"Meet Me At The Cemetery Gates"

"Another sunny day, so i meet you at the cemetery gates...." (Morrissey, 'The Smiths')

'Llano Cemetery' is a classic example of cemeteries in this region. They are typically festooned with plastic flowers, giving them a slighly eerie colourfulness. I assume this is done because of the lack of water.
'The Yellow Rose Of Texas' is a common choice, naturally (well, not exactly natural ).









Some of the headstones intrigued me...











...particulary this one for young cowboy, Colt Cluck, whose familly keep his memory alive by decorating his grave with pictures and the tools of his trade. R.I.P.

Memorial Day

Memorial Day is a public holiday all across the USA when the nation honors its war veterans.
Pipes and drums are the norm, and it took place at the cemetery.



It's equivalent to the British Rememberance Day.

Be Warned!

Thank you Stanley...
....a timely reminder to people passing by this garage sale, where they were trying to find homes for the little kitties.

The Graduate

Last year, i had a high school student as a classroom assistant. This year, she invited me to watch her graduate.









Having never seen a full on High School Graduation before, i was impressed by the sense of occassion.
Tascosa High is one of the 4 High schools in Amarillo. They are known as the Tascosa 'Rebels', not to be confused with the Amarillo High 'Sandies', the Caprock High 'Longhorns' or the Palo Duro High 'Dons'.

Pee-Wee Rodeo

Mark and Kelly Eakin own this house out beyond the city limits. Mark is a Rodeo coach. Their favourite stud horse is buried in the front yard.
Recently, their miniature horse had a miniature horse foal. It wont even grow as big as a Shetland pony.
And to complete the set...heres a miniature cowboy! Coy Eakin won that belt buckle for winning a Pee-Wee Rodeo (where they ride stick horses) - but theres nothing miniature about the prize!

H.O.G. Rally

That's the 'Harley Owners Group' for the uninitiated....
The last weekend in May sees Amarillo buzzing with swarms of bikers - the bars on 6th St used to be the focal point, but in recent years the event has fragmented and lost its festival atmosphere in town. Still, you get the idea.

Buy The Book!

Mark Williams just published this huge volume about 1001 places to fly fish.
I managed to catch him just in time for the book signing.
Heres his wife Amy modelling the wares.