Memorial day weekend thoughts

Category: gardening among the rocks | Posted: Mon May 28, 2007 3:49 am

OK, I'll admit it, I'm just not much into visiting the tombs of my ancestors. But Mom managed to get my Becky & I to go along to the two pioneer cemetaries to tidy up. The first was the site of my dad's mother, a McCash. I've always wanted to learn more about that side of the family, and while I was pulling weeds and brushing off moss, this tiny old lady walked over and asked how I was related- turns out she was my grandmothers cousin! Now you must understand, my grandmother died when my dad was a baby so not only did I never know her, noone spoke of her either. I wound up chatting with this dear lady for an hour, about grandma and the family. She showed me a long-hidden gravesite at the base of a tree, where my great-great grandparents were buried in the 1800's. We never knew it was there!
Then it was off to the graveyard on Mom's side- the oldest monument there is from the mid-1700's and yes, was an ancestor. Cornelia Griswold, always liked that name. I'm named for my grandmother and her grandmother- another Scot thankyouverymuch. This graveyard was fully equipped for generations who would walk from town, and the mound of earth where the outhouse stood has several very-healthy shrubs ornamenting it's top. The hand-pump wasn't working, but I'm sure it just needed a part replaced. My littlest niece was too tiny to pull the handle down even when she was hanging full-weight on it. She's my brother's daughter. Waaay back,when my brother and I finally, together, triumphed in pulling the pump handle down, and felt that rewarding gooosh of water into the bucket, was almost a rite of passage. Mind you, I'm very happy for indoor plumbing, especially since our well is 150 feet deep, but turning on a faucet could never inspire the same memory-feelings as that distinctive gooosh sound.
I got a bunch of new freebie plants, a couple of "wild" geraniums, an oak trying to grow where it ought not, a huge lot of iris rhizomes, and a sad-looking displaced fern. I'm challenging myself this year with relearning everything I used to know about propogation. I'm a complete faliure with seeds, But grafting, layering,tip cuttings, I had great success with all that back in the day.
Had my little Max into the vet for his first visit and rabies shot. The gal I'd bought him from said he was "fixed", but the vet showed me otherwise. Oops.
So I'm going to assume that the other things she told me were, um, creative embellishments, and I'll start his series of puppy shots next time I can get up to the feed store.
I think my Becky shall be too sick for school Tuesday. Though not too sick to see a matinee of Pirates of the Carribean. Oooo, what a naughty mommy I am! Hope this nausea from a medication adjustment corrects it'self by then, or seeing Davey Jones and his slimy tentacles... *shudder*

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daff wrote on Mon May 28, 2007 8:39 am:

That`s great you actually met a distant relative, will you be keeping in touch with her ???
Did you learn anything about your family. xxx

eileen wrote on Mon May 28, 2007 10:43 am:

Isn't it amazing who we can meet up with - and in the strangest of places sometimes? Your grandmothers cousin probably had a wonderful time with you relating stories from her, and your, past. I hope you swapped names, addresses and telephone numbers as it would be a shame to lose touch.

Let's hope Max has no after effects from his rabies shot. Glad to hear you're not taking the rest of the sellers information at face value and are going to get his puppy shots done - better safe than sorry.