ShaniFaye

So this week I got a request to go photograph some graves..at a cemetery very few people (including me) know how to find lol. In my county there are two cemeteries, Ewing Chapel Cemetery and Old Ewing Chapel Cemetery. I've known for 20+ years that the old one was in the wood somewhere...and this was the cemetery I got a request for. Dave and I set out early early this morning to try to beat the days heat and traffic and find it. No such luck on our own, but at the "newer" one, it was evidently clean up day so we stopped and asked a group of very old men if any of them happened to know where the old one was. They did of course and told me how to go find it, it was very near and on private property. Trouble was the directions of "go up the road a piece and turn left at the telephone pole on the dirt road" wasnt quite as specific as I needed, there were several dirt roads at telephone poles lol. We went back to ask again and a very nice man volunteered to take us up there, so he got in his truck and we followed him. When we got there I was just devastated by the condition, it was so overgrown and covered in fallen trees.

There are supposed to be 12 graves there but you can only see five (I will go back in the winter and see if you can see anymore after everything has died). While Im walking around snapping pics and watching for snakes, I stopped to take a pic of a stone when I pulled the camera away from my face, out of the bottom of my eye it looked like the ground was moving....and from my knees down I was covered in about 200 yellow jackets. I freaked just a little, I am EXTREMELY allergic and have to carry an epi pen (which I had on me), but I was wearing jeans since I knew I was gonna be in the woods and calmly walked away instead of running, trying not to pee down my leg in fear (last time I got stung by just one wasp it was a disaster). I was cussing loudly and like a sailor...Dave who was over aways with the older gentleman was running to find out what was wrong and when I told him he starts quoting a monologue by our favorite comedian (Eddie Izzard) about being 'COVERED IN BEEEEES" he was giggling and I had to laugh and it calmed me down. I had evidently stepped right in the nest, but by calmly walking away they stayed where they were. It was quite an interesting morning, but its so so so sad the condition this cemetery is in. Im going to be contacting the historical society cemetery preservation group to see if there is something that cant be done. This an album where I uploaded the pics I took if you'd like to see Picasa Web Albums - Shani - Ewing Chapel ... an interesting pic is the grave for Mary Ewing, if you zoom in on the pic and look, you can see where they ran out of room for her name and put the last letter of her first name on the 2nd line of the stone.

I think Im going to get an extra epi pen for this kind of thing HAH

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I want the diabetic plan that comes with rollover carbs. I dont like the unused one expiring at midnite!!

sapiens

Interesting story. It reminded me of Indiana Jones and his fear of snakes. Thanks for sharing!

ratbastid

I always said you're the bee's knees!!