The cemetery near our old house, almost at dusk.
I am fascinated by turn of the century graves and their engravings.
Joe shares my enthusiasm.
At the bottom of the one day old infants stone it says " One Angel more."
How they loved him to inscribe the stone this way.
It is so sweet and sad to me.
Many child graves are in this cemetery and it is likely due to childhood diseases that are now eradicated by immunizations.
My former nursing staff, at the state prison, was appalled that we frequently visited cemeteries and took photos and that I once went to a garage sale at a funeral home (I bought the prettiest lamp ever). One of the prison doctors (he was from Africa, where voodoo was practiced) told me to stay out of cemeteries. I have no fear of the dead. As a RN in a busy teaching hospital I was required to prepare and take dead bodies to the hospital morgue. If your patient died on your shift you knew you were going to the morgue. When you care for patients for weeks and weeks it is quite natural to give them this final respect. We never saw the undertakers. At smaller hospitals the undertakers arrive and the nurses never see a hospital morgue but not where I worked for nearly half of my life.
Cheerful post today yes?
I do find peace in cemeteries, go take a walk in one and snap some pics.
You might concur.
may joy and peace surround you
Olive
Olive, I love visiting cemeteries too and taking pictures. I think I posted some from an old cemetery that I visited when I was in New Hampshire. They are just so interesting.
ReplyDeleteThese pictures are fabulous. Some of the best I have seen you do.
ReplyDeleteThanks Kim, I almost did not post them.
ReplyDeletewow, i love old cemeteries... so pretty. & different. you could have put that one up for friday fences. such fun. (:
ReplyDeleteI concur.
ReplyDeleteI love the lily of the valley carving you shared - very unique.
I liked the lily-of-the-valley carving so much that I pinned it.
ReplyDeleteSweet Romantic Dreams for Valentines Day from Richard and Sissy Dog at My Old Historic House.
ReplyDeleteCemeteries are certainly thoughtful places, and often beautiful too. We are so removed from death these days. Almost as if it never physically happens. We're lucky to live in a more healthy time. Old cemeteries remind us of that. The old stones and statuary are like art. You've taken some beautiful pictures.
ReplyDeleteI love this post - you more than likely recognised from my last post that I am a fellow grave yard visitor too. I have more tombs up my sleeve!
ReplyDeleteI visit new cemeteries as often as I can. I was in a very poor one in Tennessee where there were rows and rows of tiny plots marked only with a concrete block. The person I was with commented on the poverty and I could only think they still loved the dead babies enough to mark the graves somehow.
ReplyDeleteMy grandpa from Russia taught me to appreciate the headstones.....I still enjoy reading them.
ReplyDeleteThe old headstones are so fascinating. Each one is a little bit of history. There's a picture of the churchyard hanging up in our church porch. The inscription underneath reads,
ReplyDelete'To all who come, our graves to see,
A moment, stop and think.
We are in Eternity and you are on the brink.'
I am fascinated by old cemetaries too. I once visited the famous Boneventure cemetary in Savannah and thought how beautiful it was. I told my husband that the people that are buried there don't even know how lucky they are to buried in such a beautiful place! I went on a ghost tour in St. Augustine once too that took us to an old cemetary. They can be creepy, but also so interesting like you said. You did the very job that I could never do. I couldn't work around a bunch of sick people and dead bodies. It takes a special kind of person to do that.
ReplyDeleteThere's a somber beauty at cemeteries. Stunning photos Olive.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful pictures, Olive, and so very sad about the infant and young children that died so young. Cemeteries are interesting and so peaceful. You captured that.
ReplyDeleteXO,
Jane
Lily of the Valley - nice flowers...
ReplyDeleteOlive these images are stunning, I enjoyed every one...
ReplyDeleteThe old stone is so beautiful and you have captured it well. Thanks for sharing... hope you don't mind that I pinned some
Blessings
R
I love them, too,
ReplyDeleteparticularly the
really old, historic
ones, like those in
Savannah or Charleston.
You got some really
amazing shots....And
how lucky that Joe is
into visiting cemeteries,
too. Your sweet valentine : )
Happy Valentine's Day,
xx Suzanne
Seriously?!? There is someone out there besides me who loves the visit old cemeteries?!?! It was the one thing that I insisted on in New Orleans many years ago and I will do it again. I love the old stone, the symbolism and the reminder that we only get to do it once - do it right, it's later than we think. Glad you did post this as I really love the images you captured - purrfect!
ReplyDeleteHappy Valentine's Day!
"Her" and Romeo
The photos are lovely and I appreciate you sharing them. The carvings are so unique and interesting.
ReplyDeleteOld cemetaries are truly art galleries surrounded by grass and trees. It's such a shame that the newer ones don't allow statues, fencing, and flowers any more. The tributes that are tucked in the older ones are heartbreakingly beautiful and your fabulous eye has captured that beauty. Thank you for sharing...and btw...they don't scare me either.
ReplyDeleteDeb
love these pictures Miss Olive... I'm a cemetery picture taker too just did some last week in a Gullah cemetery beside the Cooper River in SC.. You got the hang of Photoscape yet? hugs from Savannah, Cherry
ReplyDeleteGreat pictures, Olive! Death is a part of life, although it is only in recent years that I have expressed to my husband that when my time comes I want to be cremated. Family never seems to go visit their family's graves and I would rather not just take up space in the earth with no visitors.
ReplyDeleteOlive again such beautiful pictures! I will be pinning some I hope you don't mind?
ReplyDeleteI LOVE cemetaries! My mother (unconventional person that she is) used to take us kids for picnics in our local cemetary where my Grandfather is buried. We loved going around and reading the headstones. Cemetaries equal good times to me. Vanna