kerryberry, my avatar was hand-crafted just for me by a special friend of mine who is a pixel artist. She wanted to commemorate and honor my Mysti and, at the same time, bring my new puppy into the family. That's my real back yard and my real garden behind us.

There are lots of ways to get avatars, though. You can upload a favorite photo (in My Stuff => Profile), find a public domain image (no copyrighted images that you don't have permission to use), or even ask someone here to make you one.