Boccie: Recipe for a hot Sunday afternoon

(A sparkling glass of Prosecco and a game of boccie is a perfect way to end the day)

It was near 90 degrees in the Hudson Valley today — way too hot too fast. Temperatures are bound to become more seasonal later this week, but this dog-days-of-August weekend put a little dampener on my gardening chores. I managed to get some seeds in the ground before the earth started to broil, and then it was off to the shade I went, Sunday papers, cool glass of water in hand.

Later in the day, as the afternoon waned and M finished mowing the lawn, a little breeze danced through the shade and my thoughts turned to ... boccie — that Italian lawn bowling game.

M and I love playing boccie; he's much better at the toss than I, but it's a fun way to while away a lazy afternoon, cold glass of Prosecco in hand. Breaking out the boccie set signals the start of the summer season and living alfresco in the backyard.



I can remember visits to my Aunt Mary's in the Bronx when I was kid. There was always a boccie court somewhere in the various neighborhoods, the domain of Italian men in slacks, muscleman T-shirts under unbuttoned short-sleeved shirts. Their courts were always well maintained, typically made of clay, but boccie's also fun to play in the yard — just make sure the grass is short enough to roll the balls.



If you have a pot of Sunday slow-simmer sauce on the stove, it's even better — the aroma of sauce drifting out the window inspires better rolls on the court, if you ask me.

Boccie can be played with teams or one-on-one. The smallest ball, called the pallino, is tossed, and then each player, or team, has four balls to roll toward the little one. The closest ball to the pallino gains the point.



In essence, "the kiss" is the closest you can get to the pallino — just hope the next player doesn't knock it away.

So the gardening chores will have to wait for cooler mornings and weekends when the mercury doesn't soar.

Hot days have a way of making you slow down, especially on a Sunday afternoon.

That's when it's time to break out the boccie set and let the games begin!