A Riverside Cemetery Stroll at Sunset & Melancholy Musings on All Hallow’s Eve
All Hallow’s Eve Sweeps in with a Chill, Beneath the Stained Glass Canopy of Autumn (Acer palmatum at Riverside Cemetery, Massachusetts, established 1714)
In the late days of October and early November —as fog sweeps across the fields and chilly frost settles in the valleys— melancholy thoughts begin to stir. Autumn is a beautiful time of year, but its beauty is owed, at least in part, to a certain sadness. This is a season of endings; of lengthening shadows, falling leaves, frost-blackened seedpods and departing songbirds. New England’s distinct and dramatic seasonal shifts have always invited poetic musings. In the garden, we celebrate these annual changes; understanding that however somber, there is beauty in endings as well as beginnings. With low, slanting light filtering through a canopy of brilliant fall foliage —red, orange and gold playing against slate grey tombstones— cemeteries in the Northeast are particularly beautiful places for contemplative, autumn strolls.
In honor of All Hallow’s Eve, a sunset stroll through Riverside Cemetery . . .
Like this post? You may also enjoy previous All Hallow’s Eve entries. Explore a few more, below . . .
 Haunting Forest Hills Cemetery with Photographer Liz Kelleher
When Darkness Falls: Revenge of Wolfie, the Garden GnomeÂ
Darkness Falls Across the Land
He Who Walks Behind the Rows, with Photographer Tim Geiss
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2 Replies to “A Riverside Cemetery Stroll at Sunset & Melancholy Musings on All Hallow’s Eve”
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Ah, how is it that we are come here yet again? What drives us to haunt these luminous glades of eternal rest; particularly at this, their most auspicious time of year? Do we tread through streams of Golden Light; to heed the call of restless Spirits and reconnect us with their past?
I confess that there are many things drawing me to cemeteries, throughout the year. Initially, I think the beauty of headstones, and the names/words/stories inscribed attracted me. Later, the plantings —ancient trees, mature shrubs, wildflowers, native grasses— drew me in. And given the light and the incredible autumn foliage, I think this has become my favorite time of year to haunt graveyards. I hope the sleeping residents don’t mind my presence too much.