Cemetery Therapy

Whew, what a day! Harried and hurried from pillar to post, buffeted by life and bruised by circumstance. But lots of little things happened to stabilize my tempest-tossed heart, like sweet texts from friends, a good painting, and then a slow meandering drive home with Jesus. We made a stop at my favorite cemetery and by the time I was done taking pictures and tromping through the drizzle I felt 100% better. Below are some of the sights that soothed my soul. This is one of the oldest parts of the cemetery as far as I can tell: I call it the Ivy Grove because the old-growth ivy still clings to the trees even though the ivy trunks have long been cut: Just to the west of the grove this blooming thing is grown up in the middle of some non-blooming thing. This is my favorite tombstone in the grove. It says "Infant daughter of T.R. & L. Winston, Feb. 17, 1883." My two other favorites are Matilda Jackson's and the confederate Lieutenant who died in Lewis County in 1924. What?! Last of all is the huge tree that dominates the whole yard. It's leaves are almost black, though they're red/maroon from most angles. Any idea what sort of tree it is?