The Wandering Disciple

The beaver moon rises above Southwest Florida, illuminating the nighttime sky.  Native American tribes and early settlers used the first full moon of November as a benchmark to begin setting beaver traps so they would have enough fur to survive the harsh winters.  With the close proximity of the moon to the Earth's orbit, the 2017 beaver moon will be the second brightest moon of the year.  The brightest moon will come next month during the Full Cold Moon on December 4.  (Photo: November 3, 2017)

Bradenton, Florida: A sunny Sunday gave way to competitive youth baseball as the teams converged on Braded River Park for the Suncoast Out Hit Hunger Tournament presented by Suncoast Travel Ball. After finishing pool play 1-1 on Friday night, the Sarasota Shock came into Sunday as the #5 seed and faced the GCBA Black Sox in the opening round. The Black Sox took the lead early, pushing across seven unanswered runs. But the Shock were not going down without a fight, clawing their way back into the game. But the Shock ran out of time and eventually fell to the Black Sox 7-4. The loss eliminated the Shock while the Black Sox advanced into the semi-finals. Click on the photo above to view my Shock/Black Sox photo gallery .

Bradenton, Florida: After losing their opening game of the Suncoast Fall Classic, the Sarasota Shock were back out on the field at Braden River Park for game two of pool play on Saturday afternoon as they faced the Pirates. After being shut-out in the tournament opener, the Shock managed to score two runs against the Pirates. But it wasn’t enough as they fell 7-2. The Shock lost both games of pool play in the tournament and will open the single elimination tournament on Sunday morning against the Sarasota Vipers at Sarasota Cal Ripken Park. Click on the photo above to view my Sarasota Shock/Pirates photo gallery .

Bradenton, Florida: Sunny skies and cooler temperatures provided a perfect backdrop for Saturday afternoon baseball in the 2015 Suncoast Fall Classic hosted by Suncoast Travel Ball. On the schedule first for the Sarasota Shock was a tough Pinellas Park Crushers team. The Crushers jumped out to a lead and never looked back, holding the Shock scoreless and cruising to a 12-0 lead in the tournament opener for the Shock. Click on the photo above to view my Sarasota Shock/Pinellas Park Crushers photo gallery .

The Englewood Crabs 9u team warms up before the semi-finals of the Fall Classic presented by Suncoast Travel Ball. (Photo: September 15, 2013)

The baserunner for the Englewood Crabs slides under the tag at home during the opening round game of the Fall Classic. (Photo: September 15, 2013)

The shortstop for the Progress Village Hawks makes the play on a infield pop-up during pool play at the Fall Classic sponsored by Suncoast Travel Ball. (Photo: September 14, 2013)

A reliever takes over the mound for the Englewood Crabs during pool play during opening pool play in the Fall Classic presented by Suncoast Travel Ball. (Photo: September 14, 2013)

Bradenton, Florida: Coming of their first win as a team, the Englewood Crabs found themselves in the semi-finals of the 2013 Gold Glove Championship where they would face the top seed, Fish Hawk Wolves. The Crabs played hard but ended up losing to the Wolves 15-3 and were eliminated from the tournament. Later in the evening, strong storms settled over the park and the tournament was cancelled before an overall winner could be crowned. Click on the photo above to view photos from the Crabs/Wolves game .

Bradenton, Florida: The Englewood Crabs kicked off tournament play for the 2013 Gold Glove Championship with an opening round match-up against the Riverview Rockets. The Crabs looked to avenge a loss to the Rockets at last month’s tournament which sent the Crabs home in the first round. This time, it was the Crabs who came out swinging, earning a 16-6 win over the Rockets. More importantly, this was the first win for the Crabs as a team, a great milestone for the team.  Click on the photo above to view photos from the Crabs/Rockets game .

Bradenton, Florida: The Englewood Crabs continued their afternoon of baseball with game two of pool play at the 2013 Gold Glove Championship hosted by Suncoast Travel Ball. Game two featured the Crabs taking on the Progress Village Hawks on Field One at Braden River Park. The Crabs fell to the Hawks 17-2 to fall to 0-2 in pool play. Click on the photo above to see the Crabs/Hawks photo gallery .

Bradenton, Florida: The Englewood Crabs headed north to Manatee County for the team's second travel ball tournament. After a month of practice following the last tournament, the team headed to Braden River Park for the 2013 Gold Glove Championship hosted by Suncoast Travel Ball. The two day tournament features two pool games on Saturday followed by a single elimination tournament on Sunday. The Crabs faced the East Manatee RiverDawgs in the opening pool play game on Saturday morning. The Crab lost the opening game to the RiverDawgs by the score of 18-1. Click on the photos to view the entire Crabs/RiverDawgs photo gallery .