Only yesterday I realized that there was a cemetery in the area, so today I decided to take a bit of a longer walk to visit it. I’ve always liked cemeteries, especially small, old country cemeteries like this one. I like coming and keeping the dead company, even if the dead couldn’t care less. This one was nestled in between a few corn fields and partially sheltered by rows of large Eastern red cedars and pines. I definitely wanted to take pictures, but I spent most of the time just walking (briskly, as it got very windy and cold) and looking around, especially at the old graves, trying to read the names and the odd Bible verse. I love all the old names I saw. Ephraim. That was the day’s best name.
This cemetery looked to be fairly well-tended. I saw many bright artificial flowers still, at least in the newer section of the cemetery; and this in spite of the Cemetery Rules expressly forbidding fake flowers outside of the narrow two-week window around Memorial Day. The eastern side was a little lonelier — these were the much older, illegible graves, with hardly any flowers or anything except for the ones that had blown in from the other side and frozen to the ground.
For the record, I did not break in -- half of the cemetery is not even fenced, and the main gate was open.
I thought this little modest grave next to the larger, ornate one was interesting.
This was one of the many downed branches and larger limbs in this part of the cemetery and the cross one of many misplaced arrangements -- the wind has done a number lately.
Two of several pairs of graves that were leaning up against one another.
sarah takes pictures 
I love old cemeteries. You can learn a lot about an area’s past and its people by taking a walk through an old graveyard. Winter photos of an old cemetery can seem kind of gloomy, but no less picturesque.
Agreed. There’s certainly something a little more forlorn this time of year but I kind of like it for that reason, too. (As in I thought, hey, this cemetery could use a little love right about now!)
Beautiful pictures Sarah… I love to walk on graveyards as well, it’s just so peaceful
Thank you very much! I really enjoy them for that as well.
When we lived in Franklin (MI) we used to walk to the cemetery (right in town). Some of the stones were so old as to have eroded all but small portions of the names and dates.
It offered a slice in time, a connection to all those who (like us) for a brief time walked the same ground we walk.
Nice piece.
Thank you. That connection you mention is probably the most compelling reason to visit places like this.
Nice series. I have some cemetery work in my galleries if you care to look sometime. happy shooting.
Thank you! I will definitely take a look at your work.
Great. there are some amazing cemeteries out there.
Sarah – your photos are fabulous as usual. Great work.
Maralee
throughmylens365.wordpress.com
Thank you, Maralee!
I like the lichen shots and the blue, fake flowers in the snow are really nice, too, as are many others. The first shot is wonderfully composed.
Thanks, Neil! I was very happy with how the first shot came out. And I don’t know what it is about graves but I’ve seen more intricate, lovely lichen growths there than almost anywhere else.
Very nice pictures. Cemeteries are one of the first places I go to after a good snowstorm. I really love the detail of these.
Thank you, Carlos! Lots of visual interest there for sure.
Very interesting photographs. Cemeteries are such intriguing places, both historically and visually for the photographer.
I was looking at a map of my neighborhood recently and saw that the small cemetery about 1 1/2 mile down the road had a name. It never occurred to me that it did. The graves were listed online and there were tributes to those buried there, including family members commenting on whether one of the women buried there had been murdered. I found it all very interesting. My son and I walked there once when he was in grade school. The most recent burial was about 60 years old. I have never seen anyone tend it, but obviously someone does. I should go back there sometime with my camera.
Thanks, Anne! That cemetery near you sounds especially intriguing. It’s always neat too when there’s a record of the graves there, especially considering how difficult it is to read them when you’re there.
When I saw this cemetery on Google maps, I was sort of hoping that it might be a pioneer cemetery or something, because it’s on the edge of a very old community. Some of the graves I saw were from the mid to late 19th century, but it’s definitely still being used.
Reminds me of my Beloit cemetery walks. I’ve shown you those pictures before, right?
If you have, I do not recall…you must show me again!
Thanks for sharing. I love to take photos in cemeteries.
You’re very welcome, thanks so much for stopping by, Sheila!
Lovely photos. Great detail.
Thank you very much, John!
I ❤ fisheye
Thanks for stopping by!
I am just amazed at the breathtakingly beautiful photos you can take from the same cold, brown, boring landscape I’m tired of looking at here Somewhere-in-the-Middle-of-the-USA. VERY nice work!
Thank you so much! I think sometimes that landscape has a beauty of its own that is hard to always appreciate (especially now when everything’s pretty much brown, the snow is dirty, all the trash that’s built up in ditches and everywhere else slowly starts to reveal itself…). And even if you do enjoy it, it can be really hard to capture that in a photograph. Some places certainly lend themselves better than others, and where that fails I like to focus on the details. It’s an easy place to start. 🙂
Since I’ve been following your photos, this is the best series to date. Nice work!
Thank you so much! I enjoyed taking these even more than I usually do. Glad you liked them.
Very nice series. I really like the colors.
Thank you very much!
Nice series!
Thank you!
fantastic series! Beautiful work! Thanks for visiting my blog 🙂
Thanks so much!
I like the ‘Friend’ picture the best.
Great and unusual photos of the cemetary. Always a great subject.
Thanks so much! It was the first time I took pictures in a cemetery and I’ll definitely be returning, very interesting subject indeed.
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I love all of your work. It is nice to see that there are others out there that see the world in a similar light,