#FrecklesFriday

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

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.

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#FrecklesFriday: Good luck vibes for Friday the 13th

A flock of crows circled overhead this morning –a sinister gathering of dark-winged forces that broke my backyard reverie.

“Nevermore,” they rasped.

“Nevermore,” the canyon echoed.

“No more,” I whispered, and hurried inside.

Friday the 13th. It’s a fretful date for many, steeped in a brew pot of superstitions and ominous warnings.

But not Freckles. I mean, c’mon! Sunny skies overhead and a bellyful of herring…who wouldn’t be reveling in their good fortune?

Life isn’t perfect, of course. Tsunamis hit and storm clouds threaten. But if anyone can teach us how to turn an inauspicious day toward the good, it’s Freckles. He just goes with the flow, our pinniped pal, and so can we.

 

#FrecklesFriday is a relatively new blog feature, here at Joyful Noise. Let me know what you think!  (If you want to see the first few entries, click here.)

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#FrecklesFriday: Reciprocated gifts

To the vast blue ocean, I offered a single rose,

and whispered a simple prayer about gratitude and grace.

It was ushered into deeper waters by the outgoing tides.

The ocean swaddled it in velvet,

And sang to it sweet lullabies and old, familiar hymns.

Time passed. The tides rolled in and receded.

I waded in the shallows, watched the rosebud sink and rise again.

A deep peace washed over me, and when the tidewaters dipped to their lowest ebb, I discovered these treasures from the sea.

Is it any wonder that Freckles likes to lounge here, in Treasure Island Cove?

 

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#FrecklesFriday (With thanks to Mary Oliver)

The sea can do craziness,

it can do smooth,

it can lie down like silk breathing 

or toss havoc shoreward;

it can give gifts or withhold all;

it can rise, ebb,

froth like an incoming frenzy of fountains,

or it can sweet-talk entirely.

As I can too, and so, no doubt, can you, and you.  

–Mary Oliver, A Thousand Mornings (featuring Freckles the Harbor Seal)

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