A Little Girl at the Graveside

Another of the finds in the albums just rediscovered. There is a certain poignancy in this photograph of a young girl at the graveside of - I presume - an elder brother? It is quite unusual to find such a personal photograph like this. The grave is of Frederick Charles Brown who died on August 31, 1919 aged 22 years. Would he have died as a result of the Influenza epidemic that took the lives of millions of people during 1918-1919, I wonder?

A Fen Funeral - Carting the deceased off to the Cemetery

Another find in the creaking attic was this wonderful postcard of a Fenland funeral. Circa 1900, it shows family members on a cart that was taking them and the deceased for burial. The clergyman posing majestically with his stick just has to be a Catholic priest - any thoughts on my identification are welcomed. I wonder if the deceased was a 1900s celebrity to have such a magnificent send off? Click on the image for a closer look.

Paris Dogs Cemetery - Another Find!

Looking for some more material to post, I came across another two large albums of vintage grave art, cemetery, funeral related postcards from around the world. The earlier posts of mine on the Paris Dogs Cemetery were very popular and people won't be surprised to know that they are among the most viewed of any posts I have made to this blog. I was surprised to find another card on the subject, having no knowledge of it being in my collection, but - hey, it must be to do with the passage of time!

It is such a beautiful memorial to a dog much loved by his family and, by the looks of it, a real character!

Havana Bone Yard - some grisly souvenirs!

In Colon Cemetery in Havana, Cuba is the site of the celebrated 'boneyard'. A single grave in the cemetery cost $10 in rent for five years. At the end of the five years, if the remains were not claimed, the bones were thrown into the boneyard [sometimes known as 'bone pile] by the cemetery authorities.

In the 1890s, American soldiers often removed skulls and bones and drove through the streets of Havana displaying them. Their commander, General Brooke ordered the practice to stop and gave instructions for the pit to be covered over. Two cards, here, show American soldiers stood on the thirty foot deep pile holding up bones in the shape of the skull and crossbones. Photographs were taken and sold commercially as souvenir postcards to send home to their loved ones. How times have changed! Remember to click on the images to enlarge them.

Minnie puts her foot in it!

I was just fine-tuning another portrait of Minnie. When my back was turned, she decided to do a little jig on my keyboard and this was the result. I don't know who was more shocked - her or me! Ah, Minnie. You should never mess with Photoshop. Let this be a warning to you!

Digital Art - Is there a place for it?

Last night I came across two examples of digital art that I had produced some time ago. Both flowers were photographed in my garden with a close-up lens and then manipulated in Adobe Photoshop to produce the digital paintings. It was my first attempt at this, but I quite like them, Others may not. Some times digital manipulation can be over done, but I'd still be interested to hear your opinion.

Sylvie perches on the Bird Table

This is Sylvie - Minnie's dearly loved sister who very sadly passed over to the other side two years ago. Sylvie and Minnie came from a kitten farm and were sold as 'designer' cats (an ugly term) to a neighbour's daughter. When she fell pregnant, she decided she had no need for the cats anymore and, not long after we took them on, got rid of her Parson's Jack Russell as well. Draw your own conclusions . . . Two more affectionate cats you could never find!

Minnie makes a bed for herself!

When she is not communing with gnomes, Minnie enjoys spying on squirrels, watching goldfish and, when no-one is looking, making a comfortable bed for herself in an empty bean bag. Here, she is practising being invisible. She thinks I cannot see her and I prefer her to think that. Whatever we think, I find her very appealing and in photographs like this she has a very high 'Ah!' rating - Ahhhhhhhh!

Scarecrows - Releasing the Inner You!

I am full of the Joys of Spring today - the sun is shining; the birds are singing and Sooty is wandering around the garden. Very relaxing! To keep in that positive mood, I though I would share this recently discovered photograph with you. It is of a walker who caught sight of a Scarecrow and decided to the release her inner feelings. I remember thinking that the Scarecrow looked to be very pleased to have some company for a while - a break from its normal solitary existence. Have any of you done anything similar?

Unicorn Snail

I came across an astonishingly rare snail in Paradise Garden - the Unicorn Snail. Textbooks tell me that it has extreme difficulty moving through foliage, especially when turning around, because of the extreme length of its proboscis . . . poor thing!