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A Joyful Noise

harbor seal

International Day of the Seal

March 23, 2023 by Melodye Shore Leave a Comment

It’s been a while, but I’m back! And I’ve brought with me a herd of local pinnipeds to help celebrate International Day of the Seal.

According to this PBS Fact Sheet, “There are 33 species of pinnipeds, which are colloquially known as seals.” But it’s no secret that my favorites are the local harbor seals, with whom I’ve become very familiar.

Even as nursing pups, these marine mammals are adorable.

Sure, they look a bit ungainly, but you gotta appreciate their persistence! Here, a yearling seal pup takes a breather in the surf grass, waiting no doubt for an incoming wave to help hoist him to the higher rocks where a raft of friends awaits him. 

Harbor seals have highly developed senses, too–super powers that they use to detect changes in the environment, find food, and distinguish friends from predators. 

That thick layer of blubber? It protects them from the cold. But as you can see, it also creates a cushiony pillow when they haul out on jagged rocks. And as for that fur coat, it’s a leisure suit and a wet suit, all rolled into one.

When they’re in the water, it’s hunting season. But when they’re not foraging for their next meal, these puppy-faced pinnipeds are all about rest. Reproduction, too, but mostly rest. 

Here, for example, our friend Freckles is lifting his head just high enough to taste the sea spray that just awakened him from an afternoon snooze. Wasn’t long before he nodded off again.

There’s lots more I could say, in celebration of the seal. But I’m just now dipping my toe back in the water, so I think I’ll these photos speak for themselves.

One more before I go: A whole party in a single seal. Pretty sure this guy is giving International Day of the Seal his #SealofApproval!

Posted in: Marine Life Tagged: blog, california, harbor seal, International Day of the Seal, laguna beach, Marine Mammals, PBS, photography, Pinniped, seal

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

Wordless Wednesday: Siesta by the Sea

September 21, 2017 by Melodye Shore

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Posted in: Freckles, Laguna Beach, marine mammals, marine wildlife, pinnipeds, Treasure Island, Wordless Wednesday Tagged: freckles, harbor seal, laguna beach, Marine Mammal, Pinniped, Treasure Island

#FrecklesFriday (With thanks to Mary Oliver)

September 15, 2017 by Melodye Shore

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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Posted in: #FrecklesFriday, A Thousand Mornings, Freckles, Harbor Seals, Mary Oliver, pinnipeds, Poetry, seals Tagged: #FrecklesFriday, A Thousand Mornings, freckles, harbor seal, mary oliver, poetry

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