The Baptist cemetery on Main Street has graves dating to the early 1800s, many sadly falling to ruin.
The wrought iron fence was just managing to keep its head above the dirty snowline.
The rounded tops of the gravestones resemble
cookie-cutter shaped people.
There's an intriguing gap in the fence.
I was standing on my tip-toes to get this photo, the snow pile being almost taller than me,
and the cemetery being on a higher level than the street.
Here's the gravestone that's visible through the gap ,
marking the passing of William Francis,
infant son of William and Mary Terylor in 1838.
Many believe that loved ones will all be reunited after death.
There are people who can talk to the dead
and bring messages back of hope and healing for those left behind.
There are people who are able to see ghosts that are still walking this plane.
But only bones and those memories and sentiments that we bring with us
when we visit the graveyard linger there;
the spirits have moved on.
*
(Thanks to the Vintage Moth for family image)
Ooooo an eerie and wonderful compilation of images in that last one - dirty snow and all. Where did the family image come from? And please don't say "What family image? I don't see a family image." It's too close to bedtime to scare me like that. ;)
ReplyDeleteThat's so funny about "what family image"? LOL! My apologies for not crediting the source of that grouping, but have since added a link to the blog where I found it, at the Vintage Moth. I blame the lateness of the hour and the amount of time I'd spent editing that piece for this lapse of courtesy on my part.
DeleteI hope you slept well...happily dead to the world, but only for the requisite 8 hours!
What gorgeous shots - that last one is eerie indeed!
ReplyDeleteEerie is good! Gorgeous is even better! Thanks!
DeleteThe light certainly makes these shots stunning - love the last shot too - you would love the Day of the Dead festival in Mexico....
ReplyDeleteI do believe you're right--I would love the Day of the Dead Festival; I certainly am fascinated by all the imagery coming out of it. Don't know if I could handle the crowds, though. The light was a welcome respite for these snow-jaded eyes.
DeleteVery clever affect in that last photo... And I'm also curious to know whose ancestors are haunting the graveyard. :) I love looking at old ancestral photos, wondering what they were like in life... I have several. Unfortunately none of them seem to speak to me - good thing huh... :) I've never seen gravestones quite like this, with what appears to be a head on them. Is this why they call them "headstones?" :)
ReplyDeleteI hadn't thought of the shape of these headstones being the reason behind them being termed such. I always thought it was because they're placed at the head of a grave. Can't recall seeing this particular shape in other graveyards elsewhere. Will have to pay better attention next time I'm out roaming cemeteries.
DeleteThe family image is from the Vintage Moth blog (I've since added a link to the bottom of this post). I don't know that the blog is active any longer, but it remains a good source of old imagery and clip art. I'd just come across that family grouping earlier in the day; funny how things come together serendipitously.
Now that I think of it I believe you're right about why the "headstones" are name "headstones" - because of their placement... Thanks!
DeleteAbout those ancestral photos of yours...I agree that it`s just as well you`re not on speaking terms with them!
Delete:) lol
DeleteIt looks like you captured a few of the spirits.
ReplyDeleteI laughed when I read your first line "One day last week it was actually Sunny..." can't wait for this torture, I mean winter, to end
Hasn't this been a long, cold relentless winter?! Rather like the chill hand of death. Certainly I've been feeling somewhat entombed, unable to get out to my usual haunts due to the bad weather. I could use some of the other sort of spirits to get me through.
DeleteWilliam Francis, too soon departed.
ReplyDeleteLast autumn before the snow bgan to fall and remain, I walked with Owen along the trail past the Dayton Cemetery. Owen wnted to walk in through the long grass. While he pondered the dandelions and pinecones I pondered the stones, so many so small marking the passing of tiny people. Looking at the lively little spirit beside me,I felt profoundly sad for those long ago parents.
The loss of a child must be the very worst, if one can compare pain. May we never suffer this experience. Perhaps it is a form of healing to proffer up our sympathies and empathy for those who have undergone this grief, even if they, too, have long passed. Prayers on the wind, carried forward and backward through the illusion of time.
DeleteThe image of you and wee Owen walking through the long grasses is delightful. I used to like to walk through the cemetery with my grandmother when I was a little girl.
I like it.
ReplyDeleteNicely done.
Quel plaisir de voir ton silhouette, ton ombre, qui flotte sur cette page en me laissant tes bénédictions!
Deletexo
Wonderful post. (I'm a lover of cemeteries.) I'm trying to figure out how many photos are in your final collage--5??? I'd love to have the skill and patience to do such lovely layering. Brava.
ReplyDeleteThere must be some really intriguing cemeteries in Sicily. You`re very perceptive at discerning how many photos are in the last image. In fact, I do think there are five: the 1.)cemetery, 2.)the family, 3.)then the combination of those two repeated and stretched; 4.)an old ledger (providing the writing), and 5.) another photo of mine of a snow scene. This, of course, does not include multiple layers of textures and blending modes, levels, etc. Hours of bleary-eyed fun!
DeleteJann, your photos are so visually stunning they would only suffer from tampering: Basta!
What adventure !
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for this interesting read and inspiration. Please have you all a good Tuesday.
I'm glad if I have provided something to catch your interest and give you a little inspiration. So wonderful to connect.
DeleteInteresting stones and fence, oh what stories they could tell.
ReplyDeleteSome of those stones actually have small stories,or hints of stories, etched upon them...but are fading and falling away with time...
DeleteSome people turn the page and open a new book, you have gone to a new tome, or is it tomb, rather ? A new dimension to your wanderings, that will, I hope, be enriching, poetically, philosophically, esthetically... This looks to be a fine place to start...
ReplyDeleteDear BrOther, you have no idea what I have buried in my backpages. It seems the time has come to dig up a few more of the old bones I have gathered and stashed away, dust them off with some digital magic, and expose them to the light of day.
DeleteYour blog reminds me of a day in England when having found a very small village, then it's graveyard, then amongst tall grass the name on the stone we had been searching for, then bumping into the first stranger we had seen there who told us, oh, I know someone by that name who lives next door to me, and apron a visit, we find a not too distant relative, strange but true,,,
ReplyDeleteWhat a delightful happenstance! It sounds like the spirit of your ancestor was guiding you.
DeleteVery beautiful series! Love it!
ReplyDeleteGreetings from the Netherlands,
DzjieDzjee
Thank you for visiting from the Netherlands. So pleased that you like what you found, though perhaps not the cheeriest of subjects.
DeleteGraveyards are so often wonderfully picturesque, but I rarely find them creepy for some reason. What a beautiful day - just the right sort of day to have with snow!
ReplyDeleteThey do often make lovely quiet, green spaces to walk and be contemplative. I used to love walking in one right across the street from my grandparents' house when I was a child. There were tall grasses and wild daisies growing there and old spigots that fascinated me. So I, like you, do have rather positive associations with graveyards.
DeleteLove that blue sky - almost seems to be mocking the graveyard...
ReplyDeleteThe blue sky was a real treat. You're right, though--not the usual cheery backdrop for a cemetery. Lovely to find you whistling past the graveyard here.
Delete