Thursday, September 13, 2018

Wood balls for a game anyone?

I remember hours of fun (summertime probably) as a teen paying croquet.  It was more fun when friends came over and I was among equals in skill (more or less.) When I played with my family it was pretty easy to beat a younger sister, but not my parents.  I think at some time I tried to replicate this fun when I was a parent. And it must have made some impression, because I was asked to join in as a grandparent with the little ones.

So when doing research to find a nice older picture of croquet, which I understand is quite ancient, I found this great blog already giving great art and information about croquet...19C American Women, croquet-in-garden.

I'll share one of my favorite artists' renditions of Croquet.

Winslow Homer (American artist, 1836-1910) Croquet Players

Another link for me is the active croquet court (is that the correct term?) that exists next to the Black Mountain Golf Course right here in town.  I admit to never trying it out...but in the 11 years I've lived here, I have seen some players as I drove by occasionally.

From the web I found this: "Black Mountain Croquet Club || (828) 669-2281 || Two courts, one full and one 1/2. Contact: Jim Seward - mgseward@aol.com"

Players at the Black Mountain Croquet Court



Our illustrious Sepia Saturday host introduces this week's meme by saying...

Our Sepia Saturday theme image this week is - like all the ones this month - from my own collection. It features that grand old north country game - crown green bowling; in which wooden balls (or bowls) are rolled across a grass lawn (or green) in an attempt to get nearest the target ball (or jack).  If that wasn't complicated enough, the bowls have an additional weight on one side so they don't run in a straight line, and the green has a slight hump in the middle (a crown) so even if the bowls could travel in a straight line it wouldn't do them much good! So if you thought that Sepia Saturday was difficult - just have a go at crown green bowling."

Thanks Alan.  Come see what others have to offer HERE.




7 comments:

  1. I haven't played croquet in years, but we used to play all the time when I was a kid. We would set it up in our front yard and all the neighborhood kids would join in. So much fun!

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  2. When I was young, our backyard was pretty much dirt and most of the kids in the neighborhood came to play in our yard because we could PLAY without having to be scolded for scuffing up the lawn or ruining the flowerbeds in other yards. Later, when we were older, however, Mom and Dad put in a lawn and flowers so croquet became our favorite pastime. We had to be careful, though, because sometimes we'd get a little too enthusiastic and oops, there would go one of Mom's camellia plants!

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  3. Oh my, Gail and Lois...great to hear you also played croquet. I wonder if anyone ever played that game that Alan posted about!

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  4. Oh well I am ashamed to admit I have never attempted croquet. If I could wear lovely dresses and hats like those ladies in the painting, I might be more interested :)

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  5. I have actually played concerts on a croquet court/pitch. July 4th shows in Cashiers, NC on the High Hampton Country Club. I've never seen grass so short and perfectly groomed to a level playing field. Plywood was laid out as a temporary floor to prevent divots!

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  6. I have never 'Croqueted' (is that even a word?)However , in answer to Barbara's question above, I have played Crown Green Bowls. A fiendishly tricky affair, not recommended for the faint hearted (only half-joking...)

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  7. Love these photos! My family played lawn croquet for years. As retirees my parents took it one step further by joining a croquet league at the local golf course -- where my dad became infamous for his strict interpretation of the rules. Woe to the player who saw him crossing the green with the rule book in hand :-) But on the plus side, it brought my folks endless join during their senior years.

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