Thanks for the kind words. My cousin, Steve Sharp was a pretty good fellow. They lived down here very briefly. I'll tell a funny story about them moving back to Rome Ga in the middle of the night later on. His wife [my 1st cousin] and I are the same age, 52. He can't be but four of five years older. About ten years ago he had a really bad heart attack. I haven't talked to anyone from up there, but I would assume it was his heart.
I spent all afternoon working at the graveyard. My handyman and his young helper came down and pitched in when they finish the cement for the front porch steps. It had been needing cutting and trimming for a couple of weeks, so it was a job of work. But it was grown up in the little white wildflowers more than anything else. That is why I hadn't cut it sooner.
We used the Yard King 22 hp 46" & Husqvarna YTH 24-48 riders, a Troy-Bilt 675 EX 190 electric start self-propelled push mower, and an old Solo 140 string trimmer.
We also took down an old barb wire fence. Back when we put in the graveyard, we just took half an acre out of Uncle James' hayfield. The old fence was right up behind the last row of graves, and it made trimming behind them hard. Years later after the hayfield had been planted in pines, my Dad and I took it on ourselves to tear down that fence to give us more room. Since my cousin lived away, we didn't bother to ask her about it. We just put up a new fence, and planted Leland Cypress along two sides of the graveyard. The next time she came to Fl, she wasn't real happy we had taken in a little of her land.
This was about fourteen or fifteen years ago. The trees have really grown and are looking good. Today I found out my cousin wants Steve to be buried on the other side of her parents, away from the road. So she is having three of the tallest trees pushed up to extend the graveyard further back, onto her land. [the Leland's are on her side of the line] There is maybe seven or eight trees along each side, so with the three out, it will look snaggletoothed.
But I doubt any of the occupants will complain.
Her friend is coming in the morning with his dozer to push the trees. That's why I went ahead and took the fence down. Well that, and the fact it was my posts and wire. When we get back from Panama City tomorrow afternoon, I will find out how it looks.
That will keep me inside most of the day.
