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A Joyful Noise

huntington beach

“Because nature doesn’t know about borders”

November 5, 2016 by Melodye Shore

We should bow deeply before the orchid and the snail and join our palms reverently before the monarch butterfly and the magnolia tree. The feeling of respect for all species will help us recognize the noblest nature in ourselves. –Thích Nhất Hạnh

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Overwintering Monarch Butterflies (Huntington Beach, California)

I’m honored to share with you some wonderful news:

Thanks to my blog entry about Overwintering Monarchs in Orange County, California, I get play a small part in a program designed to raise public awareness about overwintering spots for Monarch butterflies in Mexico!

A team of biologists from Ensenada approached me a while back, asking permission to use the photo I’ve reposted at the top of this page.

We have some pictures and diagrams of the Monarch but we don’t have pictures of the Monarch when they are clustered in the eucalyptus tree. We would like to have this pictures so people have an idea what to look for to find the Overwintering spots…. We applied thru the National Park of Sierra de San Pedro Mártir to get founds from the CONANP (National Commission of Protected Natural Areas) to raise awareness of the status of the Monarch Butterfly in Baja California. We got a [grant] to make a 2 day workshop for 20 people. We are inviting personal from the Natural Protected Areas from Baja California, also representatives of the Nongovernmental Organisations that work with Conservation and Wildlife in the area (Terra Peninsular, Pro Esteros, FASOL, etc). The workshop will be given by my fellow Biologist Ibes Favian Davila and Felipe Leon, who recently attended a Monarch Conservation Conference in Alamo Sonora…

As part of this public awareness project, biologist Saul Riatiga and his colleagues created posters and brochures that 1) distinguish the Monarch from other butterflies; 2) identify native milkweeds; and 3) describe Overwintering spots. These print materials will be shared among conservation groups, and will also be distributed to communities in and around Ensenada.

Triptico 8 .5 x 11.

I was thrilled to see my photograph in this trifold brochure–while  I don’t read Spanish, it speaks to a lifelong wish to make a positive difference in this beautiful world we share.

Triptico 8 .5 x 112

I’ve learned so much in the process of becoming a Monarch Waystation, and then witnessing the miracle of metamorphosis in my own backyard! So gratifying, to have my own experiences linked to this larger conservation project!

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I’ve not yet mastered everything there is to know about Monarch Butterflies — not even close! — so I’m excited to see where this international partnership might lead.

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Oh, the places you’ll go…

Dr. Seuss’s words couldn’t be more prescient. This what comes of indulging your curiosity and following your passions, wherever they might lead you. Because, as of my new scientist-friends so wisely said, “Nature doesn’t know about borders.”

 

You can follow this project on Facebook, at Monarchs en la Oeste. Community members will be interacting with scientists, sharing anecdotes and contributing photos to the overall data collection efforts.  

Posted in: Baja California, Butterflies, california, Central Park Library Huntington Beach, Ensenada, eucalyptus grove, eucalyptus trees, Huntington Beach, metamorphosis, Mexico, monarch butterfly, Monarch Waystation, Photography, Thich Nhat Hahn Tagged: Ensenada, Eucalyptus trees, huntington beach, metamorphosis, Mexico, monarch butterfly, Overwintering Monarchs, photography

Labyrinth Builders

January 5, 2014 by Melodye Shore
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Never mind that he's apparently unaware of the differences between mazes and labyrinths. HB (Huntington Beach) MazeMan is an "ephemeral artist." He's also very much an entrepreneur, and by that I mean: he creates experiential art on public beaches, while tourists drop donations into a tip bucket nearby.

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Like lots of other folks, these out-of-towners thought his handiwork was a-mazing. The ocean swirled at their feet while they set up a tripod, the better to capture their kids at play in MazeMan's labyrinths.

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His designs caught the attention of this little girl, too. But watch–she's got some artistry of her own in mind.

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Children ran through MazeMan's labyrinths with joyful abandon. They posed reluctantly for hovercraft parents. But the little girl in the purple shirt stood apart from all of them, etching her own set of squiggly lines in the sand.

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Every once in a while, the other kids looked over their shoulders, to see what the girl in the purple shirt was up to. If she noticed them watching, she wasn't at all distracted.

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The sun drifted lower in the sky, and the tides receded. Families came and went, but the little girl just kept on drawing.

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 She stopped for a short moment–maybe to admire her handiwork. I thought she was finished at this point, but it wasn't long before she started up again.

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"Welcome!" she wrote, in these hastily drawn letters. And whooosh–before I finished snapping this picture, the little girl was gone.

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To each, his or her own path.

Most certainly, the artistry is different, but I noticed, too, the difference in approaches. The little girl began at heart of her labyrinth, whereas the Maze Builder wrote "Start" at the outermost edge…just a few footsteps away from the tip bucket I mentioned earlier.

Posted in: Uncategorized Tagged: hb mazeman, huntington beach, labyrinth

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