ALWAYS WALK LIGHTLY UPON CEMETERY GROUNDS
SHOWING RESPECT FOR THOSE RESTING HERE
LAKE VIEW CEMETERY
EARTHCACHE REQUIREMENTS
Each cacher must send his/her own answers BEFORE logging a find. ... "Geocachers must complete the tasks before they log the EarthCache as found." (4.3. EarthCache logging tasks)
Enjoy the journey (learning adventure) as well as the destination (smiley earned). Remember to take only pictures and leave only footprints. To get credit for this Earthcache, complete the following tasks:
NOTE: Answers via message -and- log signature picture is required to post a find for this cache.
1. MESSAGE …. Remove a tiny portion of the green covering from a gravestone at or near the posted coordinates. Choose your sample where this will not detract from the stone. ... a. What is the texture? / b. Describe any change to the stone caused by this green mantle.
2. MESSAGE …. Travel the cemetery and find one each of a granite, marble, and sandstone with non-vasclar plants attached to some portion of the gravestone. ... a. Describe how non-vascular plants affect each of the different types of gravestones. / b. Which of the three types is most resistant to weathering by non-vascular plants? / c. Which of the three types is lease resistant to weathering by non-vascular plants?
3. LOG …. Post a picture of you or your signature item at the three stones you discovered for question 2.
OPTIONAL - Please respect the time and effort involved in finding and creating this earthcache by adding A B C to your log.
A. Visit a memorial honoring our fallen heroes. Post a picture at the memorial. Label picture with name and location of memorial.
B. JOURNEY OF THE MIND ... Science explains what we observe. Relate (in your own words) something you found interesting in the reading. This adds to your learning adventure and your log.
C. JOURNEY OF THE HEART ... Art shares our personal experience of what we see. Share something special you found on site, and why it is special to you ... prose / story / poem / picture. This is a memorable addition to your log and will make other hearts smile.
Journeys of Heart and Mind ...
Stories to Touch the Heart and Puzzles to Challenge the Mind / Rainbow Tree Story
THANK YOU Cemetery Personnel for permission to share this learning adventure.
GRAVESTONES
Granite - Speckled appearance with sparkly and dull black flecks
Marble - White with veins of bgray
Sandstone - Gritty texture
BIOLOGICAL WEATHERING BY NONVASCULAR PLANTS
These plants are smaller and cover surface of rocks. They grow on essentially bare rock surfaces and create a more humid chemical microenvironment. The attachment of these organisms to the rock surface enhances physical as well as chemical breakdown of the surface microlayer of the rock.
ALGAE ... Green algae is a smooth or slippery green growth that thrives where there is moisture and partial sunlight. Black algae, with its protective dark capsule, is a black or gray growth that thrives where there is moisture and sunlight. It can make a gravestone look as though it has been rubbed with soot,
LICHEN ... These plants can be almost any color, are extremely hardy growing on almost any surface (including glass), and have been found on all of Earth’s continents, including Antarctica. Lichen is one of the most severe growths for headstones. This scaly growth can become thick enough to completely fill in carvings and make burial markers completely unreadable. ... By holding moisture against the stone or other material surface lichens but more so moss speed the wear of the surface in freezing climates by increasing frost damage to the surface and by action of the organism's "roots" that penetrate the material surface.
MOSS ... This a velverty green plant with root-like structures predominantly growing in cracks and crevices.
MOLD AND MILDEW ... This is black, gray or white growing in shady, samp areas. It has a musty odor.
RESOURCES ... Lichen / Growths / Algae / Biological Weathering / Wet & Forget / Gravestones / Identification of Gravestones
This series is dedicated to my dad who served in World War II.
GOD’S PROMISE …. A MOTHER’S LOVE
Told by my uncle (Joseph) ... And my father (Anthony)
Family was seated around the table on Thanksgiving Day when my uncle related why he and his brother returned home safely from the war.
Unbeknownst to my uncle aboard the carrier transporting him across the Atlantic, his ship was targeted by an underwater submarine. There were flashes in the distance that he later learned was the submarine being destroyed.
While stationed in Europe, his base was targeted by enemy fire. He awoke to the sound of the thundering of bombs exploding and saw the dark sky turn bright as the noonday sun. Men were scrambling for safety, but he remained seated with a peace that passeth all understanding. When the carnage was over, he looked down. There was a piece of shrapnel lodged just above his heart, but had not penetrated through his clothing.
Similarly, unbeknownst to my father aboard the carrier transporting him across the Pacific, his ship was targeted by an underwater submarine. There were flashes in the distance that he later learned was the submarine being destroyed.
My father loved to be amongst nature whenever and wherever. One day he was comfortably seated below a tree in the jungles of Australia. He laid his helmet beside him and was enjoying the peace of the moment. When it was time to leave, he reached for his helmet but was guided to look within before placing it upon his head. There sat a poisonous spider which would have surely been his demise. He dislodged the spider and returned to camp.
One day while on her knees communing with the Creator, my grandmother prayed for her sons to return home safely. She arose from prayer knowing God’s hand was upon her sons and they would return unharmed.
And so it was, many close encounters, but my uncle and my father each made it safely home. It was there the two brothers learned of God’s Promise and their Mother’s Love.