Lucy's Journal – July 1, 2026
Dear Journal,
What started out as a peaceful Bocce Ball Tournament in the backyard somehow turned into the biggest water fight of the summer!
Dad marked out a beautiful bocce court in the grass and announced the first annual Backyard Bocce Championship. Naturally, everyone believed they were destined to become champion.
I, Lucy the tan and white Shih Tzu, proudly declared myself both Team Captain and Official Scorekeeper. I even carried around a little clipboard, although I may have accidentally added a few extra points to my own team every now and then. Totally by mistake... probably.
Peanut, the gray tiger cat, claimed she had "cat vision" that allowed her to determine exactly which ball was closest to the little white pallino. Conveniently, every measurement seemed to favor her. When nobody was looking, she gave one of her team's bocce balls the tiniest little nudge with her paw.
Kiwi, our clever green cheek conure, decided the easiest way to win was from the air. He'd swoop down, land beside the pallino, loudly announce, "Looks good to me!" and then quietly roll the little white ball an inch or two before flying away whistling like nothing had happened.
The Quackers, our identical twin ducks, formed the most suspicious team of all. Whenever one duck rolled a ball, the other would "accidentally" stand in everyone's line of sight, flapping her wings and quacking loudly while her sister secretly repositioned another ball with her beak.
Just then our friends arrived.
Gracie, the black and white Shih Tzu, smiled sweetly and said she was only there to cheer everyone on. Five minutes later she was hiding bocce balls behind flower pots and pretending she had no idea where they had gone.
Then, floating gently into the yard, came the Ghost of Maybelline, our sweet brown pit bull. Being a ghost gave her one very unfair advantage. Every time someone rolled a nearly perfect shot, a mysterious little breeze would appear and gently curve the ball just enough to change the score.
Nobody could prove it was Maybelline...
...but everyone knew.
After nearly an hour of playful accusations, suspicious measurements, disappearing bocce balls, and ghostly breezes, Dad finally laughed and declared that absolutely nobody was playing by the rules anymore.
That's when Kiwi had a brilliant—or terrible—idea.
He flew over to the garden hose.
Before anyone could stop him, he turned the nozzle just enough for a tiny stream of water to spray across the yard.
"SURPRISE!"
The Quackers immediately charged into the puddles, splashing water everywhere with their happy little feet.
Peanut darted behind a lawn chair, grabbed a small squirt toy, and soaked Lucy right on the nose.
"Oh, it is ON!" I barked.
Gracie found another squirt toy and joined the battle while laughing so hard she could barely aim.
Kiwi flew overhead making bombing runs with tiny drops of water he'd scoop up from a birdbath.
Ghost Maybelline drifted through everyone, creating cool gusts of mist that made it feel like a magical summer rainstorm.
Within minutes the backyard had become complete chaos.
Everyone was soaked.
Everyone was laughing.
Even the bocce balls ended up floating in a little kiddie pool that the Quackers had completely taken over.
As the sun began to set, we all collapsed on the patio, tired, dripping wet, and smiling from ear to ear.
Dad handed out treats to everyone and officially declared the tournament a tie.
Personally...
I still think I won.
After all, I was the scorekeeper.
Until next time,
Love,
Lucy 🐾
