Greeneville, Tennessee

From Adam's Rib:  If you live in the South (and even if you don't), go collect some data in your local cemetery. Find the final resting places of husband-and-wife couples and make a log of the micro-geography of their graves. Is the wife to the left or the right of her husband? Before you start, generate a hypothesis about the spatial arrangement you expect to be revealed by the empirical data. Grace Land Cemetery. [2009]

Some of Our Dreams Came True,
Others Dreamed Are Not To Be.

Blackstone, Virginia

Color Comes with Spring:  Spring brings a carpet of purple to a cemetery in Southside Virginia. Visitors love the 'wall-to-wall' color: it's a purple people greeter. Unfortunately, this ground cover looks like it might be exotic and invasive. An alien species in the graveyard: that's where science fiction stories begin. Grace United Methodist Church Cemetery. [2013]

Wellington, Ontario

Color Comes with Spring:  Yes, the tulips are heralds of spring, but far more interesting is the whirligig flying high above the garden. Wouldn't you like to know the story behind that? Crown Cemetery Puslinch. [2013]

Thurmont, Maryland

Color Comes with Spring:  Astronomical spring arrived last week. This year, however, it seems to have little to do with warmer weather.  But, just wait.  Soon, cemeteries will come to life – even though that may sound a bit oxymoronic. Here's some advice for your post-mortem future:  If you think you'll need a hug, plant yourself next to an azalea. Wellers Cemetery. [2013]

New Bohemia, Virginia

Shamrock as Totem ~ Sacred and Secular:  What do the Bohemians share with the Irish? A cemetery and a faith. As you might guess from the name of this place, most of the folks buried here have Czech names. In America, however, cultural boundaries disappear and ethnicities get all mixed up. Not surprising, therefore, to find a shamrock in a Bohemian burial ground. Sacred Heart Cemetery. [2013]

Windsor, Connecticut

Shamrock as Totem ~ Sacred and Secular:  Anyone can put a dash between date of birth and date of death. But why should a dash summarize a lifetime? If your name is Griffin, a shamrock might be a more appropriate liaise. What would you substitute for a dash on your memorial? As for the dimes....  Elm Grove Cemetery. [2013]

Wellsville, New York

Shamrock as Totem ~ Sacred and Secular:  What do the shamrock and the fleur-de-lis have in common? They have been used by two different European cultures as symbols of the Christian Trinity. The shamrock is to Ireland what the fleur-de-lis is to France: both nation-building tool and symbol of national identity. If you did a census of cemetery emblems, would you find more three-leaf clovers or trefoil lilies? Happy St. Patrick's Day. Sacred Heart Cemetery. [2013]