A long way from Russia

I had to travel from one part of Northern California to another part of Northern California yesterday. I have traveled this area countless times in my lifetime, and had never had the opportunity to stop at the cemetery at the Fort Ross (California State Park) cemetery. I LOVE Fort Ross, and highly recommend it, if you are ever driving between Jenner and the Northern Coast. The last Saturday of every July, the volunteers dress up as 1820's inhabitants of the Fort, and it is a lot of fun.
Fort Ross was a Russian Fort that helped to support the (sea otter) fur trade, and has been bought and sold until the State of California made it into a State Park! I could spend an entire day here and still not get enough!!
As with all Forts, there is also a cemetery. Although the photo below makes it appear as though the cemetery is right next to the Fort, it is actually a bit of a (curvy) drive away. I did pull over at a turnout and walk through the wooden fence. This is the beautiful view!

All of the crosses are wooden, and unmarked. They are beautiful in the traditional Russian Orthodox style. There is beautiful ocean view, and I was very lucky that the sun was out while I was there.
I have always been fascinated by immigration. I can not imagine leaving my "home country" and "most of my family" behind to go to the "new world" (either by choice, force or job). Taking into consideration that a simple letter could take a year, living and dying in a new country must have been a scary task. Even if you have an ancestor that died here, finding their specific grave would be impossible.
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Facing my cemetery fears...

Very few things about cemeteries "scare" me. I am not afraid of ghosts or demons or orbs or anything "of a spiritual nature." I am afraid of: snakes, spiders, anything creepy and crawly. I was at the cemetery in Manchester, California yesterday when I spotted the grave in the above picture. (The quality is not that great--sorry). I would never had noticed it, for the entire plot of overgrown, and the photo is taken through a "hole" in an overgrown mass of plants and ivy.
I was looking for a specific marker (for findagrave.com) and knew that I had to crawl in there to see if it was the grave I was looking for (it was not). Keep in mind that the ivy was at least two feet deep, and heaven knows what was living in it. (Shiver).
Once inside, it was like being in a BEAUTIFUL forest. Although the entire space was only 10X10, it was the most peaceful plot I have ever been in. Then I took this photo:

I know that it is crooked, but I was waiting to be attacked by whatever was making the ivy its home. The names of their children is inscribed on the back, but it had a HUGE yellow slug crawling on it, and since I believe in leaving things as I find them, I left it!
I did make it out alive. I am sure that in a few years, the "jungle" will overtake this grave. I will try and keep the "opening" open, and will brave the space again.
Thankfully I was able to find the marker I was looking for...on the other side of the cemetery!
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Small towns and big sacrifices

I spent some time in Point Arena yesterday, and I stopped by the Odd Fellows Cemetery. This small sea side cemetery is one of my favorites. Cemeteries tell the story of most small towns. You can tell which families married into each other, and which families struggled with so many of their children not surviving infancy.
You can also see how many families have a lot of military members, and which seem to have none. There seems to be a lot of "army" people here! It just goes to show that war is supported by every community...even those with less than 500 people.
I always bring my dog with me to the smaller cemeteries. She is a wonderful "snake alert system" and I do not have to worry about what is lurking in the bushes!

A long way from the battlefield

This is the civil war memorial from the Old City Cemetery in Sacramento, California. One of the things I love about this memorial is that it is fully painted and has such a beautiful color to it. I have always had a soft spot for veterans section in cemeteries. I love to see flags on the graves of veterans, for flags are such a simple way to acknowledge someone who served this country, and yet so few places take the time to do it.
One of the things on my "bucket list" is to go to the Normandy American Cemetery Colleville Sur Mer. The people of France are wonderful about keeping this cemetery in wonderful condition.
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Elk Cemetery

I spent a little bit of time yesterday at Cuffy's Cove Catholic Cemetery in Elk, California. Elk is a very small town in Mendocino, California (Population is about 200, so once again, a wonderful town with more people in the cemetery than in the town!)

This cemetery has a beautiful ocean view, and is surrounded by beautiful trees. (No bunnies were out that day though). There are a wide variety of grave markers from wooden to mausoleum (okay, only one mausoleum) and a few with the traditional weeping angels (my favorite).

One of the things I love about small town cemeteries is the upkeep. Very often they will have a "cemetery clean up day" where the towns garden club (and other volunteers) pick a Saturday and clean everything up.

Many of the graves at this cemetery still had their "flag day" flags on them, but I took it as a sign that someone is decorating the cemeteries for the different holidays. As long as someone cares, that is all that matters.

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Two are always better than one...

I one of the reasons I like "cemetery wildlife" is that is can take the "scary and weird" aspect about cemeteries. Animals are supposed to be very sensitive to spirits and such, so I think I feel better as long as the bunnies are around!

Surely bunnies would run in terror at the presence of spirits and, since I trust their safety judgment, I feel safe knowing they are there! (Besides...why would anyone haunt a cemetery???? You would think a spirit would rather be where they lived, or died, or something...not a cemetery. Especially if they never spent any time at the cemetery while alive!!)

I know I would be bored haunting a cemetery. I mean -- there is not always someone there, and I would hate to think of having all the bunnies run away from me. They would be my main source of entertainment!

I will admit that I do get very happy when the bunnies let me get just a little bit closer than the last time I was there. Maybe I am becoming a "bunny" regular!

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I blame Stephan King...

I have never been to a pet cemetery. I know there are a few near me, but I have never gone to one. I am not sure why. Pets are like family, and I can understand the need to have a memorial for a pet. (I tend to cremate and take with me).

I have always enjoyed animal memorial statues. Heroic animals that helped during times of crisis (not just wars, but heroic war animals tend to get statues a lot).

For some strange reason, I think I stay away from pet cemeteries because I would feel real grief about those entombed there. Animals can never express how they want to be memorialized, or even IF they want to be memorialized, but then again, cemeteries are more for the living than for the dearly departed.

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