This was taken at Shiloh Cemetery in Windsor, CA. All I can tell you about it is that there is someone named Matt buried here. What I found interesting was that in a plastic back upon the grave was a journal obviously written by the deceased. I wondered to myself if it was left by the family so anyone could read? I decided to leave it alone out of respect although I almost couldn't resist taking a peak. I figured it must have been left for family members only or just left there because Matt liked to write and they thought it should be with him. I wondered why it wasn't buried with him? Was it an afterthought or something they may have found while going through his belongings after death? It must have been fairly recent and judging by the age of the boy in the picture it was most likely unexpected. I always try to leave things as I find them. Once in awhile I'll stand up some flowers or a small statue that has blown over but that's about as far as I go...
This is how it was preserved by the family...I guess I'll always have to wonder what it said inside...

George C. Yount Pioneer Cemetery and Ancient Indian Burial Ground

During the early part of the 1800's the city we know as Yountville was owned by Mexico. George C. Yount settled in the area in 1831 and became the area's first white settler. In 1836 he was given a land grant by the Mexican government. This would be the first grant to a United States citizen given in Northern California. Yount named his land Rancho Caymus after a Native American tribe in the area. Around 1855 Yount commissioned a surveyor to assist in laying out the town's boundaries and although there was a town by the same name over the hill he called this town Sebastapol. It wasnt' until 2 years after his death that the city's name was changed to Yountvill in honor of George Yount. Today Yountville is a small town in the Napa Valley which is home to wineries and Northern California's only Michelin 3-Star restaurant and two Michelin 1-Star Restaurants.

George C. Yount was born in 1794 in North Carolina. At the age of 10 he left with his family for Missouri and then on to Santa Fe where he made a lot of money distilling but because of the dishonesty of his partner he lost his money as quickly as he'd made it. He then set out for California and reached here in 1831. He is widely considered one of the earliest pioneers on the west coast because for a time he was the only white man that could be found between the Mission of Sonoma and North. Upon his arrival he found that California was overrun by numerous "savage Indian tribes." To me this statement stands out. I wonder to myself if they really were "savage" or if they were simply trying to protect what was rightfully theirs. Grizzly bears were also prevalent on the plains as it has been said that as many as 60 could be seen in 24 hours. It was not unusual for people to kill 5 or 6 in one day. The only sign of a civilized society (if one would call it that after what I'm about to tell you) was the missions. The missions were set up by the Spaniards to help "tame" the savage Indians. Each mission employed 5 or 6 soldiers who would go round up the Indians and bring them back to the mission. Once there they would go through "training" or "instruction". They would then be forced to go out and hunt other Indians and return them to the mission for the same training. Once the mission was well filled another would be started. George Yount befriended the Padre at the Sonoma mission and frequently too charge of it while the Padre traveled to handle affairs in San Rafael. I believe this is why the Mexican government decided to grant him the land in Yountville. George Yount went through many trials with the natives of the area and eventually was able to befriend a few. While defending his house from attack he allowed several Indian women and children through his door to seek protection from another attacking tribe.
The Caymus Indians were a subset of the Wappo Indians and dwelt in and immediately around the George C. Yount land grant. They are honored at the cemetery with a memorial stone pictured here. Normally in places like this I like to stand and see if I can feel the energy that should be emanating from them. Sadly I stood here and could feel nothing. The Caymus and 5 other Indian tribes in the area of modern day Calistoga, St. Helena and Yountville. I wondered to myself as I read this marker. "Is this what they cremated Native Americans would have wanted?" To be mixed with dirt and buried next to white settlers? I'm not so sure as I sit here writing this.

That Thing Thursday

This weeks "Thing" is an emu that I saw while visiting Bubbling Springs Pet Cemetery in Napa, CA. I wanted to go there and see how far people go for their pets burials. There wasn't anything too elaborate but coming from the ghetto it was hard for me to comprehend that there was a place like this in the first place. We probably had 3 or 4 cats, a dog and probably a gold fish or two buried in my backyard. Well at least I thought I did anyway. I don't know what my dad did when we weren't looking and Mom's chili never tasted funny but it seems weird to have a bunch of dead animals in your backyard now that I'm older.They also had a couple Llama in a pen there as well. It's possible these live animals were guarding the sea of dead cats, dogs, rabbits and who knows what else. It's amazing to me that people love their animals so much that their seems to be no separation between animal and human. I guess this all depends on your upbringing. There is a place I did some work in San Francisco called Wag Hotel it's basically a hotel for your dog. The guy took me around the place and showed me everything they do there. I'm not doing a commercial here but this thing is amazing. They have screens in all the rooms and the dog or cat can watch TV. A person can be on vacation and log onto the internet and look at their dog in this room. I think it's rather ridiculous. It's a far stretch from dumping a bag of food on the porch and filling up a bucket of water or asking the neighbor to make sure your dog is fed while you're on vacation. Just amazing...again I think it comes down to upbringing. I guess this is the point where I go on record and say that no I'm not an animal lover but I do like animals. My only rule is they must belong to someone else and that someone else better have control of their animal and be able to prevent it from jumping on me. Yes I will punch your dog if I feel threatened...don't get mad.

Tombstone Tuesday

This picture was taken at Tulocay Cemetery in Napa, CA. The name read Easterby and it was in a sort of open space under this huge tree. The stone itself was pretty raw. Almost as if someone just found a rock and carved the name in it. I need to go back to Tulocay because I had three bored little kids with me that day and it kind of ruined the experience...