"Rural" Cemeteries vs. Rural Cemeteries

Today I have another meeting with my honours advisor. I get really excited about my meetings, because it is so exciting to share what I have been learning. This week I haven't actually done any reading... which is not at all good, being as that is kind of what my entire job is for this term. I have been sick and I was just falling asleep anytime I started to read or study anything. Also I had a mid-term in a different course, which was nerve wracking because it was a music listening exam, which is something I am not always confident on.

While I feel like I have been completely unproductive, I am also feeling kind of good about what I accomplished this weekend on my trip home to see my family. (It was my dad's 50th Birthday, my mom planned a surprise for him. It was awesome!) My mom and dad came with me/took me to see three cemeteries that are nearby our home. Sometimes I find it really hard to think that me going to cemeteries is actually me doing research because it is so much fun for me. 

First let me explain that when I am referring to "rural cemeteries" I am generally talking about urban cemeteries. A rural cemetery is generally found in urban centres that were cities at the turn of the century. They are laid out in a park like manner, with landscaped trees and pathways, maybe even a water feature. Rural cemeteries are often on hills, and are located away from what would have been the centre of town when a city was younger... perhaps it was even in what would have been the country. (Makes sense considering the land for the cemetery was typically purchased from a farmer.) There are typically no grave covers, and there are often no iron or picket fences around graves or plots either. The rural cemetery is not associated with a specific religious group, though they are generally the Protestant cemetery in the area, and they are laid out in a way that will offer people a connection that will help them to grieve by restoring a relationship with nature that has been lost in the busy urban world. They are as much a city park as a city cemetery.

Second, there seems to be an issue with calling cemeteries in rural areas "rural cemeteries," as they are more like the old church graveyards (and often still are church graveyards.) So I think I may have to call the "country cemeteries" to avoid confusion. That being said, there are some differences I have found in country cemeteries that suggests, perhaps, a different attitude towards death than was present in the city. I don't know if there is actually a difference in attitudes however, as it seems that a reason for creating a rural cemetery in the city was to give the city folk a place to escape to the slowness and heritage of the country that they have left behind. And as the country folk are still connected with the land, they are obviously not going to need to have a peaceful "rural cemetery." Additionally, the population being less, there isn't really the money to maintain a manicured and landscaped cemetery. 

There are some more physical things that I have found to be different in country cemeteries I have visited so far. There are, for one thing, more grave covers. I don't know yet why this is. Family plots are also a bit different, with the graves being very close together. Also there are a few plots that had trees planted on top of them, which would never happen in a rural cemetery, as there are rules in order to maintain the landscape.
(At this point the internet in the library cut out, so I have not idea what I was going to say after this...)

Here are some pictures:

We found this friendly black cat at the cemetery... I thought it funny.