Thursday, June 30, 2016

Baseball - monthly photo blogging challenge

Time for the monthly photo blogging challenge and June's theme is Baseball!! Not something we get a lot of in the Scottish Highlands so I was in a bit of a dilemma about how to represent it. My first thought was to take pictures of things you might find at a baseball game, but after Ken's suggestion of taking a picture of a cow because the gloves are made out of leather I poo pooed that idea. Another idea that we debated was finding things to represent team names but hadn't fully decided on this until we happened to drive past a laundrette called the Red Sock (see photo 3). We saw it as a sign (no pun intended) so this month I have learnt more about obscure Minor League Baseball teams than I ever thought I would.

Hope you enjoy my interpretation of the theme and I apologise to all the North Americans at my very limited knowledge of your nations sport.

1. Midland Rockhounds play in Texas and first played under that name in 1999 and apparently a Rockhound is another name for a geologist. The team has three mascots; Rocky born in 1999, Juice born in the late 80's, and Junior who was a stray??

Our very own rockhound on top of a very large rock
2. Boise Hawks play in Idaho and first played with that name in 1987. I have actually heard of Boise but I'm not sure why. The teams mascot is Humphrey the Hawk who was born in the Boise foothills.

Statue of a bird of prey in the Eastgate Shopping Centre, Inverness
3. Pawtucket Red Sox is a team that plays in Rhode Island that first played with that name in 1970. Pawtucket - that's a place I've never heard of and it's a very interesting (odd) name. The team has two mascots, Paws and Sox (very original). Paws is a boy and was born in 1999 and Sox is a girl and was born in 2001 and they are polar bears (because we all know that polar bears are native to Rhode Island).

Launderette in Grantown-on-Spey
4. Durham Bulls is a team in North Carolina which first played as the Bulls in 1913 and is a minor league team that I've actually heard of thanks to the film Bull Durham (1988) which starred the gorgeous Kevin Costner and the equally gorgeous Timothy Robbins. The team mascot was born in 1992 and is called Wool E Bull.

Highland Cow/Bull
5. Kannapolis Intimidators play in North Carolina and have played with that name since the year 2000. Personally I prefer their previous name which was Piedmont Boll Weevils which they were given after a public name the team contest - reminds me of the Boaty McBoatface incident earlier this year. Their mascot is Tim E Gator (see what they've done there) and he joined the team in 2009.

Our own little intimidator - she looks so innocent but she is definitely
the boss of the furbies in this house.
Now why don't you pop over to PJ's blog to see how other people have interpreted the theme - just click HERE.

Until next time, be good, stay safe, and take the time to learn something new this week.

Pamela & Ken
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14 comments:

  1. Tamara1 July 2016 at 01:21

    Ha, another European who had to get creative!
    LOVE the Red Socks sign! I was actually thinking, if I don't know what else to do for this challenge, I'm gonna WEAR red socks and take a picture of them!

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    Replies
    1. PJ1 July 2016 at 12:22

      Thanks Tamara - it was fun trying to pick pictures to suit the names.

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  2. Michele at Angels Bark 1 July 2016 at 18:13

    Very creative interpretation Pamela! I like what you did here. I also like that Red Sock laundry sign. I'm not a huge baseball fan so I really dig the mascot slant...

    Michele at Angels Bark

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    Replies
    1. PJ2 July 2016 at 20:48

      Thanks Michele, when I first saw what the theme was I panicked slightly but then had lots of fun once I decided what to do.

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  3. Sean2 July 2016 at 14:37

    Haha.. I love this. I was talking with PJ about how this theme might be difficult for some people. But you really made it work.

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    Replies
    1. PJ2 July 2016 at 20:49

      Thanks Sean, having never seen a baseball game it was a good education reading about the minor league teams.

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  4. Clare B2 July 2016 at 18:02

    I like your photos and your creative angle to the theme has worked really well. The red sock sign was a great idea and I like the bull shot too. I'm beginning to wonder if I should've looked at the theme in this way too.

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    1. PJ2 July 2016 at 20:50

      Thanks for stopping by - we couldn't believe it when we drove past the red sock sign and made everything so much easier.

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  5. Donna6 July 2016 at 01:31

    Great minds think alike! I love that you took pictures relating to team names, too! All your photos are great, but I especially like the bull. It looks like he is posing for you.

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    1. PJ6 July 2016 at 11:27

      Thanks Donna. It took several shots to get the bull looking towards me - it was like he knew I was trying to take his picture and he kept moving his head at the last moment.

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  6. Unknown30 July 2016 at 21:36

    You took a tough theme and made it work for you, all sparked from spotting that Red Sock sign. I learned some things from all the things you learned - about places and mascots. Terrific work!

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  7. P.J.10 August 2016 at 13:40

    A very interesting take on the baseball theme.

    Interestingly enough, I have been to Durham, Kannapolis and Pawtucket for games this summer. And I also have a Piedmont Boll Weevils hat. ;)

    Nicely done for the theme!

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    Replies
    1. PJ14 August 2016 at 22:55

      Thanks P.J. and I love that you have a Weevils hat as that story really amused me.

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