildlife.

 But the pond was pretty, and for a while we had some blue sky, as reflected in the lily pads. Later, of course, we had rain.

They recently completed the stupa and prayer wheels, so we followed the instructions to go around it clockwise. In the niche is a Buddha draped in colorful silk scarves. Here is a quote from the owner:

"The pre-eminent symbol of Buddhism, a stupa represents the fully enlightened mind of the Buddha, radiating spiritual power and amplifying prayers, Pettis said. A Victory Stupa is one of eight types of stupa, and its principal function is to extend life. Stupas usually contain sacred scriptures, prayers and other sacred objects that extend peace to visitors who walk around it in a clockwise direction while reciting prayers or mantras to purify negative karma brought on by personal troubles, and to refresh spiritual thoughts."

 Buddha in his niche.

 The row of prayer wheels.