There is so much going on in the out of doors.

The birds are singing, the sun is shining and the trails of life flow all over this great land. Or, there is the wonder of competitive sports right in your own backyard.

As children, we would run outside to play any number of games, from Christopher Columbus to a game of HORSE to hopscotch. It would take up most of the day and by the time it was dark, we would be too exhausted to accomplish much more than a few bites of food before going to bed and doing it all over again.

But when we grew up, games of kickball were replaced by watching three hours of TV and going to bars. We swapped activity for something more sedentary and it’s time to shift that balance of power.

Michael Staton and I got together last week to rekindle the competitive spirit (in something more than beer pong) with a rousing game of bocce ball. This game of “lawn bowling” can be played just about anywhere and involves taking two large balls and tossing or rolling them toward a smaller ball. You get points for getting closest to the smaller ball, hitting the smaller ball or touching the smaller ball with the larger ball.

In short, there are a lot of balls to this game. (And keep your comments to yourself, perv.)

The first to 21 (winning by 2) is the winner.

The game opened with me taking a commanding 11-point lead and Michael lamenting that he prefers to play the game on the beach — his pasty, white appearance to the contrary. Once we figured out the real rules of the game, Michael stormed back within 5, but fell off almost immediately as I began hitting the hockey sticks out of the ball for multiple points.

By the time it was 18-8, Michael was more interested in getting to double digits, which he did, before ending the game at 21-10.

Now, you might think a recap of a ridiculous, outdoor game is pointless, but it brings up the idea that you too can take time away from the air conditioning for a quick and fun competition. This game lasted about 20 minutes and was like being 10 again.

If you have any suggestions about what to play, send them along to grovejb@independentmail.com. Otherwise, stay tuned next week when we bust out the B-ball and play some HORSE.