About Croquet

Today we are going to Muse about Croquet.  If this is your first visit, welcome to Musings. If you have been here before, welcome back. Over time we are going to talk about many things: the past, the present, perhaps the future, travel, art, society and more. Wherever my musing takes me. I hope you will come along with me.

Colored text is a link.  So is a word underlined in dots like “Musings” in the above paragraph. Clicking on the text will provide additional information about the subject.

Not a golfer

Growing up I was never into sports. The only sport-like activity I remember was ping pong and pool. Many hours were spent in those pursuits.

In my late fifties I met Jeanette. She is a golfer and loves the sport. I thought to myself “that is something we could do together” and I decided to take it up. I did it for five years and was never very good. I was also not good to be with. If I made a bad shot I would get surly, not enjoying the game and spoiling it for anyone with me. Finally one bad day it came to a head and I said to myself, “Enough! I hate this. I make others feel bad. I am not doing this anymore.”

And I quit and haven’t played it since.

But I needed something to do.

And, so . . . Croquet

At our club there are croquet lawns. I had played backyard croquet once or twice growing up but that was all. These courts were obviously more serious than the game we played as a child.

Croquet lawns

Years earlier a friend, Dwight Mayer, had invited a number of us to the courts and showed us some aspects of the game. He was trying to get us involved, but at the time I did not want to devote the free time I had on the weekends to any one thing.

Now, though, I thought, perhaps this is something I would enjoy. I bought and read the book, Croquet the Sport by Jack R. Osborn.

And about this time another friend, Carl Sturges, a croquet player, took me under his wing and gave me lessons.

Time has passed and croquet has become an important social connection for both Jeanette and me. We have friends across the country and in Mexico because of croquet. Recently we played in a tournament in New Jersey. There were players from several states in addition to New Jersey: Florida, California, Massachusetts, New York that I know of. Probably more. Some of the players were new to us but there were a number we knew from previous tournaments.

Croquet is a low impact sport in which women and men compete as equals. The key is skill and strategy. As much as anything it is a mind game. Properly played the contestant will be thinking three and four turns ahead, trying to anticipate the plays the opponent will make and how to defend from them and capitalize on them. It has been likened to chess and billiards played on a lawn.

Florida is the home of the National Croquet Center, the largest croquet facility in the country. It is located in Palm Beach County where there are at least eight croquet clubs. So we have it pretty good where I live.

If you have an interest you can contact the United States Croquet Association (http://www.croquetamerica.com) and see which clubs are in your area. They also have schools and a list of tournaments held around the country.

Art Work

On the commercial side, I have used the game as a subject of some of my art work. Here are some examples:

National Croquet Center

Click to see

At Green Gables

Click to see

Watched Shot

Click to see

Final Match

Click to see

Yellow for the Wicket

Click to see

The Gallery

Click to see


More to come

If you like Musings, take a moment and click the sign up button on the side-bar to the right so you will be notified by e-mail when I make a new post.

Thomas-Tribby.pixels.com is now offering I Phone Cases, Coffee Mugs, Throw Pillows, Greeting Cards, Bath Towels, Hand Towels, Shower Curtains, Duvet Covers , Yoga Mats, Tote Bags,Women’s T Shirts, Men’s T Shirtsand more with reproductions of my artwork.  If you want to check them out, here are the steps:

  • 1.  Click on this link: thomas-tribby.pixels.com.  
  • 2. Click on one of the categories in the menu bar at the top: Wall Art, Home Decor, Lifestyle, Stationery or Apparel.  It will list a number of options.
  • 3.  Click on option.  
  • 4.  Click on image and a sizing slide will open allowing you to adjust the image to the way you like it..

Have fun.

My work is available as traditional prints on canvas, paper or metal, but it also available on greeting cards, phone covers, tote bags, shower curtains,  t-shirts and more.  It makes for some very personalized gifts.  Below is the link to the site.  I hope you like it.

Click on:     thomas-tribby.pixels.com

For information about these or other original works of art, please feel free to contact us:


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To Sea Girt and Back

Today we are going to Muse about a road trip.  If this is your first visit, welcome to Musings. If you have been here before, welcome back. Over time we are going to talk about many things: the past, the present, perhaps the future, travel, art, society and more. Wherever my musing takes me. I hope you will come along with me.

Colored text is a link.  So is a word underlined in dots like “Musings” in the above paragraph. Clicking on the text will provide additional information about the subject.

On the Road Again

We are just back from a road trip north. I’m trying to get back in the groove.

A month or so ago, Jeanette and I decided to play in the Green Gables Croquet Club Invitational Tournament. The tournament takes place on the New Jersey National Guard base in Sea Girt, New Jersey. Rather than just fly up we made it a driving trip using it as an opportunity to visit sites and see friends along the way.

If you have ever driven from Florida where we live to the northeast on the I-95 highway you know it can be tedious, boring and stressful with heavy traffic and nothing to see except pine trees. We decided to go inland where possible and avoid the I-95.

Augusta, GA

Getting out of east coast Florida avoidance is not possible, so the first day we drove the I-95 from West Palm Beach to near Savannah where we went inland to Augusta, Georgia. The traffic was heavy and we were in rain much of the way. We saw two crashes, one right next to us nearly involving us. A long and stressful day.

Charlotte, NC

The next day we drove only a couple hours to Charlotte, North Carolina, where we stopped to see an old friend. A nice dinner, a nice visit made the day a winner. And it allowed the stress of the first day to fall away.

We left Charlotte traveling, through the Shenandoah Valley, on our way to Gettysburg where we planned to stay with our friends, Jim and Scott. They recommended that we stop along the way at Natural Bridge, VA, a state park.

“Its half way from Charlotte and a beautiful place to stop. At the bottom by the river there is a funky place to grab lunch, which is pretty good”, they said.

So we did.

Natural Bridge State Park

When you arrive you go through a large reception building which sells tourist stuff: tee-shirts, tchotchkes, hats and more. And entrance tickets!

Off we went.

Entrance

Jeanette led the way down the winding path to the bottom of the gorge.

heading down
further down

At the bottom a river runs along the gorge and under the Natural Bridge. The bridge was formed over the millions of years by the erosion of the river. In the late 1700’s it was purchased by Thomas Jefferson and today it has a road across it.

Natural Bridge

We had our lunch riverside and then took a shuttle up to our parked car. Thank goodness for the shuttle. It was hot and the climb up would have been difficult.

Gettysburg, PA

Leaving Virginia behind us, we continued on to Gettysburg where we stayed two nights with our friends Jim and Scott. They purchased a home there several years ago. Jim’s family goes back several generations there and he has a fond attachment to the area.

We had been there a number of years ago, visiting the battlefield, but had not really spent anytime in the countryside. One afternoon while some of the party was napping, Scott took me for a drive through the surrounds. If you find yourself in the Gettysburg area, I recommend you do the same. The countryside is beautiful, rolling hills, apple orchards, cherry orchards, peach orchards, corn fields, with farmers markets, farms and small quaint towns. Very peaceful.

Jim, when he was in high school, had been the youngest battlefield tour guide at the time. He knows the battlefield and gave us a much better understanding of how the battle unfolded.

Tour Guide Jim
Confederate position day one

The battlefield is immense. I think Jim said the national park is 35 square miles and does not include all of the territory where the battle was fought.

Union position day one/ Jeanette and Scott

As you can see, it was a great day to visit the park.

Around the battlefield there are many monuments, monuments to fighting units and monuments to individual commanders like Reynolds and Meade. Most are union monuments.

This monument is typical. It is a monument for the Pennsylvania Infantry. The plaque lists the number of officers and men killed, wounded, captured, or died by disease.

Monument to the 17th Pennsylvania Cavalry

Some are placed in location as if they were in the battle.

Monument to Union Brigadier General Gouverneur Kemble Warren on Little Round Top

The most interesting monuments from an artist’s viewpoint are those of Mississippi and Louisiana.

Mississippi
Louisiana

I came away very impressed with the area and appreciative of Jim’s and Scott’s hospitality.

So, then it was off to Sea Girt, New Jersey and the Green Gables Croquet Club.

Sea Girt, New Jersey

Gettysburg to Sea Girt

The area is beautiful this time of year. Our hostess, Peggy, keeps a summer home there. I asked her what the winters were like and she responded with one word: Grim.

The Tournament

The tournament started Thursday and concluded Sunday with both singles and doubles match play. There were thirty nine players. Rain threatened but never came and it was hot.

One day I played four matches, which is a bit more than five hours, in the sun. Another day I played four matches, nearly four hours in the sun. Each night I was beat.

In the end, I played in the finals match in the first flight losing to Quinn Reinhardt, age 18. He played a great game.

I knew I was in trouble when Quinn, three ball dead with his black ball on the line behind wicket one, going for wicket two scored the wicket across the court. If you don’t know croquet I will tell you that is an unbelievable shot. Wickets are set to 1/32 of an inch clearance in tournament play.

Quinn will be a national croquet presence, I predict.

It was a fun tournament.

Here are some scenes:

courts and lunch tent
Jeanette scoring the hoop
Games in play
Runner up
First Flight Singles

Fayetteville, North Carolina

Monday we were on the road again and drove down the dreaded I-95 to Fayetteville, NC. Long day but uneventful.

Sea Girt, N J to Fayetteville, N C

West Palm Beach, Florida

And finally, home to West Palm Beach, FL. Long trip. Had fun. Glad it is over.

Fayetteville, NC to West Palm Beach, FL


More to come


If
 you like Musings, take a moment and click the sign up button on the side-bar to the right so you will be notified by e-mail when I make a new post.

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thomas-tribby.pixels.com

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COFFEE MUG



Fish Pond Throw Pillow
THROW PILLOW


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GREETING CARD

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I PHONE CASES

Thomas-Tribby.pixels.com is now offering I Phone Cases, Coffee Mugs, Throw Pillows, Greeting Cards, Bath Towels, Hand Towels, Shower Curtains, Duvet Covers , Yoga Mats, Tote Bags,Women’s T Shirts, Men’s T Shirtsand more with reproductions of my artwork.  If you want to check them out, here are the steps:

  • 1.  Click on this link: thomas-tribby.pixels.com.  
  • 2. Click on one of the categories in the menu bar at the top: Wall Art, Home Decor, Lifestyle, Stationery or Apparel.  It will list a number of options.
  • 3.  Click on option.  
  • 4.  Click on image and a sizing slide will open allowing you to adjust the image to the way you like it..

Have fun.

My work is available as traditional prints on canvas, paper or metal, but it also available on greeting cards, phone covers, tote bags, shower curtains,  t-shirts and more.  It makes for some very personalized gifts.  Below is the link to the site.  I hope you like it.

Click on:     thomas-tribby.pixels.com

****************************************

Books by Thomas L. Tribby Available Click on title below to preview

Works on Paper

On The Waterfront

Impressions of Florida

 Works at

thomas-tribby.pixels.com

Redman

Click to see

Pied Piper


Click to see

Before the Rain

Click to See


For information about these or other original works of art, please feel free to contact us:








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Summer Doldrums

Today we are going to Muse about things that go awry.   If this is your first visit, welcome to Musings. If you have been here before, welcome back. Over time we are going to talk about many things: the past, the present, perhaps the future, travel, art, society and more. Wherever my musing takes me. I hope you will come along with me.

Colored text is a link.  So is a word underlined in dots like “Musings” in the above paragraph. Clicking on the text will provide additional information about the subject.

Things that go awry

Two weeks ago we were watching a PGA Tournament on our television. It was a cloudy day at the tournament. The sky was a light dull gray. The sun was trying to break through. It was a light faint white circle in the field of gray.

Then I noticed that one eye of the commentator was brighter than the other when his head was about in the same spot on the TV screen as the sun had been!?

Would you believe . . . we had a white spot forming on our screen!

I had never seen something like this before. Our set, an LG, is less that five years old. None of my previous sets had a problem like this.

As I was grousing about the issue, Jeanette did the smart thing and went into her files and found we had a five year warranty and that we purchased the set four years seven month ago. That was good news.

We got a store credit.

So now we have a new smart TV. Of course the new set has more capabilities than the old set and the picture is brighter and sharper so it cost more than the store credit. But what the hey, we have a new TV and a new five year warranty! Now all we have to do is learn how to navigate the various options.

I remember when the television had three channels. You selected them by manually turning a dial and the news was 30 minutes.

More to come


If
 you like Musings, take a moment and click the sign up button on the side-bar to the right so you will be notified by e-mail when I make a new post.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

thomas-tribby.pixels.com

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is tropical-ballet-thomas-tribby.jpg
COFFEE MUG


Fish Pond Throw Pillow
THROW PILLOW

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is along-north-county-road-thomas-tribby.jpg

GREETING CARD

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is nocturnal-butterfly-thomas-tribby.jpg

I PHONE CASES

Thomas-Tribby.pixels.com is now offering I Phone Cases, Coffee Mugs, Throw Pillows, Greeting Cards, Bath Towels, Hand Towels, Shower Curtains, Duvet Covers , Yoga Mats, Tote Bags,Women’s T Shirts, Men’s T Shirtsand more with reproductions of my artwork.  If you want to check them out, here are the steps:

  • 1.  Click on this link: thomas-tribby.pixels.com.  
  • 2. Click on one of the categories in the menu bar at the top: Wall Art, Home Decor, Lifestyle, Stationery or Apparel.  It will list a number of options.
  • 3.  Click on option.  
  • 4.  Click on image and a sizing slide will open allowing you to adjust the image to the way you like it..

Have fun.

My work is available as traditional prints on canvas, paper or metal, but it also available on greeting cards, phone covers, tote bags, shower curtains,  t-shirts and more.  It makes for some very personalized gifts.  Below is the link to the site.  I hope you like it.

Click on:     thomas-tribby.pixels.com

****************************************

Books by Thomas L. Tribby Available Click on title below to preview

Works on Paper

On The Waterfront

Impressions of Florida

 Works at

thomas-tribby.pixels.com

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Camel-facing-left.jpg
Camel Facing Left

Click to see

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Camel Facing Right


Click to see

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Camel Looking Back

Click to See


For information about these or other original works of art, please feel free to contact us:






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