is for Untimely

 U is for untimely. By being so easy to distract, I have most likely caused the un-timely death of a couple plants. The poor dears, after hanging on all winter, with lousy lighting, and subjected to poor watering by yours truly, they have probably succumbed to death by frost exposure. One was my plain green spider plant, it is a great plant, the striped variety is easier to find, my Mom gave me this one several years ago. I don't mean to abuse it, but after a summer outdoors it is magnificent and glorious! The other is a flowering vine, not native to this zone, so was sold as an annual, but I bring it inside, and it bounces back, this time of year it looks pretty spindly and sick, but it too flourishes in the outdoors -- that is until now... Last night I was out with my son, searching the local cemeteries for evidence of another death much too early. When I returned home as darkness fell, I forgot to cover the plants, grrrrr (yet another reason I want a small green house) Anyways, I got up early, and have watered them, in hopes I may have saved them, but it isn't looking good...

Both my Aunts, who live away from here, are home for a few days, and they have been working on various aspects of the family history. One small step in the project was to find the grave site of Addie Craig. Born in 1921, and later died at 18, the records and the story of her young life are a bit fuzzy. One tale says she was a kind, and perhaps a bit simple soul, and was taken advantage of by an older man. Under shameful circumstances was sent away to have a baby, who was adopted to a couple and maybe came back to NH once to see where his biological roots began. Meanwhile Addie died of complications following the birth. Another tale says she ran away to Massachusetts to have her baby, and the infant died early of malnutrition, and she was so grief-stricken, she then took her own life. Some snippets from lore say her own Mother, had a rough life, and didn't exactly cherish Addie, and sent her to live with an Aunt & Uncle who had no children of their own, having married later in life. The poor girl, I hope somewhere in the universe her spirit knows we are thinking of her, and I'd like to send some love her way.

It was getting quite dark, and difficult to read the old stones, we were not able to find her marker, perhaps in the light of day. We did find many interesting and beautiful stones, family and otherwise. Many from the 1700's and early 1800's. Found some soldiers from the Revolutionary War, may sound odd, but was a lovely evening.

Addie Craig (1937?)