It's true. Most folks go looking for at least a parade to commemorate the weekend. We on the other hand are always just a little different. We load up our rototiller and head north in search of a 100 year old roque croquet court in need of some tender loving care. Let's face it. Have you ever seen one? There just aren't many left. Our friend Terry, John & I decided it was time to either "put out" and restore the court in the Thousand Island Park or quit talking about it. (Believe me, it was awfully tempting after the first hour of working on it to change our minds and choose the second option...)
I took a LOT of photos (a good excuse to take a LOT of breaks) so you'd see what was involved.
In the set to the right...1) John breaks ground (notice the small pile of dirt at the far end)
2) John breaks more ground
3) The pile of dirt that will eventually go over the court looks bigger when you're closer...
4) Terry breaks ground
5) John & Bill celebrate finishing the hand edging of the court (notice the muscles on Bill and his youth - this will prove to be VERY important the next day!)
6) John continues to break ground
7) Terry breaks up more ground (did I not mention how wet the ground was when we started so the sod was very clumpy?)
8) Terry continues to break ground
9) 6 hours from the time we started, John takes one more pass before calling it a day.
Day 2 of our project the sun is still shining and the ground has dried out just enough to allow us to continue. After waiting for church to be over (Thousand Island Park is an old Methodist Church camp after all) and taking time for an energy building lunch, it's back to the court.
1) The big dig starts. The dirt from the pile (it now looks GIGANTIC) has to be distributed across the court.2) With their wheelbarrows full are Terry, Bill & John (you might note that because of his youth, Bill was allowed to use the largest wheelbarrow...)
3) Break time (let's see... there was only two-thirds yet to go)
4) And lest you think I did nothing but take photos, that's me on the left. I had the task of spreading and leveling the dirt the guys dumped (and I kept up with them!)
5) We had one small pile too much (those are my feet - I just couldn't deal with standing any longer!)
6) The extra gets shoveled into the truck, taken away & we called it a day. (By the way, that's Fred on the left. In the next two weeks he's going to play a MAJOR role... read on.)
7) Day 3 - John drug the court to level it (I forgot to take a photo) but this is the finished product.
8) I'm spreading the grass seed & Terry is raking it in and doing an excellent job.
9) American Gothic and the Idaho Waterer.
Day 4 - One final check of the court. Looks pretty good doesn't it? Two weeks from now if Fred & Ruby remember to water it every day it should be nice and green. Two months from now we expect to see croquet and even roque croquet being played in the park again.PS - Roque croquet is similar to croquet except you can also play off the sides of the court like you would in billards. (Oh dear! That probably means it requires more skill than our backyard game of croquet!) It was popular in the early 1900's and we hope it will soon be popular again, at least in the Thousand Island Park. If you see Fred & Ruby, remind them to keep watering....
