Gno Gnome home?

There is a house that we pass by every day. The house faces the farm fields. It is surrounding by a rod iron fence and is pretty, and well groomed. You see, it is the gnome home. They have over a hundred little statues of gnomes placed all over their yard. We are so familiar with seeing them hidden in the bushes and lazily resting on the lawn that we tend to know when one has been moved. In June, when we moved here, we noticed that the gnome playing the guitar, yes a gnome can be musical, was tipped over. Day after day we walked past the house on the way to the village train station, waiting for the owner to correct the little gnome face-first in the dirt. It took about 4 days for the gnome to be righted up, but voila it happened. Recently as I walked, I was stunned that all the gnomes were gone. I stood at the gate and took a good double take. As I stood there the owner came out of his front door. I said, "Bonjour monsieur, vous avez un beau jardin. Ou est gnomes ?" Which is actually incorrect, but at the time I didn't know that I was saying it wrong. I said it with my best french accent too. I awaited for the man to speak to me in french, but he came closer and in English said, "Thank you, they are put away for the winter." Ok, I was pleased that he understood me, but frustrated that he knew right away that I spoke English and was going to have a lot of trouble speaking french. RATS! I tried...... anyway, I am digressing from the story. The owner told me that in November he takes all of his gnomes inside to his workshop. They must stay there all winter to protect them from the cold weather. He touches them up and polishes them over the winter and then places them back outside in late March. He and his wife are Swiss and they lovingly gathered each gnome from all over Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Scandinavian countries. I like the weird little gnomes greeting me each day and I look forward to seeing them in March, but for now there are gno gnomes. Who would have ever thought that I would miss gnomes.....but I do.