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 Gnome
Darkness Falls Across the Land
He Who Walks Behind the Rows, with Photographer Tim Geiss
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