Yes, more dead stuff! You can take the girl out of the goth, but apparently you cannot take the goth out of the girl.
My mom gave me two boxes of deer bones, the last time I visited, and they’ve been sitting in the back of my car ever since. I finally got them out and took a good look at them today. Or, at the skull, at least.
I went on a cleaning binge this afternoon. After washing the crock pot insert, I turned it upside-down on a towel, so it could air dry. I noticed that the bottom was wonderfully oxidized.
In other news, I stayed home from work today, and it’s a good thing I did. Maintenance is prepping the apartment above mine for new tenants (yes, the amazing dream neighbors moved out last month). The carpet guy was here today, and apparently he left the machine turned on, so that it was spewing water everywhere. This of course meant that I once again had Niagara Falls in my bathroom. Aieee! Water everywhere. So I had to clean the bathroom from top to bottom, because everything was drenched.
I also had to deal with Comcast’s sucktacular phone system. I had the worst time trying to get through. I don’t know if there was some sort of technical glitch or if this is a new “feature.” I got stuck in an endless phone menu loop, then gave up and tried an alternate number printed on my bill. New endless loop, so I hunted online and found a third number. That one finally worked. Yay! All that because my DVR quit working last night. I’m guessing the hard drive has died. This would not have been a big problem, except I didn’t watch Lost when it was broadcast. I decided I’d watch it after it was finished airing, so that I could skip commercials. Bad plan! We are not amused. So after getting thoroughly frustrated with Comcast’s wonky phone system, I have an appointment for a tech to come out on Friday morning.
And because shit always happens in threes, the wireless router decided that this morning would be a good time to give me fits. Or so I thought. I moved my laptop into the living room, next to the modem and router, so that I could troubleshoot more easily. After plugging the modem directly into the laptop, and still having some weird problems, it occurred to me that I should try restarting the computer. That should always be the first step in troubleshooting, because chances are, that’ll solve it. And it did. Apparently something didn’t load correctly when I started my computer the first time, so I got (more) frustrated for nothing.
Japanese Azaleas
Golden Ragwort
I love how intensely pink the azaleas are. They don’t quite look real. The golden ragwort was everywhere at Splinter Ridge Cemetery. The pops of bright yellow were cheerful and sunshiny.
There are few things more picturesque than wildflowers in an overgrown cemetery.
Wife. Like it’s a job description or some sort of military rank. Which I guess maybe it is, sometimes.
I also went to Splinter Ridge Cemetery yesterday. It’s still in use, so there were some kind of amazing memorials.
Wind chimes and piles of stuffed animals around a baby’s grave and a large memorial for a young woman who died a few years ago. That, too, was decorated with gifts, including a ceramic piggy bank.
The graveyard was dominated by one huge monument. Very fancy, in the shape of an arch with an urn on top. It also featured the clasped hands that typically symbolize marriage in graves of that era.
In contrast, there were numerous graves with no permanent markers. Owen County is poor, and a lot of families there just don’t have money for a headstone.
Today’s cemetery trek involved not just a drive in the country, but a drive in the way deep backwoods country. Pot-holed and patched blacktop gave way to gravel, which gave way to dirt. The scenery was gorgeous, and the weather couldn’t have been nicer. Bright blue sky, a refreshing breeze, and cool enough not to get overheated.
I ended up going to two cemeteries. Mount Moriah Cemetery was the first. It was kind of a let down. There are some old–for the area–graves there, but most of the older markers have been damaged. It looks like someone tried to clean them with something that stained the stone. They’d be good candidates for rubbings. The cemetery is still in use and isn’t in bad shape, but there are several stones that have fallen. Some are buried in the ground. Too many names have completely worn away. There are also a number of plain fieldstone markers.
Shadows
Old Gateposts
Fieldstone markers
Concerete Grave Marker
Grave Marker Depicting Union Battle Encampment
Isaac S. Buskirk, 14 November 1845-11 July 1864
Mount Gilead Cemetery, Bloomington, Monroe County, Indiana
He was only 18 year old when he died, six months after enlisting with the Union army. This is the most elaborate Civil War headstone I’ve seen so far. Most of them are plain stones with just a simple shield decoration.
This is a fake tilt-shift image, but it’s kind of fun, for a change. So bright and sunshiny!
Sarah, Wife of John Nottingham, Died June 27, 1848 Aged 38 Y. 7 M. 23 D.
John Nottingham, Died July 1, 1882 Aged 78 Y. 8 M. 5 D.
Collins Cemetery, Muncie, Delaware County, Indiana
Sarah M., Daughter of J. & S. Nottingham, Died Jan. 27, 1849 Aged 7 Mo. & 22 ds.
Collins Cemetery, Muncie, Delaware County, Indiana
I don’t really pay attention to what’s on the stones while I’m photographing them. It wasn’t until I got home and was processing these that I noticed Sarah M. was the daughter of Sarah and John Nottingham. And then I took a close look at the dates. Sarah died 22 days after giving birth, and then seven months later, her baby daughter died.
Moss, McKinley Cemetery, Delaware County, Indiana
Stepp Cemetery, Morgan-Monroe State Forest, Monroe County, Indiana
red paper boat 