Winter Cemetery

I really like cemeteries.

To me,

they are like parks.

And, let's face it,

no one gets out of here alive,

you know what I mean?

Sure, it can be a sad place,

and

even a heart-wrenching,  depressing place.

But if you try, you can prefer to instead think of  it as a place to reflect

on people's lives

and how they touched one another when they lived.

A place to celebrate LIFE rather than death.

*******

Since retiring, we live in a tiny, rural community on a lake.

It has a quaint, perfect cemetery.

Every Memorial Day, the Historical Society goes to a couple gravesites

and gives a small talk on the life of one or two of it's community members that have passed...

right beside their gravesites.

I thought that was a really neat thing to do.

So, every spring, summer and fall, I usually take a ride and just walk about the cemetery, looking at names of all of the community founders.  I imagine them in the times they lived. 

Some, so very, very different than now.

So, after a recent snowfall, I just had to drive by and get some snapshots of it.

It was perfectly quiet there, not even any birds chirping...no wind blowing...

just solitude and peace.

You already know my fascination with gates,

especially in the winter.

So, of course, the cemetery's gate is one of my favorites:

I love the old granite markers...

and looking at the names and dates.

But on this day, all lay under a blanket of snow, with no entrance to my curiosity:

I look forward to my spring visit,

when the snow will melt away, and and flowers will make their way up through the soil...

and bring some new life and green back to the scene...

The cycle of life.

It is amazing.

And nowhere points this out more than a visit there at this time of year.
*****************************************************************************
By the time this publishes, I am on vacation in Florida for just a few weeks....
but
I still want to BUG you about
entering the FREE PHOTO CONTEST!!

Hurry!
You only have until midnight, Jan. 31st to enter January's theme photo of:

BRIDGES!!!

Just follow THESE RULES!!!

You don't have to be a Blogger to enter,
but you do need to become a Follower of this blog, which is easy!
Just click at the top of the blog where you see all the other pictures of
the beautiful faces of the other Followers!
Now...
get out there and snap a photo of your favorite bridge and send it in!!