rose –

Pink

August 2, 2019 by Melodye Shore

I believe in pink. I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner. I believe in kissing, kissing a lot. I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day and I believe in miracles.–Audrey Hepburn

Today’s theme for #AugustBreak2019 is PINK. Susannah Conway founded this event several years ago; and while I’ve always enjoyed the artistic challenge, I love best that when I scroll through my social media feeds, I’m meeting up with creatives who, like me, are exploring ideas and techniques that move them past their comfort zones. Not to mention, it’s so much fun to peer through their windows on the world!

Here’s the deets…wanna join us? Just create a photographic image that somehow illustrates the theme of the day, and then share it on your favorite social media networks. Easy-peasy. No need to use a high-end camera–a cell phone snap is totally fine! Simple or abstract, fancy or straightforward…you get to translate the daily prompt however you want. It’s group play, but even better, because you get to make up your own rules!

Nevertheless, she persisted

January 16, 2019 by Melodye Shore

I’ve coddled two climbing roses for almost 5 years, now, and have been rewarded with about as many blooms. I almost gave up on them, truth be told, because they don’t didn’t seem all that happy in my backyard. But they’re finally taking off: arching outward and growing taller. We’re growing on each other, you might say. Behold the Zephirine Drouhin–a bright spot of color in the pelting rain.

Be Soft

October 9, 2018 by Melodye Shore

Be soft. Do not let the world make you hard. Do not let the pain make you hate. Do not let the bitterness steal your sweetness. Take pride that even though the rest of the world may disagree, you still believe it to be a beautiful place. –Lain S. Thomas

Lesson from an incinerated garden: Soften your gaze

July 10, 2018 by Melodye Shore

Last week, a fire-breathing dragon swooped into my backyard garden, wreaking havoc.

It scalded these Meyer Lemons, which were just about ripe.

Sun-scalded Meyer Lemon, citrus

It was a relentless, record-breaking heatwave that scorched everything in reach.

Gardenia, heat-damaged gardenia

Healthy leaves curled in on themselves, and turned crispy brown. Rose petals got singed, and assumed grotesque shapes.

This week is all about digging up and pruning back, salvaging what I can and encouraging new growth. From here on, it’s a game of wait and see: a budding leaf, the subtle lift of a drooping plant. I’m optimistic, for the most part.

Sun-scorched camellia, high-fragrance camellia

A rascally rabbit has joined my clean-up crew–comic relief! Butterflies drift through the yard, laying eggs that will eventually replace the caterpillars that didn’t make it.

rabbit, bunny, rascally rabbit

The urge to reproduce is strong, isn’t it? The need to set things right. But dreams don’t often translate into reality overnight.

Lesson from an incinerated garden: Soften your gaze.

hummingbird, soften your gaze, Santa Barbara Sage

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Mother’s Day

May 8, 2016 by Melodye Shore

To all those who’ve

nurtured,

protected,

inspired,

laughed and cried,

commiserated and conspired with us,

revealed to us their vulnerabilities,

believed in the shimmery magic of starlight, fireflies, and rainbows,

showered us with grace,

and loved us into the light…

Happy Mother’s Day.

Art Challenge of the Week: Amid waves of concern, a sea of calm

November 20, 2015 by Melodye Shore

When was the last time you spent a relaxing day at the beach, completely unplugged–

resting quietly at the ocean’s edge,

utterly mesmerized by waves that froth and curl, and then ease themselves ashore?

When’s the last time you saw a seagull take wing,

or spied a honeybee, humming a song about sunshine as it collects pollen?

Do you remember the last time you heard the ocean’s lullaby,

felt it ease the wrinkles from your worried brow?

(Did you figure it out already? This week’s art challenge prompt is the word CALM.)

Want to see more? My responses to previous challenges are available here.

Wordless Wednesday II: From bareroot roses to first blossom

March 28, 2012 by Melodye Shore

Signs and wonders

April 5, 2007 by Melodye Shore

I’m making lots of progress with my writing this week, hallelujah and amen! To what do I owe this recent success? The Fast Draft Express is one possibility, or it could be the purple bracelet I’m wearing. Or maybe it’s the ~~product pitches~~ inspirational email messages I’ve received from Daily Candy.

This first one arrived on Wednesday:

Subject: Holey Roller

Brothers and sisters, let us bow our heads in prayer.

The dark days of longing for sinfully decadent pastries are over. The day has come when we can satisfy our temptations with something holey. As in Holey Donuts.

[S]ince they’ve got a fifth of the fat and a fraction of the calories of regular donuts, you can indulge your lust without guilt. […] Amen to that.

Then – and I swear on my stack of gilt-edged Bibles, I’m not making this up – I got another one today!

Subject: Holy Crap

Every morning when you wake up at your beau’s …

You say: “Want me to run and get us some coffee?”
You think: I must get to a Starbucks loo stat.

He says: “Aw, thanks, baby, I’d love a latte.”
He thinks: Why won’t this chick poop in my john?

You’ll overcome your bathroom shyness with the Breeza, a deodorizing toilet seat.

Serendipity, synchronicity, a sign from the universe or a message from God — I’m one of those who finds metaphors in even the most unlikely places. Well, maybe not in a pastry box or under the toilet seat lid, but you know what I mean.