• Home
  • About
  • Books
  • Events
  • Photo Gallery
  • Blog
  • Contact

A Joyful Noise

Harbor Seal pups

Breathing life into a new story

October 3, 2019 by Melodye Shore

If you’re staring out to sea, you might miss the harbor seals hauling out on the island. They blend in, until your eyes adjust. They’re wary, until and unless you approach their habitat with a quiet reverence. Then, and only then, you’ll notice the harbor seal pup, propelling its bulky form across the rocks at mid-tide.

It rests for a while on a silky patch of surf grass–a nap mat that expands and contracts with the tides.

Mammal and mammal, you breathe together the salty mist, watching and learning from each other. In that moment–or maybe later, when you’ve had time to reflect–you realize just how sacred and special these encounters really are. And that’s when your stories begin to take shape. 

All that to say: I’m turning the page on the book I’d originally planned to write about Freckles. I’m not yet sure how this new chapter might unfold, but I’m ready to go exploring…

Posted in: Freckles, Harbor Seal pups, Harbor Seals, Seal pup, seals, writing Tagged: Freckles and Friends, harbor seal, Ringo, seal, storytelling, writing

#FrecklesFriday: Father and son, this is how it’s done

October 28, 2017 by Melodye Shore

Freckles Jr. is learning the ways of the harbor seal, thanks to the leader of our pinniped pod, Freckles Sr.

He guides his son onto the rocks, navigating choppy waves and smooth.  Lift your tail, tuck your fins! he seems to say,  Let me show you how it’s done.

They stick close to one another,  perfecting their synchronized swimming routines…

…and simultaneous snoozing.

Bull and pup, together in nature’s classroom.

Watching from afar? Pure joy! But I have to confess: I got a bit misty-eyed when I saw through my camera lens this moment of unguarded intimacy.

The circle of life, spindle-shaped and freckled, was playing out before my very eyes.

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

Posted in: #FrecklesFriday, Freckles, Freckles Jr., Harbor Seal pups, Harbor Seals, writing Tagged: #FrecklesFriday, father, freckles, harbor seals

In the aftermath of the Las Vegas Shooting

October 3, 2017 by Melodye Shore

I met this sweet little harbor seal pup a year ago today.

Maverick showed up on my social media feed again this morning–

a gentle reminder of the goodness that exists in the world, within and all around us.

And loving kindness, which reveals itself in every single moment of every day.

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

Posted in: Harbor Seal pups, Harbor Seals, Las Vegas, Maverick Tagged: harbor seal pup, harbor seals, Las Vegas, Las Vegas shooting, Maverick

Wordless Wednesday: Optimism and Persistence

May 17, 2017 by Melodye Shore

Posted in: Freckles, Harbor Seal pups, Harbor Seals, Laguna Beach, Ocean waves, perseverance, Persistence, pinnipeds, seals, she persisted, Wordless Wednesday Tagged: determination, harbor seals, persistence, seal pup, Treasure Island

April Art Challenge: Earth Day

April 22, 2017 by Melodye Shore

I’m settled into my backyard glider, watching the hummingbirds sip nectar from native wildflowers and then zip across the sky.

Earth Day is tomorrow, I just remembered, and I’m hosting our Art Challenge on this blog.

But first, I will watch the sun slant through the palm trees, and listen to the sparrow’s lullaby. I am a child again, sitting in my Nana’s porch swing and blowing dandelion wishes into a rainbow-sherbet sky.

We’re so easily distracted, all of us. We lose sight of what’s important, ignore our inner longings. Hence, these monthly Art Challenges!

I like best that they invite me outdoors–playful spirit at the ready, all senses engaged.

Like tiny seedlings, our prompts are rooted in the things that matter most.  Our environment, for instance, and the beautiful creatures with whom we co-exist.

We’re a diverse group, amateurs and pros who express ourselves in different ways.  Using a monthly prompt as our muse, we come together in the name of “art.”

These challenges aren’t a competition, by any means. Participation is our goal, not perfection. It’s all about capturing a fleeting memory, exploring our passions, renewing our childlike sense of wonder, and yes! making a joyful noise.

It’s about storytelling, in words and pictures–being transported to another time and place, or finding our way home.

For this art challenge, we’re showcasing our beautiful home, in all its glory.

Let’s get this party started, shall we?  Some artists will lag behind, but no worries: That’s what comes of being members of a global community. Take the tour when you’re able, and then return for another visit!

Gallery of Artists (with links to their Earth Day entries):

Veronica

Tammie

Eric

Nadine

Carole

Christy

Posted in: art challenge, backyard, birds, Carlsbad, Flower Fields, flowers, garden, Goff Beach, goff cove, goff Island cove, Harbor Seal pups, Harbor Seals, Home, mindfulness, Ranunculus Tagged: carlsbad, egret, flower fields, flowers, garden, goff island cove, harbor seals, hummingbird, ranunculus

Seal Pups at Children’s Pool Beach in La Jolla

April 8, 2017 by Melodye Shore

Before I built a wall I’d ask to know
What I was walling in or walling out,
And to whom I was like to give offense. (Robert Frost, Mending Wall)

I visited Children’s Pool Beach in La Jolla this past Tuesday–what an eye-opening, heart-expanding trip!

This charming little enclave was a well-intentioned, but perhaps shortsighted, gift to the people of San Diego, back in 1931. In funding this project, Ellen Browning Scripps brought a personal dream to fruition:  a protected beach for children, the elderly, and “those handicapped in life’s game.”

Ellen didn’t own the property, mind you. She just laid out the cash for the 330-foot, crescent-shaped concrete wall that hugs the rocky shoreline.

Then as now, visitors strolled the length of the breakwater, snapping photos of the sweeping panoramic views and peeking into the tide pools below [video].

Years passed. Slowly but surely, the once-pristine swimming hole was filled with drifting sand.

It eventually transformed itself into an idyllic hangout…for harbor seals.

The horseshoe-shaped inlet (also known as Casa Beach) is perfectly suited to the pinniped lifestyle.  They bask in year-round sunshine, mate, and give swimming lessons to their newborn pups.

Check out the scene, in this live-action video.

Seal pups are born in the sand,  nurse within minutes, and take their first swimming lessons within a few hours.

Over the next few weeks, they’ll lose their downy fur and gain their independence.

But in the meantime, the breakwater helps protect them from predators and turbulent seas.

In this peaceable kingdom, sea birds and marine mammals find ways to co-exist, with only an occasional squabble.

No surprise, the harbor seal pups are a major draw. In fact, they helped turn Children’s Beach into a major tourist attraction.

Just look at this mama seal being shadowed by her pup. Postcard material, don’t you think? Hashtag: #HarborSealsofInstagram

But not everyone sees these changes as a good thing. Locals pinch their noses and point to the mess. No, not the half-eaten sandwiches and disposable diapers, buried in the sand by thoughtless visitors. Seal poop, plopped on the rocks and in the water. “It leaves behind an ungodly stench,” business owners harrumph, especially in the summer.

Fishermen are afraid of losing out to the seals, who forage along this increasingly depleted coastline.

And swimmers complain that they’re coming face-to-muzzle with playful (or unhappy) pinnipeds. In a territorial battle, both parties can be aggressive and unpredictable.

Deep dive: Should the beach be permanently designated as a marine mammal sanctuary, or should it be returned to its pristine (if man-made) state?

The controversy has landed in the courts, many times over. Strongly held views sometimes lead to violent skirmishes. It’s hard to accommodate everyone, but thanks to a recent ordinance, the pocket beach is off-limits to humans from Dec. 15 to May 15 (aka pupping season)–mainly in response to documented cases of seal harassment.  

The Coastal Commission sided with city politicians, all of whom were mainly concerned that mama harbor seals might get frightened during pupping season and “flush” (stampede) into the water. Newborn seals get trampled, or separated in the shuffle. There’s perhaps nothing more wrenching than a frantic, hungry baby that’s crying for its mama.

Some people think humans and pinnipeds should be able to interact with one another in peace.  With respect to that viewpoint, the adjacent beach is open to the public, all year long. Since harbor seals also frequent this beach, warning signs are posted at the entrance and on the steps leading down to the water.

But “shared use” doesn’t mean the same thing to everyone.

(I’m told that this beach is staffed by park rangers and lifeguards. But I didn’t see anyone patrolling the area.)

Some people would be happier if the harbor seals never set their flippers on Children’s Pool Beach, ever again. But I have a feeling they’re swimming against the tide.

P.S. I took these photographs on the seawall and walkways that surround Children’s Pool, and (where noted) above the adjacent beach. I used a zoom lens, and at no time did I ever venture close to the harbor seals.

Posted in: beach, Children's Pool Beach, Ellen Browning Scripps, Harbor Seal pups, Harbor Seals, La Jolla, marine mammals, pinnipeds, San Diego, seagulls, seals, tide pools, writing Tagged: birds, Children's Pool Beach, harbor seals, La Jolla, san diego, seals

Wordless Wednesday: Prelude to a longer post about harbor seal pups

April 5, 2017 by Melodye Shore

Posted in: beach, Children's Pool Beach, Harbor Seal pups, La Jolla, marine mammals, mother nature, pinnipeds, seals, Wordless Wednesday, writing Tagged: Children's Pool Beach, harbor seals, Marine Mammals, mother nature, nature, pinnipeds, sea mammals, seals

Topics

ab 2165 beach billy graham birds can i get a witness christmas dear bully family archives flowers freckles garden gardening harbor seals hope hummingbird hummingbird hatchlings hummingbird nest 2015 hummingbirds jeannine atkins joy joyful noise laguna beach land of medicine buddha memoir memoir writing monarch butterfly nana nancy drew new year's eve ocean orange county peace photography poetry rosa resolution rose sara seals tent revival thankful thursday thanksgiving the author's tent throwback thursday wordless wednesday writing

Recent Posts

  • International Day of the Seal
  • My uncouth neighbors: A murder of crows
  • Smitten with Kittens, by Florence and Wendell Minor
  • Happy Valentine’s Day!
  • Happy New Year, 2022
  • The Badlands
  • TINY BIRD: A Hummingbird’s Amazing Journey

Archives

Copyright © 2023 .

Omega WordPress Theme by ThemeHall