Sorry to be so maudlin, but I took these photos last week, and I could not help sharing the beautiful blooming lawn with you.
The cemetery, which is part of the Basking Ridge Presbyterian Church, dates from the eighteenth century.
The old oak tree you see here is thought to be at least 600 years old. That would make it a sapling when Columbus discovered America, and already full grown when Jamestown was settled in 1607.
History tells us that famous English evangelists James Davenport and George Whitefield preached to a crowd of 3000 in the shade of its branches in 1740.
George Washington shared a picnic here with his officers, including the Marquis de Lafayette, during the Revolutionary War. Today it's branches spread over 156 feet, making it the widest of any tree in New Jersey.
"Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year. No man has learned anything rightly, until he knows that every day is Doomsday."
~Ralph Waldo Emerson
Basking Ridge Presbyterian Church
1 East Oak Street
Basking Ridge, NJ 07920
Posts
oh...I enjoyed these pictures and the history....thanks so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteWhat a tree, Mary. What a place! The flowers are wonderful too. Just yesterday I was shooting in a cemetery filled with ground flowers also. There's something so peaceful about being there. It almost seems untouched by the outside world.
ReplyDeleteThis is someplace I would love to visit!
wow... thanks for sharing such beautiful photos! Love them!
ReplyDeleteflory
Oh Mary...this is not maudlin at all...it is GLORIOUS!!
ReplyDeleteMy Mom always said "its not the dead you have to fear...only the living can hurt you."
I intended to capture my beautiful pink crabapple tree in bloom but some heavy winds took off all the blossoms before I could get out there. I'll have to wait till next year. In the meantime, I'll enjoy your shots. :-)
That big tree is georgous! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteRobin
If trees could talk!
ReplyDeleteIt is beautiful. I love very old cemeteries! Thanks for posting this beautiful spot.
Becky K.
Hospitality Lane
Beautiful pictures, thanks for sharing them with us:-)
ReplyDeleteI love old cemeteries. There is so much history one can learn from such a place. Thanks for sharing the beautiful pictures and history. It looks like a peaceful final resting place. Carla
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful, mighty tree. Wonderful pictures and the blossom are so pretty! Thank you! Cathy
ReplyDeleteOh. My. How beautiful this is! The photos are great - - - the composition is perfect! Thank you for sharing with us!
ReplyDeleteRe: the blooming lawn. I've been hearing more and more about this & this is the most perfect example of it! http://taradillard.blogspot.com/2010/04/best-lawn-tara-turf.html
I love the photos and the stories, how wonderful to live near such a rich history. Your photos are beautiful, as usual! These are particularly peaceful!
ReplyDelete*Ü*
Joni
Old cemeteries and old trees are beautiful...Love every single picture Mary!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful!
ReplyDeleteI've driven past this church, but have never stopped to really look.
Must remedy that!
Cass
PS What is that blooming lawn? Do you know?
Cass
Cass, I think it is something called "Spring Beauty" -- Latin name claytonia virginica. There are some dandelions and bugle in there, too.
ReplyDeleteHi Mary! You know, I love to go to olden cemeteries! This is so pretty with the blooms and trees. It's interesting to walk around and read the headstones. Your photos are so breathtaking!
ReplyDeleteI'm having a party at my blog this Friday and would love for you to come.
Be a sweetie,
Shelia ;)
Wow... I would LOVE to see this! My mom and I are always visiting old cemeteries. So fascinating (especially that 600 year old tree!)
ReplyDeleteI love old cemeteries. Beautiful landscaping.
ReplyDeleteThe old tree looks like it should be in a movie. Those headstones are very interesting too, lots of history 'lying' in that old cemetery.
ReplyDeleteJust beautiful...very similar to my church here in Norwalk, CT...pre-revolutionary cemetery....Love them.
ReplyDeleteI love.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed seeing these pictures. The oak is just beautiful. What it has seen in 600 years!
ReplyDeletexoxo
Jane
Beautiful!
ReplyDeleteI find old cemeteries with large trees to be beautiful restful places and not maudlin at all. Lovely photos.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing these great photos and the history with us.
ReplyDeleteWhat a stunning photograph, and a perfect pieceful place to rest. Cemetery's are fascinating places.
ReplyDeleteRee is a beauty...
ReplyDeleteUsed to take my little ones on hikes through the grave yard which was close to our home.
We learned many things on those little excursions...
Great history lessons,
xoxo~Kathy @
Sweet Up-North Mornings...
i love old trees. Do you hug trees Mary. They talk you know. I wonder what this one would say-it has a few stories in its branches eh! xxo
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed both the pictures and the history!! I love to hear stories like that! And, I love to ramble in old cemetaries (or new ones). My husband and I walk around a very large old cemetary that is near our home very frequently.
ReplyDeletei love bits of history like this - beautiful shots.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful pictures! I love the quietness of old cemetaries.
ReplyDeleteI love that giant old tree. Cemeteries are a good place to contemplate life, I've always thought.
ReplyDeletemary, as always your photos are beautiful. i'm wondering if your blog is the one with the lovely photo screen thing to put over the tv above the fireplace? i read it somewhere but cannot find it now that i need it. if you did this treatment can you direct me to your post about it? or, if you know of it from somewhere else would you share that info?
ReplyDeleteJane, no it was not my blog, and I'm sorry but I don't recall reading about that anywhere lately... :)
ReplyDeleteNot a single thing wrong with taking photo's of the cemetary. We will all rest in one someday.
ReplyDeleteRest...ahhh...sounds lovely! Maybe not eternally, but nice none the less.
Mary, your photography just gets more and more beautiful!
I read the above comment from Jane...and I would love having any one of your photo's hanging in my home...on my computer screen...
Are they on yours? :)
You could put them on a disk and we could buy one..and well...there ya go! Everyone is happy!
Love your work, Mary! LOVE it!
Mona
that oak! how grand...with so many stories to tell. and those cute blossoms covering the ground are tiny reminders to get us to stop and take a closer look. i love how you always find something grand and beautiful to share. and the history lesson never hurts! ;)
ReplyDeleteBeautiful, Mary.. Southampton was settled in 1640 and I like to walk through the old cemeteries..such history!
ReplyDeleteHope you have a wonderful Mother's Day!