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A Joyful Noise

laguna beach

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

Happy New Year 2020

January 1, 2020 by Melodye Shore

We meditated by the water’s edge, saying goodbye to 2019 and inviting goodness and light into the New Year.

We wrote our intentions in the sand with driftwood and allowed the incoming waves to wash them out to sea. 

Three close friends, basking in the sunshine and enjoying each other’s company.

Two small girls walked past, holding their young mother’s hands. They glanced back at us, watching our every move.

The littlest one caught my gaze. I smiled and then added a rose from my garden to the words I’d etched in the sand.

She grinned, grabbed a stick of her own, and lifted it overhead. An unspoken gesture of solidarity among kindreds.

When we left the beach a while later, she was writing her own story into the sand.

Singular events, brimming with joy and sprinkled with magic. This is what we live for. And if we’re lucky enough, we have friends and loved ones with whom to share them.

Happy New Year, everybody! Wishing you every goodness in the now, and every good thing on the horizon.

Posted in: 2020, beach, Christmas Memories, Laguna Beach, memories, New Year's Eve, Rituals and Routines, writing Tagged: 2020, beach, friends, girl, laguna beach, magic wand, magical moments, new year's, new year's eve, sand

Lessons from a Painted Lady

March 5, 2019 by Melodye Shore

I spied this Painted Lady on my walk last week, hovering above the sea lavender at Laguna Beach.

I slowed my pace, lifted my camera.

She  flitted from flower to flower, dipping her proboscis into the purple blossoms, sipping nectar.

I could’ve circled back later, once my exercise routine was over. But ohhhh, those gossamer threads along her wings and back…!

She seemed totally unaware of my presence. I, however, was wholly engrossed in the slant of her antennae, her perfectly balanced wings and feet. Part physics, pure magic.

When she eventually flitted away, I stashed my camera and resumed my walk.

Mind you: I had a parking meter to feed, errands to run, writing projects in the queue, and…well. Unscheduled activities have their tradeoffs. And still: You can’t perform a cost-benefit analysis in moments like this one! Because even when we fall out of our target heart rate zones, even when our to-do lists are longer than the hours in a day, some things invite (and deserve) our full attention.

Posted in: Butterflies, Laguna Beach, Mindful, mindfulness, Nature, nectar, Painted Lady, Sea Lavender, writing Tagged: butterfly, laguna beach, mindfulness, Painted Lady, sea lavender

Part of the human family

August 4, 2018 by Melodye Shore

She’s a complete stranger, but I saw in her a kindred spirit–wholly absorbed in the moment, bathing in seawater and sunshine.

Posted in: beach, girl, Human family, Laguna Beach, Maya Angelou, sunshine, Treasure Island, writing Tagged: beach, human family, joy, laguna beach, maya angelou, ocean waves, sunshine, waves

#WordlessWednesday: A Pollinator’s Paradise

June 6, 2018 by Melodye Shore

pink puffball tree, Pink Melaleuca

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Posted in: #WordlessWednesday, Honey Myrtle, honeybees, Laguna Beach, Pink Melaleuca Tagged: bee, california, Honey Myrtle, honeybee, laguna beach, Melaleuca Nemophila, orange county, pink, Pink Melaleuca, pink puff, pollinator, puff ball tree

Wordless Wednesday: Buried Treasure

January 31, 2018 by Melodye Shore

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Posted in: #WordlessWednesday, Buried Treasure, Gifts from the sea, Nickel, Wordless Wednesday, writing Tagged: buried treasure, coin, laguna beach, nickel, Treasure Island, wordless wednesday

The Weary World Rejoices

December 25, 2017 by Melodye Shore

Joy to the world, from sunny SoCal!

Today’s blog entry was inspired by my friend Donna Hopkins, who lives in rural Virginia. I hope you’ll share holiday images of your hometown, as well.

Posted in: Balance walking, Christmas, Christmas lights, Christmas Memories, Christmas ornament, gift, Laguna Beach, rejoice, victoria beach, writing Tagged: Balance beam, christmas ornament, couple, gift, laguna beach, rejoice, victoria beach

#ThankfulThursday: “A fierce and enduring gratitude”

October 26, 2017 by Melodye Shore

Let us meet just slightly west and south of a place called despair.

It is a place that does not turn away from difficulty or fierceness. And yet it is also a place of paradoxical gratitude, where images, metaphors, powerful language and practices of grateful living combine to bring about moments of belonging, grace and yes, even joy. —Dale Biron

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Posted in: #ThankfulThursday, Gifts from the sea, gratitude, Thankful Thursday, writing Tagged: #ThankfulThursday, A fierce and enduring gratitude, beach at sunset, Dale Biron, gratitude, laguna beach, sunset, thankful thursday, Treasure Island

#ThankfulThursday: Finding wonders

October 19, 2017 by Melodye Shore

Human beings must always be on the watch for the coming of wonders. –E.B. White

Turban Snail shell in Goff Island Cove, Laguna Beach.

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Posted in: #ThankfulThursday, E.B. White, Goff Island, goff Island cove, Laguna Beach, Quotes, Seashells, Thankful Thursday, Turban Snail shell, writing Tagged: #ThankfulThursday, E. B. White, Finding wonders, goff island cove, laguna beach, quotes, seashells, thankful thursday, Turban Snail shell

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
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