Christmas at Mount Auburn Cemetery

Photos taken at the Mount Auburn Cemetery in Watertown, MA, on December 25, 2008.

Here's a general view near the cemetery entrance. It was a beautiful day, with snow on the ground from earlier in the week but temperatures well above freezing.

Besides being a cemetery, Mt. Auburn was founded as an arboretum and holds many spectacular large tree specimens. I didn't go through the snow to read the label on this one, but it looks like a maple to me. Without the leaves, you have to pay attention to the shape of the tree and the texture of bark.

This one is a purple beech. It's really got a massive trunk.

I saw a number of tombstones featuring a woman with an anchor. I'm not sure exactly what the symbolism is here; looking it up, I see an anchor is a symbol of hope, but who's the woman?

The angel-with-trumpet theme was also popular.

The round monument overlooking the pond is a memorial to Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of the Christian Science movement.

This tree, by a different pond, is a weeping katsura, a tree native to Japan.

Not far from the katsura tree, this bird feeder was attracting lots of visitors. Here it's got a titmouse and a chickadee.

Here's another titmouse.

On the other side of the feeder, I think these are most likely House Sparrows (although it's hard to tell from this photo). I also saw several juncos and a female cardinal lurking in the shrubbery nearby.

Tall ornamental grasses in the snow.

Here's the observation tower on top of the hill. I'm not sure what the red berries in the foreground are, but I assume they're not any good to eat -- or the birds would have gotten them long before this time of year.

A view of yet another pond.

As I was taking the previous photo, this large bird flew by and landed in a tree just up the road. I'm pretty sure it's a juvenile red-tail hawk, without a red tail yet. I've seen the red-tails here, and along the river nearby, two or three times before on previous walks, so I know they nest here.

This is cropped down at maximum resolution of my wimpy camera.

This was taken from almost directly underneath. The hawk seemed quite curious about me but was not at all afraid.

You can see how fluffy the hawk's feathers are -- he's very well insulated.

This tree with the twisty branches is a horse chestnut.

The bark of sugar maples gets shaggier as they age. This one must be a very old tree.

Back to the main photography page.

	Here's a general view near the cemetery entrance. It was a beautiful day, with snow on the ground from earlier in the week but temperatures well above freezing.
	Besides being a cemetery, Mt. Auburn was founded as an arboretum and holds many spectacular large tree specimens. I didn't go through the snow to read the label on this one, but it looks like a maple to me. Without the leaves, you have to pay attention to the shape of the tree and the texture of bark.
	This one is a purple beech. It's really got a massive trunk.
	I saw a number of tombstones featuring a woman with an anchor. I'm not sure exactly what the symbolism is here; looking it up, I see an anchor is a symbol of hope, but who's the woman?
	The angel-with-trumpet theme was also popular.
	The round monument overlooking the pond is a memorial to Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of the Christian Science movement.
	This tree, by a different pond, is a weeping katsura, a tree native to Japan.
	Not far from the katsura tree, this bird feeder was attracting lots of visitors. Here it's got a titmouse and a chickadee.
	Here's another titmouse.
	On the other side of the feeder, I think these are most likely House Sparrows (although it's hard to tell from this photo). I also saw several juncos and a female cardinal lurking in the shrubbery nearby.
	Tall ornamental grasses in the snow.
	Here's the observation tower on top of the hill. I'm not sure what the red berries in the foreground are, but I assume they're not any good to eat -- or the birds would have gotten them long before this time of year.
	A view of yet another pond.
	As I was taking the previous photo, this large bird flew by and landed in a tree just up the road. I'm pretty sure it's a juvenile red-tail hawk, without a red tail yet. I've seen the red-tails here, and along the river nearby, two or three times before on previous walks, so I know they nest here.
	This is cropped down at maximum resolution of my wimpy camera.
	This was taken from almost directly underneath. The hawk seemed quite curious about me but was not at all afraid.
	You can see how fluffy the hawk's feathers are -- he's very well insulated.
	This tree with the twisty branches is a horse chestnut.
	The bark of sugar maples gets shaggier as they age. This one must be a very old tree.