We loose a few people here, doing that. Good spotting.

nice one...

Nice one!

If he caught a big one I wonder how he could land it.

Cool!

LOL, great story,I thought the question was, what came first the egg or the chicken

Thank you And yes, the question would be: did the egg come first?

Congrats on your 2nd place

Fantastically created! Excellently thought out!

Good concept. If you make this symmetrical it will be a mandala.

True mandalas (of the Buddhist type) are not symmetrical, per se, although they are balanced...
http://www.exoticindiaart.com/mandala.htm

This is a very thoughtful and creative effort. It shows true consideration of the topic, and is quite lovely.

Looks like you put a lot of thought in to your mandala, well done.

Great job ! Very well done

Nice image, my only nit pick or hmm.... so to speak is why have the white tiger which is known for being in an arctic climate on the fall piece of the pie, and the turtle for winter? Also why not spring for the bird and summer for the dragon? I was just wondering the logic behind the animal placement, on what seems to be a very well thought out piece.

Thanks a lot for all your nice comments

@Bob: Like MossyB wrote, a lot of the old mandalas are not symmetrical, but balanced and that's what I tried to achieve with the ivy, stones, the ropes, the animals and the spaces between the animals, the trees and the skies between the trees. I tried my best to make it look balanced, because I didn't want the completely symmetrical look.

@VitalExpressions: The placement of the animals wasn't my choice If you read the link to the Wiki page I provided, you can see, that each animal (which are actually mythological creatures in the Chinese constellations) stands for one season.
-Azure Dragon of the East: Spring
-Vermilion Bird of the South: Summer
-White Tiger of the West: Autumn/Fall
-Black Tortoise of the North: Winter

Very nice work.

wow! Amazing! THis has so much to look at.

Extra points for the dragon and frame hardware, nice one

This one really drew me in!! I had to look at it over and over....Fantastic job and Best of Luck

This is quite beautiful, you did some good research. You achieved 'different' quite well, author. Good find on that compass, too!

very very cool work author...nice to see u participate in the contest's again...best of luck

Thanks again for all the lovely comments

Congrats on second place!

Congrats lelaina!

congrats

Congrats

Congrats!!

Congrats!! Lovely, just lovely!

congrats Elke!!!!

Congrats Lelaina on great work these week,please keep going...

Congrats for second place !

Congrats Elke, I missed this contest. You did such a wonderful job, rich in details, and you should get more points for the thought you put in and the research on mandala .

very very cool work author...high marks from me...

Nice entry, very playful and colorful.

Very creative and a lovely, surreal image. Having the statues behind the curtain while the umbrella is in front of it might a be little too surreal, however. Also, I confess I would have struggled to identify the sad elements without your explanation. The colorful, entranced gazing statues, for example, don't immediately say "sadness" to me.

Very nicely done, I really like the ethereal feel of the piece. Best of luck to you.

A lovely whimsical entry! For some reason it reminds me a little of Pippi Longstockings. Well done!

It' true... A bit of sadness is needed, to be able to feel happiness and to know how valuable is this feeling. Very touching entry!

veryyyy nice

like the colour and composition very much author...gl...

good job

nice work

great job author! One of the best entries here so far

Fantastic entry! Best of luck

Nice work author

Beautiful surreal image and great mood

Congratulations, Lelaina! Be always happy (without feeling much sadness...)

Congratulations for 2nd

congrats on 2nd

Congrats! for 2nd place

Congrats for such a nice entry

Congratulations, it's really nice

Congrats!! Love it!

Congratulations!!!

I like this, makes me smile =)

very, very nice image.. i bet i can guess who it is (i'll keep my mouth shut, no worries!) Good luck!

*lol* Thanks Am I so predictable?

I espeacialy like the sharpness and clarity of this work. The colors are fantastic as are your composition. The use of symbolism is dramatically pleasing. Very Nice!

Wow its you

Yes, it's me Thank you very much!

Nice image like the overall look -- only two small points -- the wheels appear to be into the rails and the rails seem to large for the car

Thanks Alan I made the rails a bit smaller and rearranged the train. I hope it's better now

REally got an nice mood this pic... Love it...

Thank you, arkncheeze

wow pretty cool! i like the image its kinda artsey ... know what i mean...the pic has a nice warm feel

very nice mood

great image indeed!

Great storytelling!

i didnt need to read the explaination i understod everythin good job

Narates a story! welldone....

great entry

Well done. I like images that tell a story.

Thanks a lot for all your nice comments

Ohh don't leave her. Very nice

Congratulations, Elke! Really great image

Congratulations for 2nd

Well done on second place Lelaina.

Congrats! for 2nd place

congrats friend

Congrats!! Well done!