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A Joyful Noise

coyote

Respecting Nature’s Boundaries

July 7, 2019 by Melodye Shore

A fight broke out on the adjacent hillside, just after daybreak. The animals’ movements were cloaked by dense chapparel, but their battle cries echoed through the canyon. First, the bark-howl of a surprised coyote, followed closely by the low pitched, guttural growls of a bobcat (similar to, but more robust than a domestic cat). It seemed to me a territorial dispute, which the coyote apparently won, because as the bobcat’s angry yowls faded, the coyote’s yip-howls got louder.

As if on cue, a stranger rolled up in his late-model sports car. I watched from my picture window as he rushed out of the drivers’ side door, cell phone poised for snapshots. His timing was impeccable, from his point of view, but he apparently left his common sense at home.

“Here, boy,” the man called out, as he inched his way into the bushes where the coyote was singing his victory song. He responded to the yip-howls with kissing noises. “Come,” he said, followed by whistles, ignoring completely the coyote’s territorial warning as he advanced. 

When nature refused to answer his beck and call, the man threw up his hands and retreated. As I watched him climb back into his convertible, I couldn’t help but wonder how far removed from nature we sometimes are, to assume a scene from nature begins and ends with us.

(I didn’t want to encroach on the coyote’s territory with my camera, so I offer you instead a zoomed-in photograph of a hummingbird who helps stitch together the wildflowers on the hillside and the cultivars in my garden.)

Posted in: bobcat, boundaries, coyote, garden, mother nature, Nature, Photography, writing Tagged: boundaries, common sense, coyote, garden

Beep! Beep! Road Runner plays by the rules

March 1, 2018 by Melodye Shore

A roadrunner came right up to my back door this afternoon–first time I’ve ever seen one in my garden! He sped away before I could hop on my knee scooter & grab my camera, BUT! If you look in the area where the orange flowers are growing, you’ll see him beating a hasty retreat. Headed for the hills, no doubt, where Wile E. Coyote lives.

Speaking of which: I discovered the list of rules Chuck Jones developed as a creative backdrop for his Coyote and Road Runner animations! So cool, the way he sketched out each character’s personality traits beforehand. It’s also fun to think about the ways those quirks played out onscreen, predictably so, without ever losing their charm.

Photo via @AmosPosner (Chuck Jones exhibit at the Museum of the Moving Image).

My thoughts, too, Amos Posner–tweeted to a larger audience, with far fewer characters:

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Posted in: Amos Posner, cartoons, Character Rules, Chuck Jones, Road Runner, Road Runner and Coyote, writing Tagged: Amos Posner, Cartoons, character rules, Chuck Jones, coyote, editing, Road Runner, Tweet, writing

Holiday Gifts from Mother Nature

December 26, 2015 by Melodye Shore

Ho Ho Ho! Mother Nature gave me some spectacular gifts this holiday season. You, too?

When I stepped onto my front porch, for instance, I realized that a hummingbird’s been ferrying fresh fluff-and-stuff to the fuchsia plant along our walkway. Using her beak as a needle, and spider silk as thread, she stitches the cushiony material to a sturdy branch. A quick whirl of her tail feathers, and voilà! Her walnut-sized home’s beginning to take shape.  ‪#‎RoomAtTheInn‬

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Just yesterday, I spied a pair of perky ears, lurking behind the low-lying wall in our backyard. Could it be…? Yes! Wile E. Coyote loped along our fence, and then posed for the camera before trotting up the neighboring hillside.

Oh, and hey, did you notice the tender green shoots, poking their heads through the damp soil at his feet?  We’ve had lots more rainstorms of late, and the thirsty soil is gulping it right down! Here’s hoping El Niño showers us with bountiful rains this winter,  so we’ll have wildflowers aplenty, come springtime.

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“Walking in a Winter Wonderland” might suggest snow flurries and hot chocolate to some, but it sings to me of blue skies and sandy beaches.

When sunlight slants through the water just so, the waves sparkle and shimmer like jewels. Nudged by strong currents, they’re capped these days with frothy meringue peaks. You can’t buy holiday treats like this, anywhere! But at Aliso Creek Beach, they’re free for the taking.

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Here, the simple joys of the holiday season, accompanied by the ocean’s magnum opus.

The sun sinks below the horizon, and a pair of surfers wash ashore.

Behold! They stand at the water’s edge, in soggy board shorts and dreads. We witness together the grandeur of this moment.

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In this season of giving, we’re encouraged also to receive…

Unspeakable joys, for those who watch and listen. Timeless gifts, no proof of purchase required and no expiration date.

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Posted in: aliso creek beach, beach, birds, california, Christmas, coyote, hummingbird nest, mother nature, Orange County California Tagged: aliso creek beach, christmas, coyote, Hummingbird nest, sunset

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