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A Joyful Noise

quote

Pink

August 2, 2019 by Melodye Shore

I believe in pink. I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner. I believe in kissing, kissing a lot. I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day and I believe in miracles.–Audrey Hepburn

Today’s theme for #AugustBreak2019 is PINK. Susannah Conway founded this event several years ago; and while I’ve always enjoyed the artistic challenge, I love best that when I scroll through my social media feeds, I’m meeting up with creatives who, like me, are exploring ideas and techniques that move them past their comfort zones. Not to mention, it’s so much fun to peer through their windows on the world!

Here’s the deets…wanna join us? Just create a photographic image that somehow illustrates the theme of the day, and then share it on your favorite social media networks. Easy-peasy. No need to use a high-end camera–a cell phone snap is totally fine! Simple or abstract, fancy or straightforward…you get to translate the daily prompt however you want. It’s group play, but even better, because you get to make up your own rules!

Posted in: #AugustBreak2019, 2019, Audrey Hepburn, garden, gardening, miracles, Photography, photography challenge, pink, quote, rose, social media, Summer, Susannah Conway, writing Tagged: #AugustBreak2019, Audrey hepburn, garden, New Zealand Rose, photography, pink, rose

Hummingbirds help stitch together Heaven and Earth

May 8, 2019 by Melodye Shore

In a way, light unites the spiritual world and the ephemeral, physical world. People frequently talk about spiritual experiences using the vocabulary of light: Saul on the road to Damascus, near-death experiences, samadhi or the light-filled void of Buddhist enlightenment. –artist James Turrell (Allen’s hummingbird in my backyard)

Posted in: hummingbird, quote, wings, writing Tagged: Ephemeral, hummingbird, Road to Damascus

Rest in Poetry, Mary Oliver

January 18, 2019 by Melodye Shore

There’s nothing spectacular about this photo, save for the memories it represents. I was meandering down the boardwalk, shrouded in ocean mist. My thoughts wandered, too, as is their wont on my morning walks. Suddenly this Torch Aloe appeared, cutting through the fog and setting ablaze a patch of lavender. The wonder of it all…high drama, whispered poetry.

I hope these unexpected encounters will always spark joy, and forever pique my curiosity. As Mary Oliver famously wrote,“When it’s over, I want to say: all my life I was a bride married to amazement.”

Posted in: Mary Oliver, Nature, Poetry, quote, Quotes, writing Tagged: beach, curiosity, joy, Lavender, mary oliver, ocean mist, poetry, quotes, Torch Aloe

A weary world rejoices

December 25, 2018 by Melodye Shore

Nativity Scene in St. Patrick’s Cathedral, NYC

Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful.  –Norman Vincent Peale

Posted in: cathedral, Christmas, christmas 2018, creche, joy, joyful noise, nativity, Norman Vincent Peale, quote, Quotes, st. patrick's cathedral, writing Tagged: Christmas 2018, creche, golden retriever, joy, nativity, norman vincent peale, quote, quotes, st. patrick's cathedral

Happy Hanukkah 2018

December 3, 2018 by Melodye Shore

https://pixabay.com/en/candles-menorah-light-hanukkah-897776/

For though my faith is not yours and your faith is not mine, if we each are free to light our own flame, together we can banish some of the darkness of the world. –Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks

Happy Hanukkah to everyone who celebrates the Festival of Lights!  May we find hope in this season of miracles, and be comforted by the presence of Light.

Posted in: Christmas, Christmas lights, Hanukkah, Hanukkah candles, quote, Quotes, rabbi lord jonathan sacks, writing Tagged: candles, hanukkah, hanukkah 2018, happy hanukkah, Holiday Lights, light, menorah, Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, rituals

Your Moment to Shine

November 21, 2018 by Melodye Shore
The moment is here,
the moment you step
forward from fear
into light, the moment
that your soul takes flight.
Burrow no more in darkness
and despair. Dare to show
your radiant self,
the miracle of awakened
energy giving you wings
and the courage to be
human and divine
at the same time.
Passages excerpted from Your Moment to Shine, by Danna Faulds.
Posted in: hummingbird, hummingbirds, quote, Quotes, writing Tagged: candelabra aloe, Danna Faulds, hummingbirds, poem, poetry, Your Moment to shine

Lift every voice and vote

November 6, 2018 by Melodye Shore

Image credit: Oglala Lakota artist Lana Grove, on Twitter (https://twitter.com/girlgeenius). Posted with permission.

 

Now all we need is to continue to speak the truth fearlessly, and we shall add to our number those who will turn the scale to the side of equal and full justice in all things. —Lucy Stone, suffragist, born 1818.

Posted in: art, artist, Election 2018, quote, Quotes, VOTE, women's rights, writing Tagged: abolitionist, artist, Election 2018, Lana Grove, Lucy Stone, Oglala Lakota, quote, suffragist, vote

Autumn by the Ocean

October 17, 2018 by Melodye Shore

It’s autumn here, absolutely. But if you’re expecting cool, crisp mornings and chilly nights, you’ll have to look elsewhere.

Here in Southern California, autumn is an extension of summer, with longer shadows and shorter days. There are fewer tourists, but it’s still warm enough for picnic lunches by the beach. Here, for example, ants are sipping nectar from a honeysuckle vine, which has twisted itself around the thorny bougainvillea bush that clings to the limestone cliff with an oceanside view.

And this is the bougainvillea around which the honeysuckle wraps its arms.

Our Mediterranean climate is far different from leafy New England, where farm stands are piled high with crunchy apples and colorful foliage forms a thick, kaleidoscope carpet over suburban lawns and forests.  It’s warm here, and sunny, but equally beautiful in its own way.

I love our cozy autumn mornings, when the marine layer blankets the hills and the sunrise sets the tile roofs aglow.

The sun slants lower in the afternoon sky, casting a warm glow over the wildflowers and spotlighting the iridescent hummingbirds that flit through our backyard gardens. And just before nightfall, the sun transforms itself into a shimmering ball that scatters diamonds over the ocean. As Victoria Erickson once said, “If a year was tucked inside of a clock, then autumn would be the magic hour.”

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Posted in: autumn, garden, Ocean waves, Orange County California, quote, Quotes, writing Tagged: autumn, bougainvillea, fall, foliage, honeysuckle, Mediterranean climate, ocean, Victoria Ericcson

Sun, sun, sun, here it comes…

June 21, 2018 by Melodye Shore

Above the hills, along the blue,
Round the bright air with footing true,
To please the child, to paint the rose,
The gardener of the World, he goes.

–Excerpted from “Summer Sun,” by Robert Lewis Stevenson

Happy Summer Solstice! ‘Tis the season for flip-flops and sandy beaches, iced tea and sun-soaked memories. And light, too–we could use more of that. Hope you’ll savor every sweet, juicy moment, and that you’ll share a slice of summer with me, here!

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Posted in: Poetry, quote, Quotes, Robert Lewis Stevenson, Summer, Summer Solstice, writing Tagged: poem, poetry, quote, Robert Lewis Stevenson, summer, summer solstice, Summer Sun, Summer Sun by Robert Lewis Stevenson, Sun

#WordlessWednesday: Rise. And Shine

June 20, 2018 by Melodye Shore

Inspired by Linda Brunker’s sculpture, “Voyager”

Posted in: #WordlessWednesday, Linda Brunker, quote, Rise, Rise and Shine, Sculpture Tagged: Linda Brunker, RIse, Rise and shine, sculpture, Voyager
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