St. Martin's

The cemetery that surrounds St. martin's church is a fascinating one. There are many stones with a thick covering of moss such as the one above.



Sitting on the top of a small hill just next to a rushing stream, this small cemetery is filled with interesting markers, both old and new (-ish).

The one below, whose date we could not locate, has Adam and Eve at the top with the snake and the famous tree. At the bottom are the common symbols of a short life and death, not all of which we have quite sussed out just yet.

On this stone, the mosses and lichens seem to have worked with the stone carvings to help it become something more.

At the bottom of this marker is the hourglass and crossbones. The symbol on the left is one we have not yet figured out, but its meaning must be tied to that of the other two.

It is unclear to me if this means that David Bannerman is the father of the church in Scotland (which I doubt) or this stone was erected by the unnamed father (which seems odd), or if Rev. Bannerman is just one of the man with that title. In any case, this plaque set in the wall of the church give a good precis of his life.

A straightforward inscription on handsome stone.

The church was locked, so this is about the best I can do for a look at it.

Like so many other places, there are snowdrops growing in the cemetery.

But the real prize is in the bottom-land by the stream near the church. Here we find a field of snowdrops illuminating a chaotic forest of fallen trees and grasping vines.