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A Joyful Noise

dog

Courage and compassion, unleashed

August 16, 2018 by Melodye Shore

Meet my new friend, Chewy–a gorgeous, gregarious Golden Retriever.

I admire his tenacity, holding on to that stick with a singular focus! I’m teaching myself how to photograph animals/birds in motion–not so easy, but he’s a most accommodating subject.

Chewy’s a well-loved, well-trained rescue who carries himself with a confidence that comes of knowing that he’s safe.

But other dogs aren’t as lucky. Sea creatures, either. I re-learned that painful lesson, when I stumbled upon this:

A spiked dog collar at the water’s edge, lodged between wet sand and rock. It had washed out to sea–heavy chain and stabby metal, weaponized further by strong waves and currents. Who knows what damage it could’ve inflicted on our precious marine life and habitats, had the ocean not spit it out again?

The sand is hard-packed, in and around those nasty spikes. With the calm blue ocean as backdrop, maybe it doesn’t look as dangerous as it really is. But take a look at this most recent research, via the Ocean Conservancy.  Or scan this partial list:

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080416214912.htm

(Excerpt via Science Daily, linked above.)

I simply can’t imagine any circumstances where a dog owner would use a pronged collar, much less be so absent-minded as to leave it behind. Try as I might, there’s no sugar coating something so reckless, so potentially cruel and harmful. And although my friends whispered other, even uglier possibilities, I can’t bear to think about them, much less repeat them here.

It’s hard to confront things like this, but we must. Each one, teaching one, and encouraging others to do the same. For Chewy and his four-legged friends, for marine wildlife and their ocean habitats, and for our own future on this beautiful planet we call home.

Posted in: beach, Chewy, Golden retriever, Ocean Conservancy, writing Tagged: Chewy, dog, golden retriever, ocean, Ocean Conservancy, Ocean debris, pronged collar, rescue animal, spiked collar, stick

Latte Run #NoFilter

September 16, 2017 by Melodye Shore

6:15 a.m. on a Saturday. My local Starbucks is empty, save for two baristas behind the counter and a clutch of old coots, man-spread across the cushiest seats in the store.

Just shy of the entrance, an elderly dog rests on a makeshift bed. His leash is tethered to a sycamore tree.  My heart pangs for the grizzled pooch, left to fend for himself on this near-dark morning. Laughter wafts through the thick glass doors. He stares mournfully into his water dish, whimpers slightly.

Wonder if he’d let me pet him?  

I extend my hand, but then…the dog starts licking his private parts. As canines do.

I wrinkle my nose, ever so slightly, and scurry into the coffee shop. “Latte please,” I say.

Loud chatter becomes stage whispers. Rheumy eyes are fixed on me. I’m pretending not to notice, tra la la, scrolling through text messages while my coffee’s brewing.

Out of the corner of my eye, I watch another customer approach the door. He’s wearing paint-spattered clothes, steel-toed shoes and a baseball cap. Aforementioned dog–who’s apparently finished his morning hygiene–peers up at the man with soulful eyes. Painter guy squats down to pet him, and the dog licks and licks and licks his beaming face. Just a boy and a dog…oblivious to anything that came before, basking in the joys of this singular moment.

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Posted in: #Unedited, #Unfiltered, coffee, Latte run, Starbucks Tagged: #Unedited, #Unfiltered, coffee shop, dog, latte, Latte run, manspread, starbucks

Art Challenge of the week: LOVE

February 10, 2016 by Melodye Shore

Once upon a time, a consortium of artisans (poets, musicians, artists, and the like) tried to translate this complex emotion into words. But as someone wise once said, the language of love has many dialects.

In honor of Valentine’s Day, our Art Challenge theme o’ the week is (cue the harp music) LOVE. And lucky me, I get to host it.

Here, an opportunity to translate your own thoughts into images, using your favorite art form(s) and media. I enjoy photography, so I’ll be working with my camera. But Art Challenges are for all-comers. Painting, sewing, drawing, cooking…express your creativity any way you like, so long as you share your finished work in pictures.

Let your imagination run free! Picture yourself and your beloved, for instance, doing something that sparks your inner passions. (Hint: It doesn’t have to be romantic.)

20160209-P1250925

LOVE isn’t all chocolate and roses, although it could be. It can be sweet as these hummingbird hatchlings, in a cottony-soft nest…

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Or as absurd as this peacock, oblivious to its surroundings.

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LOVE can be dangerous at times, and prickly.

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Clingy or trusting? Reveal to us your vantage point, in literal or figurative ways.

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There are countless approaches you might take, when it comes to this theme o’ the week. No rules;  limitless boundaries. But may I offer you one suggestion? Leave no stone unturned in your quest for LOVE!

20160209-P1250902

One last thing: Be sure to link your project to the blog entry I post this Friday.

Note: This Art Challenge is not a contest, and you most certainly don’t need to be a pro to participate. This is art for its own sake, no judgment or restrictions. So c’mon, share the love.

Posted in: art, art challenge, beach, birds, hummingbird nest, hummingbirds, Love, mother nature, Nature, Photography, photography challenge Tagged: agave, beach, birds, cactus, dog, heart, hummingbird hatchlings, joy, love, rock, running on the beach, seagulls

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