On the weekend we took a long afternoon drive through the countryside. This time of year the pastures have greened up beautifully, cattle are grazing in the meadows, and many of the shrubs and trees are in bloom. We like to take country roads that are off the main roads, and see where they lead. Our trip meandered through a beautiful little valley, along a creek boardered with willows, and ended up at this cemetary on a hillside.
It was a pioneer cemetary, with many old gravestones still in very good condition. I walked around, and noticed someone who had fought in the Spanish American War; another man had served in the first World War. One gravestone said "Infant Daughter", another just said "Father". Some family plots were outlined with little concrete borders. One of these was under some large pine trees. Underneath, covering the entire plot, was a bed of Sedum, from corner to corner, spilling over the cement. I've never seen sedum used this way - it was lovely, and perfectly spread. Someone came up with a very good idea, as no other type of plant would have done well under those big pine trees.
Moss and lichen has covered up much of the engraving on the oldest gravestones, and even the sun, wind and rain had worn some of the surfaces so thin that names could only be imagined. But, this cemetary was cared for, and flowers had been put by the sides of many of the gravestones, in commemoration of Easter. Beautiful flowering shrubs were scattered throughout, very over-grown, and the wild Ajuga (bugleweed) lined the pathways.
