Baseball! Baseball? The very word brings to mind the very worst memories from junior high phys ed. Strike out every time at bat? That was me. Walk every batter when it was my turn to pitch? Yep, me. Miss every ball thrown or hit my way? That too. The annual baseball unit was the only time I actually considered faking some kind illness.

So guess what? When I learned that the theme for this month was baseball, my first inclination was to come up with some sort of excuse. I wondered if I could get away with something like, “I’m so busy blogging about all the fantastic hikes we’re doing this summer that I’d better take a break until the fall.”

But that wouldn’t set a good example for my boys. So on to Plan B – find a way to find some enjoyment in the idea of baseball. And I did! Baseball in Still Life didn’t require any pitching, catching or batting, just a little imagination and creativity, plus a small investment of time to dig through our storage room and garage to find some stuff related to baseball.

1. Baseball Cards – One aspect of baseball that can be enjoyed by those of us without much in the way of actual baseball skills is tracking statistics and building a collection of baseball cards. I actually haven’t done either of these things. But I did remember that Mr. GeoK had a couple of baseball cards mixed in with his childhood hockey card collection. The trick was to find the old ice cream pail they’re all stored in. After I finally found them, I discovered almost 3 dozen baseball cards in the loosely sorted and grouped via rubber band assortment. Then I discovered that together they’re worth about five hundred bucks. I think that big orange ice cream bucket is worth another visit so that I can organize and catalogue his hockey card collection!

2. Lego Baseball Player – Released as part of Lego Minifigure Series 3 in 2011, this guy plays for the “Clutchers”. Lego geeks will know that there are very few Lego baseball caps with a curved brim: this one, the baseball fielder (released as part of Lego Minifigure Series 10 in 2013) and two other non-baseball related minifigures.

3. Diamond with a View – I don’t know how players can concentrate on the game when they’re playing at the ball diamond at Our Lady of Snows Catholic Academy in Canmore. The view of Mount Lady MacDonald across the valley is beautiful, as are the peaks viewed from first and second base.

4. Elk on First – K and I rode our bikes down to the playing fields at Our Lady of Snows. We headed to the outfield to throw a frisbee back and forth for a while. That’s when I noticed the elk tracks on the baseline heading towards first! We did have 50 elk move the area the night before, so maybe they stopped for a pick-up game before heading further east.

5. Ball and Glove – Grandpa GeoK used this glove when he was a boy. They ended up at our house when he and Grandma GeoK used to look after our boys (when I was at work) and he and C would play catch. They sure look good on the end of the bench in the dugout.

I hope at least a few July participants managed to photograph live baseball action. Head on over to A ‘lil HooHaa to see proof of P.J.’s lifelong love of the game and for links to the rest of the entries.

The theme for next month will be announced August 1st on A ‘lil HooHaa. New participants are always welcome, so if you’re interested, please consider joining the Photo Blogging Challenge Facebook group.