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A Joyful Noise

eggs

Monarch Butterfly, laying eggs in my backyard garden

July 30, 2019 by Melodye Shore

This magnificent monarch drifted into our backyard, a splash of sunshine on a warm summer day. #RoyalVisitor

She fluttered among the milkweed plants for several minutes, making touch-and-go-landings and then drifting upward.

With the assistance of my zoom lens, I soon realized she was curling her abdomen around their long, oval-shaped leaves. She pausing for a quick moment on each, and then wafted over to the next plant. 

Can you guess what she was doing?

She was laying eggs on the undersides of the milkweed leaves, where her caterpillars will eventually feed and grow!

How lovely, to witness firsthand this first stage of the metamorphosis cycle. Not to mention, a refreshing break from the 24/7 news cycle.

Posted in: backyard, Butterflies, eggs, gift, metamorphosis, monarch butterfly, Monarch Waystation, wings, Witness, writing Tagged: butterfly, butterfly eggs, eggs, metamorphosis, milkweed, monarch butterfly, witness

Hope as antidote for suffering

September 11, 2017 by Melodye Shore

Very few Monarch eggs survive to adulthood–mortality rates hover in the range of 90% or even higher! And still, the female Monarch lays new eggs every day–an average of 500 in her lifetime.

I’ve learned to respect Mother Nature’s ways, even when I don’t fully understand them. Even so, I do what I can to help offset those seemingly insurmountable odds. It’s how I’m wired, I guess. I’ve replaced our thirsty grass with drought-tolerant milkweed and nectar plants. I shield their nursery from weather extremes, and I guard against aphids and pesticide overspray, carried into my garden on ocean breezes.

Here, the story of Hope itself: struggles, persistence, endurance.

Helen Keller once said, “Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it.” We see this in our daily lives: hurricanes, flooding, wildfires, diseases, natural and man-made disasters. A microcosm of this truth is borne out everyday, in my little Monarch Waystation.

Because I’ve witnessed firsthand their potential for suffering, I appreciate each wriggling, hungry little caterpillar as a marvel unto itself.

Because I’ve wept over the sweeping losses caused by predators, I greet with joy each new chrysalis–perfectly shaped jewel boxes, housing secret transformations within.

And the metamorphosis of a microscopic, pearlescent egg into this Monarch butterfly? Nothing short of a miracle.

Posted in: Butterflies, caterpillar, eggs, garden, Helen Keller, Hope, metamorphosis, milkweed, monarch butterfly, monarch caterpillar, mother nature, Quotes, suffering, wings Tagged: caterpillar, chrysalis, egg, Helen Keller, hope, metamorphosis, milkweed, monarch butterfly, monarch butterfly egg, suffering

Rain and Beau: Baby hummingbirds, about to fledge

June 29, 2016 by Melodye Shore

Until you spread your wings, 

You’ll have no idea how far you can fly.

(Unknown)

Aryana, a non-migrating Allen’s hummingbird, built her nest in the fuchsia that grows along my front walkway, way back in December. And here we are, celebrating her fourth brood of the 2015-16 mating season.

Such a good mama: she camouflaged her nest among the foliage, and protected it from predators by sheltering it under a tiled roof overhang.

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We named this pair of hatchlings Rain and Beau, in honor of the Orlando nightclub shooting victims, “because love is love is love is love…” And you already know how much I adore these tiny harbingers of hope.

Rain hatched 23 days ago, and Beau broke free of his shell the day after.

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At the time, they looked like tiny raisins with stubby orange beaks.

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But they quickly grew pinfeathers, and their beaks grew long and dark.

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Mama Aryana fed them slurry mixtures of nectar and insects, and before long, they were fighting for space inside their cushy-soft nest.

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While Aryana was off foraging, I climbed a very tall ladder to observe these wee little miracles and the architectural wonder that they inhabit. I never interfered with Aryana’s nesting habits, never touched her cottony treasurebox or the tiny jewels it protected.

I used a zoom lens and my camera settings to get close-ups, which make the hummingbird babies seem much larger than they really are. They also make this tape measure appear closer to the nest than it actually is. Mama hummingbird trusted me with her babies–a privilege and an honor that I’d never violate.

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I snapped this photo just shy of three weeks post-hatch. Notice their their needle-sharp beaks and shimmery wings? They’re looking more like adult hummingbirds every day.

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And at 23 days post-hatch, Rain and Beau are perched on the nest rim, flapping their wings and  pointing their beaks toward parts unknown.

I’m snapping photos from my front porch now–stretching my camera to its limits, but I don’t startle them into fledging early.

As my friend Priscilla Sharp said, “It looks like they are sitting in a classroom, paying close attention, absorbing all the lessons from unseen teachers to prepare to go out into the world.”

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An occasional ocean breeze wafts into the sheltered alcove, ruffling their iridescent wings. Teased forward by Mother Nature’s nudging, they seem ready for lift-off. But for now at least, they’re holding tight to the nest with tiny talons. Won’t be long, though, until whoosh! Off they’ll go.

Posted in: aryana, birds, eggs, Flight, hummingbird eggs, hummingbird hatchlings, hummingbird nest, hummingbirds, Hummingbirds 2016, Orlando, Rain and Beau Tagged: birds, hummingbird, hummingbird hatchlings, hummingbird nest 2015, hummingbird nest 2016, joy, rain and beau

Thankful Thursday: The magic of a hummingbird nest

January 28, 2016 by Melodye Shore

Meet Aryana, the beautiful hummingbird that built her nest in our front yard fuchsia. Here, the stuff of magic: spider silk, cotton batting, and iridescent feathers. Other stories, too, if you examine it closely.

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Hummingbird High-rise

Right before Christmas, Aryana set about building this nest. She pressed nesting materials into the bottom with her tiny feet, and used her torso to help give it a cup-like shape.

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It took mama hummingbird ten days to construct her walnut-sized nest. Soon after, two tiny eggs appeared.

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I like to think Aryana nests here because Chez Shore is peaceful, and because our gardens are filled with nectar plants and flowers. But the truth is more nuanced, and likely more practical. Instinct no doubt led her (and previous mama hummingbirds) to this very spot because it blends in with the foliage and flowers, and the roof overhang helps shelter her from predators, heavy winds and rain.

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Collage credit belongs to Aryana’s “godmother,” Carol Cosper Meadows.

It’s not easy to snap photos into that dark corner –and through the kitchen window, at that. But the opportunity to witness firsthand this unfolding wonder, well. The payoff is huge. I’m learning to rely less on my camera’s Auto Mode, to angle the camera just so and wait patiently for her visits.

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Earlier this week, Aryana’s babies broke free of their shells.

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Wendy hatched on Sunday; Peter showed up on the scene a day later. I only know this because, while she was foraging for food in one of our flowerbeds, I stretched myself across the top rung of a 6-foot ladder and zoomed in.

Click, click. I pressed the shutter button a couple of times, and then clambered down. I never, ever touch Aryana’s hatchlings, never disturb her nesting habits.

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“Miracles on a cloud,” someone called Aryana’s newborns. I can’t remember who, or I’d give them credit. But it sounds about right to me–you, too?

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Aryana’s feeding her babies a slurry of nectar & insects

I know it won’t surprise you to hear that I love talking about these winged beauties. I point out the nest to visitors, post hatchling updates on Facebook, Instagram and (less often) Twitter. So indulge me a little while longer, please, while I tell you a related story.

When the dishwasher repairman showed up on Monday, he’d already spotted the little hummingbird nest, camouflaged as it is in that dark, leafy corner.

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When I expressed surprise; his smile reached from the corner of his mouth to his eyes.  “I always pause to pray before I knock on a client’s door,” Mr. Nguyen told me. “I pray for peace. I pray for my client’s happiness, and for my own.” He went on to say that his customers are sometimes very angry when he first arrives: about being inconvenienced; about the news of the day; about the fact that he’s running behind schedule because he’s spent “too much time” helping another customer. “If I find something beautiful in nature before my clients open the door, I am happy. My smile is God’s smile, and that encourages them be happy, too.”

So magical, the ways in which we’re introduced to kindred spirits. New friendships are carried to us on iridescent wings, and nestle into the cushy-soft spaces of our hearts.

Posted in: birds, eggs, hummingbird eggs, hummingbird hatchlings, hummingbird nest, hummingbird nest 2015, hummingbirds, joyful noise, Nature, Orange County California, Walela Tagged: Allen's Hummingbirds, Aryana, Dishwasher repair man, Hummingbird nest, hummingbirds, Peter, Wendy

Present moment, wonderful moment

March 8, 2015 by Melodye Shore

Breathing in, there is only this moment…

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On Friday, Walela’s breathing was effortful…

Breathing out is a wonderful moment.

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The first egg in her second clutch.

If we are not fully ourselves,

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Two days later, Walela’s breathing is once again labored.

truly in the present moment…

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We breathe as one in this moment.

We miss everything. –Thich Nhat Hahn

Posted in: birds, eggs, hummingbird nest 2015, hummingbirds, joy, Nature, Photography, Quotes, Thich Nhat Hahn, Walela Tagged: Allen's Hummingbirds, breath, hummingbird eggs, hummingbird hatchlings, hummingbird nest 2015, mindfulness, photography, Thich Nhat Hahn, Walela

And now we are empty nesters

February 23, 2015 by Melodye Shore

It was still dark this morning when I snicked the front door open. Just a sliver, mind you–I didn’t want to startle the remaining hatchling, but after two solid days of pounding rain and intermittent winds, I worried that she might be cold and wet. But there she was: cozy as could be inside her dry little nest. How wise Walela was, to have built their cushiony home under a roof overhang!

(This set of two pictures comes from yesterday’s photo session. I didn’t get pictures of Jennifer in the nest this morning.)

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Whew, what a relief! With a steaming mug of vanilla-hazelnut coffee at my elbow, I posted a blog update, in which I predicted she’d fledge sometime today.

Not an hour later, my husband called me to the door. The nest was empty! I grabbed my camera and snapped a picture. Just one, inadequate though it might be, to honor the nest that served Walela and her brood so well.

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I lowered my camera to my side, and stood silent for a few minutes longer. And here’s where the magic happened, as it so often does when we’re willing to stay in the moment…

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Jennifer returned to the fuchsia plant and perched herself on the slimmest of branches! She must’ve sensed Walela’s whirring approach, because with one eye focused on me, she turned her head and opened her beak.

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I didn’t capture the feeding itself, but seeing as how I’ve posted so many pictures and videos, here and on Facebook, I’ll bet you can easily imagine it in your mind’s eye by now.

A small part of me is sad, of course. Who wouldn’t be, after cheering them on, for days on end? But more so, I’m celebrating. It rarely happens that both hummingbird hatchlings survive from egg to fledge, so I’m thrilled to know that Sunshine and Jennifer beat the odds.

Posted in: birds, eggs, Flight, hummingbird hatchlings, hummingbird nest 2015, hummingbirds, joy, Nature, Photography, Walela Tagged: Allen's Hummingbirds, baby hummingbirds, fledging, flight, hummingbird hatchlings 2015, magic, orange county, Walela

No ordinary eggs, these

February 14, 2015 by Melodye Shore

It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird: it would be a jolly sight harder for a bird to learn to fly while remaining an egg.
We are like eggs at present. And you cannot go on indefinitely being just an ordinary, decent egg. We must be hatched or go bad. — C.S. Lewis

Walela’s hatchlings are 15 and 17 days old now. *sniff* Time flies, and wow, haven’t they grown?

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When they’re not snuggled side-by-side in the nest, waiting for Walela to bring them another meal, they’re flapping their wings and wriggling precipitously on its edge.

This video footage shows them for the survivors they are. It ends on a really sweet note, but given all their daredevil aerobatics, it’s not for the faint-of-heart.

They’ll fledge within a week, so while these flight simulations seem scary to us as bystanders, they are critical to the hummingbird babies’ ultimate survival.

Here’s a shorter, tamer video, for the good eggs among us who might’ve watched only a portion of the first video through splayed fingers. So funny, the way they poke Walela’s chest with their growing beaks, as if to say, “Mom, Mom, is it lunch time yet? Mom?” And see how she preens their pinfeathers at the end?

Posted in: birds, C.S. Lewis, eggs, Flight, hummingbird hatchlings, hummingbird nest 2015, hummingbirds, Photography, Walela Tagged: c.s. lewis, flight simulation, hummingbird hatchlings, Hummingbird nest, hummingbird nest 2015, hummingbirds, photography, Walela

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