The Mrs. and I just returned from the Loch Norman Highland Games at the Rural Hill Farm near Huntersville, NC. It was a beautiful day with temperatures in the low to mid-70s, and a total of 11 drops of rain all day. Here are some pics I shot, and I hope others will add theirs.

The Rabble assembled at the STM tent shortly after the opening ceremonies. Here are, left to right, Nelson (Kilted Music Lover), David (davidlpope), yours truly, and Bill (Tartan Hiker). (I quickly noticed my hose slipping down, so I retied them just a few minutes after this picture was taken.)



After the greetings and group shot, we cut up the dandelion cake I made for the occasion:



Here are the massed bands, a little later in the day. It's hard to see in this shot, but I counted 19 columns across as they were marching on to the field.









The local SAMS (Scottish American Military Society) unit does a "Flag Retirement" ceremony, in which they burn old, faded, and torn US flags, right in the middle of the competition field. Here's the honor guard about to step off:


The Sgt. at Arms presents the flags to the Commander for inspection and condemnation.


The Sgt. at Arms then sets the flags alight. You can see a little blaze in the bottom left corner of the pile of flags.


A minute or so later:


More to follow, including a world record on the athletics field...