For the second in my occasional Florida series, I needed something lighter than the jail busting story I started with. This involves a strange tree in Holly Hill, just north of Daytona.

According to the local museum, the whole project began in 2003 thanks to the efforts of Virginia “Ms. Ginny” Morris, a nearby resident. This was reported on WKMG news here in Central Florida and these images copied from it. The fabled story goes that a family of gnomes was traveling to the U.S. from Europe, though a storm blew their ship onto a coral reef. As a result, the family was forced into a dinghy and swept away to the Halifax River, leading the gnomes to take root in Holly Hill.

First people from the community began leaving their gnomes at the tree and then people from around the world started doing the same. The city wanted to put a stop to it, but Ms. Morris worked out an agreement to allow it to continue with certain conditions. Only gnomes of certain sizes could remain and she promised they would be taken indoors in case of a hurricane. Meanwhile a local museum organized the collection and you can stop by there to see the gnome community (gnomunity?) and letters left at the tree.

You can visit the museum at: https://hollyhillhistoricsociety.com/

One more parting shot. Despite the similarity to the beard of yours truly (quick reference shot below):

I categorically refute that this particular gnome was modeled after me:

You see, I know it is not modeled after me because I do not have a tramp stamp tattoo. As for the occasional Tic-Tac-Toe grid, well, no comment. Only in Florida!