Update, January 2012: It looks like this wonderful place is about to be dismantled and sold. Here’s an article containing more info about the history and uncertain future of the Hannah Carter Japanese Garden.
The post below was written in 2009, during the Year of the Ox.
On our recent trip to LA we were lucky to visit the wonderful Hannah Carter Japanese Garden at UCLA.
The pond at the Hannah Carter Japanese Garden
It’s such a special place and I was reminded it of it today because of the new moon; we’re halfway through the year of the Ox.
The garden contains a beautiful Tea-house with a little surprise inside.
Here’s the Teahouse:
Tea house on the hillside.
And here’s a peek inside:
The altar inside the teahouse.
With an up-close view of the little, tiny Ox on the altar!
Ox on the altar inside the teahouse!
The Ox is the hardest-working animal in the Chinese zodiac, and it definitely feels like the right symbol for the tough year we’re enduring.
This little guy, though, looks a bit dressed up for field work 
What do you think?
Reach a loyal and responsive readership.
