Carlsruhe Cemetery, Carlsruhe. Victoria.

Well, that’s it for another year and I think it’s best to greet in the New Year with a quick fire post with a cemetery in it. I’d like to write that next year I’m seeking spiritual and emotional growth which does sound nice and fluffy, but it doesn’t really fit the fiasco style.

I’m sorry to say, but the only thing fluffy you’ll get in this entry are Cumulonimbus clouds, Stratocumulus and if you’re lucky, Altostratus clouds as well.

I’m actually meant to be hiking this weekend, but an incident with a largish television and my lower back means I’m putting my feet up, but it does give me a valid excuse to indulge in some New Year’s Eve Valium (NYEVA) action.

I thoroughly recommend it to anyone seeking a bit of a ‘spaced out’ evening. Actually it’s a perfect medication to numb my senses, so I don’t get too frightened at midnight by the illegal fireworks detonating in the the western suburbs of Melbourne. I expect it to be like Baghdad in a couple of hours as rockets whiz over the house.

Now, there’s one thing about Australia. It’s not very old in white bloke European terms. I mean, we only took over the place with guns and dull names 200 years ago, so our history seems a little light on the ground regarding man made things. Where do I go to find a bit of history?

Well the answer is quite obvious seeing how it’s in the heading of this post and that’s cemeteries of course. There’s always a bit of an insight into the past on old gravestones. Small towns have the pick of these and last week I was introduced to the Carlsruhe Cemetery, which sits a short distance from Hanging Rock near Macedon.

Even better than hanging out in a quiet, peaceful area was Melbourne was about to be bombarded with storms on Christmas day, and I got to watch the clouds rolling through at a distance.

Anyway, between clouds I did get to potter around the cemetery for a half hour or so, until hay-fever began to get the better of me and I had to retreat.

Carlsruhe Cemetery sits on a slight hill overlooking the Macedon Ranges and Hanging Rock. It does have a peculiar set up though, as it’s on an enormous plot of land, leaving wide spaces between the graves. Not to mention the long grass which covers the area. It was a case of standing in grass over my knees trying to pick out the tops of headstones.

The standard sobering affair of an old cemetery is the ages of the occupants. This one had its fair share of children.

It was warm and sunny and between fossicking in long grass I was keeping an eye on the enormous cloud mass moving across the Macedon Ranges.

In fact, I’ll just upload some photos whilst I make another cup of tea.

During this wandering I did find the best inscription on a grave that I’ve seen for some time. It seemed a perfect epitaph for my father who at about 135 years of age has been saying he’s close to death. The trouble with all this is he’s been saying it for the past 15 years.

Don’t forget, he told me he was close to death and all he wanted to see was the upcoming Olympic Games. Mind you, that’s the Sydney Olympics I’m talking about. He’s been dying for so long I think everyone has given up, so when he genuinely kicks it most people will think he’s just having us on. Anyway, here’s the gravestone I’m talking about.

Okay, it might need a comma after ‘see’, but it’s understandable as some engravers charge by the letter. Knowing my popularity, my headstone will probably be written in SMS speak in order to save a dollar or two. You know, like, ‘Gr8 he ded. Lol’. That sort of thing.

That’s it for the cemetery tour and I told you it was going to be a quick entry. I’m just battening the hatches in my bunker for the rogue rockets. Lucky my alfoil helmet is close at hand.

Let me finish off with some random photos of the Carlsruhe area. It’s a great place and I was lucky to be there during the annual alpaca races. Here’s a few of the competitors lined up, ready to go.

Did I fit in all the cloud groups I mentioned earlier? I think I missed out on one, but here’s some gnarly weather for you to look at, including what looked like a sheet of rain passing by.

I’ve always wanted to get a photo in the annual Bureau of Meteorology calendar. I’m impressed the prizes have been upped lately for the lucky people who get a picture published. They hand out three calendars as a prize now. Yeah!

A few more clouds and I’m logging off. I just heard a rocket go by and it’s still two hours until midnight.