When visiting the small potato farm owned by friends of M&M, we were free to explore the property. I felt like a kid exploring an enchanted forest. There were several paths to walk on the property, and you didn't know what might be around the next bend.
Imagine my delight stumbling upon this old graveyard, established long before the current owners bought their lovely property.
I love old graveyards.
They're reminders of those who came before us.
Old graveyards are rich with history.
I love the timeworn character of the monuments.
Next to the barn that now graces the header above, the old graveyard was my favorite spot. I found myself drawn to it more than once during our visit.
Headstones identify the dear departed.
I can't help wondering what their lives were like.
Some people think old graveyards are haunted. 
I think they're enchanted, and enchanting.
May they rest in peace.
Linda - I'm so jealous.
ReplyDeleteI'd spend days upon days in a place like that.
I've got heart-ache.
Thanks for putting up these photos so quickly.
Lucy
How tongue in cheek, Linda! Priceless! Love it!
ReplyDeleteBrenda
Hi Lucy, honestly when I came upon the old graveyard, I thought of you and how much you'd love this place.
ReplyDeleteI thought of my grandson too, how his eyes would have lit up, and how much fun he would have had exploring here.
I was awed by how the earth was slowly swallowing these awesome artifacts.
OMG! Looks like my backyard with all the Chevys. Mr. Fix-it would be in Heaven! I wonder about their lives too.
ReplyDeleteGood morning Brenda, glad you enjoyed the "graveyard!" I LOVE all that rusty, decaying stuff, and wondered what stories the old pickups and farm implements had to tell. It was an enchanting spot!
ReplyDeleteGood morning Tina, I was in heaven! It was truly wondrous. I felt like a little kid exploring an enchanted forest.
ReplyDeleteI like your ability to find beauty and an imaginative perception of what is there. I would see it as a big cleanup job to be undertaken right away. In fact, at the moment I'm in a big clash with hubby's perceptions. ;)
ReplyDeleteDonna
Hi Linda, you had us tricked with this pre Hallowe'en story. Scared? No. Delighted? Absolutely! Such stories must lie behind these old graves, how did they go from youthful and vigorous to abandoned and being recaptured to the soil? Notice how there is no plastic, only earth given materials enriching the earth again as the molecules break apart. Love, love, love it, and your spellbinding narrative.
ReplyDeleteFrances
http://fairegarden.wordpress.com/
Linda, what a wonderful photo essay. Gardening Buddy and I wandered over there, too. At first I almost felt a sense of intruding. But then, I thought, "What if these old spirits are pleased that we stopped by to commune in their resting place, and to appreciate the many possible stories of their working lives?" Not unlike the fascination I had with my Grandpa's machine shed and equipment barns when I was a child. And the same is true with regards to my Dad's newspaper office, with it's smells of ink, machinery and oil, and melting lead for the mattes. I still remember the sounds of those old presses when they were running. Each one had it's own song and personality. I've always loved machinery.
ReplyDeleteGood morning Donna, one of the cool things about the graveyard is it's surrounded by woods and isn't visible from the house, drive, or from anywhere until you walk up the grassy path and stumble upon it. I can't imagine removing this stuff. With the size of their property, the graveyard hinders nor interferes with anything, and isn't in any way an eyesore.
ReplyDeleteI imagined one day after we're all dead and gone and the graveyard has been completely swallowed by the earth, it would be discovered by archeologists who would piece together the history of the people who once farmed this beautiful property.
Good morning Frances, glad you enjoyed it! It was such an inspiring spot, I just let it tell its own story!
Thanks Mom! I know I keep using works like 'enchanted,' and 'inspiring,' but that's exactly how it felt.
It's funny, I felt that same way about intruding. I approached that area pretty tentatively, wondering, "Is it ok for me to go in there?" It wasn't out of fear, rather, from a sort of reverence.
I hope now that the gardening season is drawing to a close, you may have time to write down those stories about my Grandpa's newspaper office, and your Grandpa's machine sheds and equipment barns and add them to the blog.
I hope the family who once owned the small potato farm is passing on the stories and memories behind the stuff in the old graveyard to their children and grandchildren.
Linda, This is my kind of spooky story and graveyard!
ReplyDeleteWe have so many family graveyards in middle Tennessee that I thought for sure we were going to visit one at the potato farm! Very good! I believe that these graves are indeed filled with wonderful stories and beautiful monuments!
Gail
What a clever post title Linda. I was thinking a different sort of graveyard at first. The farms must be rich with history from discarded equipment of years gone by. Great pictures!
ReplyDeleteHi Gail, me too! I like to sleep at night! There really was a sort of solemness, reverence, and quiet beauty in the old 'graveyard,' much like the feeling of an old cemetery.
ReplyDeleteThere are a few old human graveyards and churchyards around here, and I have on occasion just spontaneously pulled in on my way home from somewhere to look around and enjoy their quiet beauty and history.
It's a wonder to see an occasional late 1800's grave decorated with cut flowers or planted with annuals. It's touching to see those ancestors still being thought of and their graves still being visited generations later.
Thank you Racquel! After I downloaded and reviewed the pictures, the narrative and the title just wrote themselves. I love when that happens - it's so effortless. I'm glad you enjoyed the photos.
Linda, I really enjoyed this post. We have a small graveyard here at the farm, too. I'm going to be looking at it with new eyes now:)
ReplyDeleteLove the old barn in your header!
I love the contrast of rust and colored leaves. So picturesque. I love walking through woods at this tme of year. The smell of the leaves is incredible when the sun warms them. Thank you for the tour.
ReplyDeleteI LOVED this autumn post and your great photos, Linda.
ReplyDeleteIt's a little bit sad to see this photos... I think about all the work that has been done here and the people that lived here.
ReplyDeleteThings changes...
Very nice post!
What a treat. I would love to find some great old trucks like that to photograph.
ReplyDeleteMarnie
Wonderful! I can't help but think of how that last truck would make a really neat planter under it's hood, does that make me a bad person to want to deface a resting place like that?
ReplyDeleteThank you Rose! How cool that you have a small graveyard on your farm! I would love that. Are the headstones still readable? There are a few old cemeteries around here, and some of the headstones are so worn, they're barely readable anymore.
ReplyDeleteHi Jane Marie, glad you enjoyed the 'graveyard' tour! I love that smell too, especially when there are oak leaves in the mix! It definitely smelled like fall there.
Thank you Joey, glad you enjoyed it! It was as much fun to write this post as it was seeing all that cool stuff!
I know what you mean Marie. I wanted to know something about the people who used all that equipment. I was imagining it all restored, shiny, and useful again.
Glad you enjoyed it Marnie! There is so much character in those old vehicles.
Not at all Cinj! I was thinking some of that stuff would make really awesome garden ornaments! I like your idea - I think that would look really cool!