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Wednesday, November 3, 2021

Indian Summer? And Swept Paths and Yards

It is suddenly much milder than it was during the last days of October. Last night was "supposed" to have a low of 39, which is, as my husband likes to say, "Only 7 degrees above freezing!"

But instead, the low was only 50, and today had bouts of clouds but ultimately cleared in late afternoon, and was very mild and pleasant.

I went to the very old cemetery, San Albino Cemetery, I wrote about on the blog before. (<---Link) Many people were there, and many of the graves had been cleaned, and new flowers and decorations placed. 

Beautiful San Albino Cemetery, All Souls Day, 2021

Some of the graves had simply been "swept." 

"Swept" grave in San Albino Cemetery, Mesilla, NM 2021 All Souls Day

[An aside: Did you know that in Colonial times, "swept yards" were de rigueur? Yes, no one of any account would have had grass in their yard or along their garden paths. I can remember, as a very small child in Arkansas, helping smack wetted clay soil into a hard, smooth surface along the garden paths. We always put a "slip" of clay on our paths, and raked the loose soil around the paths constantly. I have something of a "swept" yard here, too, in parts.]

This family is taking no chances. Not only is there a lovely old statue of Blessed Mother Mary gracing the grave, but a smaller statue of Mary as she appeared as the Virgin of Guadalupe has been wired onto the iron fence in front. Do you see the rotund little "mariachi" musician playing his horn to the lower right? 

Blessed Mother Mary statues and mariachi statue in San Albino Cemetery 2021

I am still not used to these ground-level graves. In New Orleans, everyone must be buried in vaults above ground. I was very frightened of the idea of being below the ground! But my sister-in-law, and many visitors to New Orleans, were uneasy with all the crypts, like a stone maze, a stone city, in those old cemeteries. 

During my visit to the cemetery, I sat on a bench next to a little sign that said, "Welcome Steelers Fans." I am unsure about who the Steelers are exactly, other than being a football team, but I felt they would not mind if a neutral party sat on the bench to pray. 

steelers fans San Albino cemetery 2021

I keep seeing a television advertisement with a frail-looking Joe Namath hawking some kind of Medicare supplemental policy. I was astounded: I recall him as "Broadway Joe," the good-looking, vital, sinuous quarterback of the New York Jets. Now, I could easily tackle him. 

I brought along Rosaries with me, and my favorite Rosary to pray, and on as many of the neglected, worn crosses as I could, I placed a Rosary. I chose the graves where no trace of a name remains. Sometimes families die out, even our great Mexican-American dynasties here. I had both beautiful Rosaries, and the free Rosaries from the missions. I need to get more Rosaries because dozens of plain crosses remain unadorned.

I said the Rosary many times because there are so many to pray for, so many to remember, and of course, we must remember the unremembered, if that makes any sense. Of course, God remembers us all, down to our last atom! What a comfort!

On the way home, I saw this arched gate, which I just love. It is pretty no matter the season. A "ristra wreath" adorns it this fall.

ristra wreath old mesilla 2021


Do you have unusual cemetery traditions in your area, or strange gardening traditions, like "swept paths?"

Kind regards,

Holly, The Olde Dame


34 comments :

  1. Not that I know of around here. But I learned from reading your post. And yes, I visited many of the cemeteries in NOLA. The last time we were there I remember the "new one" that was empty...Shaped like a pyramid (I think it is for Nicholas cage?!! - not sure)

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    1. Gosh, I wonder why that guy wants a vault in New Orleans? Maybe he fell in love with New Orleans. I miss Old New Orleans very much.

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  2. We are 28 degrees this frosty morning our lovely warm fall has left us. I love the color of the cemetery. No traditions I we do try to get flowers on the graves for memorial but that is it. My mother always said 'don't go the cemetery to morn they are not there. would you spend your eternity in there or among your loved ones in their hearts?" No swept pathways for us I did sweep the brick walk way of acorns so no one falls on the way in the house.
    Cathy

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    1. Very true, they are not there. Yet I feel so close to them when at the gravesides.

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  3. i have heard the name swept yard and walkways but only in the old historical novels I used to read, most about England and Scotland. in KY in my childhood, we had clay roads and very few paved, the trucks would drive with used oil dripping out of tanks to oil the clay and make them harder, shuddering now to think of the polution. sweeping what is there would be better. unless of course the clay is WET. think walking in glue.

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  4. I've been to people's house with a swept yard in TX just a few years ago. And now I'm wondering where in Arkansas you grew up. I grew up in Arkadelphia! Hugs, Diane

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    1. Magnolia, Arkansas! SO BEAUTIFUL and I don't think I will ever feel at home again until I go back to Arkansas. It marked me! Arkansas and Louisiana.

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  5. Your posts are just always the best! A treat to read. I find it amazing the difference in cemeteries across this great nation of ours. No unusual cemetery traditions here in northern Ohio that I am aware of.
    What a beautiful thing to do by leaving the rosaries on graves that are no longer visited.
    Joe Namath selling a Medicare supplement? Kind of sad, really. You'd think he made fortunes and would not need to stoop so low ;-(

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  6. I love the Day of the Dead icons that are created for deceased loved ones. In the one you shared, I see candles and silk flowers, but no food. Many bring food for their deceased to consume.

    I've never so much as heard of a swept yard, much less seen one before. I'm happy if I sweep my porch and walkway!

    I love the old mausoleums and those cemeteries in NOLA are the best. However, in about the late 1940s, people became obsessed with youth and wanted the graves out of sight, out of mind. It was much easier for the grounds keepers, too. In Wichita, we have several cemeteries and they have both crypts and flat grave markers.

    BTW, in Victorian times England, families used to have picnics on Sunday near the graves of their loved ones. The more ornate the headstone, the more influential you were. Some people couldn't afford decent housing, but saved their money for their gravestone, which they felt made them immortal.

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    1. Amazing information, Liz! I know some people who must be holdovers from those old English times, as they like to picnic on Sundays at the cemeteries, too. Up in the Midwest.

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  7. It is a wonderful thing you do to honor those who might otherwise be forgotten.

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    1. Thank you. I feel badly for them, not even a name left to say.

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  8. I agree with mimmylynn's comment. You certainly do care for all, even the forgotten ones.
    Our cemeteries are rather boring compared to yours. Just flat gravestones that make mowing the grass easier.

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    1. I think yours are probably prettier, GM. But I noticed chickens scratching around and eating yesterday as I left, so ours are definitely more down-home!

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  9. We are accustomed to under ground graves in our area. I do know that there are "grounds keepers" who keep the cemetery neat and clean. How interesting the photos you have shown are. I do like to walk and read the headstones when I visit a cemetery. I am curious about the people and what kind of life they must have lead. Grass, for me, is the hardest thing to get rid of in a place where I do not want it to grow. It always has a mind of it's own and grows back as soon as I remove it.

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  10. Grass is SO hard to remove! Especially that bermuda grass, ugh!

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  11. I loved a ground that is raked......even if there is grass growing. It just looks prettier. Your cemetery photos are so interesting. I love to walk and read headstones of old cemeteries.

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    1. I like your idea of raking even if there is grass! We have no grass here, except that which invades my courtyard, grrr! I actually do water it so that the dogs and cats can nibble on it, though! I love reading the headstones, too...

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  12. I bet a swept yard is easier for you desert folk who maybe struggle to keep grass alive. I have heard of people doing that in "the olden days", lol. My hubby used to drive a little bus that would pick people up in the country and take them to the grocery store. One very old lady had a dirt floor in her house and it was painted red with ox blood. He said it was very well kept and smooth. I love the bright decorations in the cemetery and the Steelers fan sign is funny. I also love how you remember the unremembered. And yes, God does remember every atom! That is such a comfort! :)

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    1. We have only a single house with an actual grass yard in our residential area. They pay oodles of money to keep it alive. I think that packed earthen floor with the ox blood is incredible!

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  13. What??? No grass in a cemetery???! Wow...now that's a first for me. Your posts are always so fascinating. I don't believe I would be a fan of the ground level graves, but am not fond of being buried "down under" either...so, given the choice, I would opt for a vault...a REALLY large vault as I am claustrophobic LOL. And bless you for taking time to remember the unremembered. I think of that so often...there are so many that time has forgotten...as I am sure we all eventually will be. My mother was the caretaker for graves on both her side of the family as well as my father's... I and my sister have picked up (somewhat) where she left off...but I don't know that any of generation after us will continue...They most likely won't even know who is buried where. Really quite sad to think about. Perhaps that is why I am always drawn to those old neglected graves. (I actually found an entire cemetery of them...so strange and eerie all at once.... I posted about it several years back....) ~Robin~

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    1. I know, for some reason, all our traditions and our duties have ground to a halt in MY generation. My father's generation was the last to really take care of things, keep the old ways, have the reunions. I don't understand why it all went kaput. I am going to go in search of that interesting post about the neglected cemetery you discovered!

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  14. All the cemeteries I've been to in California are very kept up, groomed, and adorned with lovely statues and flowers. My Father taught me at a very young age to be respectful of the cemetery grounds. It was interesting to see the cemetery in your area, Holly. As I'm looking around at your pictures, the areas look like raked dirt grounds. Our cemeteries here have grass around the gravesites and are taken care of by the workers. They really are quite lovely. That is so nice that you put a Rosary on some of the gravesites. The statues of Mary at this cemetery are so pretty. The arched gate you saw on the way home looks so charming with the Fall wreath. : ) I really miss visiting my Mom and Dad and loved ones at the cemetery. But my brother reassures me that he puts flowers on their site from time to time. : )

    ~Sheri

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    1. I am so glad your brother puts flowers on the graves. I know the persons are not there, but it's still very much a connection to our departed loved ones.

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  15. Beautiful cemetary decorations. Here at least in some parts the newer cemetaries will not allow above the ground stones to ease in groundskeeping, because there is grass.So they are rather boring and sterile. I like the older cemetaries with their worn statues,angels,and crypts. Thank you for your comment on the crochet work, Not! Having a bit of trouble with one round and particular, frogged multiple times. Patterns written and published in the 80's way different than now. I'll get it figured out...eventually.

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    1. Those old patterns can be very tough. I recall some from the 1920's and 30's and they were TOUGH to understand. There was a lot of hairpin crochet back then, too!

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  16. I would enjoy visiting you. You could take me all around. I am just fascinated with your neck of the woods.

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    1. Come on down! There really is a lot to see here! There was a lot around Tucson, too, but I think our valley is prettiest!

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  17. We dont have above ground headstones anymore, but we do have grass in our cemeteries here. I do like visiting the older cemeteries here that had great headstones. No above ground headstones now because the grounds keepers dont want to be bothered. So sad. I thought in New Orleans folks had to be buried in crypts because the city is below sea level. Janice

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    1. Yes, the water table is too high in New Orleans, and the coffins will heave out of the earth no matter what is done to try to keep them in there. In the desert, there are elaborate headstones and vaults sometimes but the deceased are in the ground.

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  18. I enjoy visiting really old cemeteries and reading the things that were written on the headstones. Those are my favorite cemeteries. I am not fond of the memorial type gardens that just have a flat headstone and nothing significant about it, but that is the way it goes in areas where they need to mow the grass and they don't want to have to do so much maintenance around the headstones. Personally I am not so concerned about what kind of headstone or grave I will have as I will be in heaven and what they do with my body here on earth will no longer be my concern. I will be with Jesus, where He will wipe away every tear from my eye and take away all sorrows and pain forevermore. John 11:25-26 says: 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. 26 And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” Yes, I believe this. "To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord." 2 Corinthians 5:8 And that is all that matters to me. But meanwhile, it is very kind of you to care for the graves of those who have seemingly been forgotten here on earth...but I can assure you, they have not been forgotten in heaven. Praise God!

    Now, as to sweeping the yard, we have a lot of sand here in Florida, and sometimes it is difficult to keep good grass growing, so yes, sweeping the yard makes sense. Back in the olden days they would keep the yard swept to keep the snakes away from the door... Have a wonderful night. I am way behind in reading and trying to get caught up. Thank you for your sweet comments on my recent posts. I always love hearing from you.

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