crown hill

Crown Hill Cemetery is one of the three largest in the U.S. I read that it is 555 acres. I couldn't believe that it was that large, but I'm really bad at estimating land mass. In the 4th grade, we had an assignment to create our own country. Mine was an island, a one square mile island that had mountains and deserts and lakes and towns and cities. I am still convinced that it was the coolest country in our class (except for the size). I just didn't grasp what one square mile meant, and I was too embarrased to ask someone to show me. So, while I can estimate how much space I have from my car to the car in front of me, or guess how many inches of paper or fabric I need for a design, I cannot do it on a large scale. I digress...
So, Marshall, Stewart, Nigel and I went to Crown Hill yesterday for our nature walk. We're studying trees this month and I'd heard that there were lovely trees there, and that they were labeled. To be exact, there are over 100 species of trees. I envisioned them being labeled with their common name written out. Instead, they are more practically marked and identified with a numerical tag attached to their trunks. I learned later that you can get the key to the numbering system at the office, which has both the common and scientific name on it. We'll plan for that next time.