Life with Dylan

Year: 2013

  • Photographing the little details in nature

    Nature has so much to offer – so much beauty. Sometimes I am in too big of a hurry to notice the little things, but when I do I am always amazed. Last week I took some time to test out the macro setting on my camera and this is what I discovered.

    Flowers live within flowers …

    Ants live very busy lives …

    What looks prickly can still be beautiful …

    One of the things I realized during my ah-ha moment was that I want to spend more time taking pictures. More time learning about photography. Ultimately sharing my pictures with people as another way to create awareness about the world around us.

    You can see more pictures from this day by visiting my Flickr account.

  • Sunset Sunday – Bittersweet Goodbyes

    My parents house has been on the market for about a year now and last week they accepted an offer. My childhood home will belong to someone else in a mere 60 days. The home where I grew up and where my son spent the first year of his life – the home where I planted a tree so many years ago – the home where I have watched so many beautiful sunsets.

    The skies always look great from my parents kitchen window, but as soon as I see even the tiniest hint of orange or red or pink, I run up the stairs to the balcony. This is where I like to watch the sunsets best. Here on the balcony is where I can see Catalina – not so long ago, those two big trees weren’t so big and the view was even better.

    I took this picture last week with my iPhone. The colors were so much more intense in real life, but I still love this picture. The sky was painted with warmth and Catalina was clear as could be. The house is too big for my parents now that all the kids have gone, and I understand why they chose to sell, but views like this make me wish they could keep the house. I don’t know if I will be at my parents house again for a sunset like this. It may have been my last from the balcony and that makes it a bittersweet goodbye for me.

    Have a fantastic week and don’t forget to take time to watch the sunsets.

  • My ah-ha moment was almost too simple to see

    What started as one of our regular visits to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park – see some wildlife, take some pictures, and get my rhino fix – turned into something so much more than I had planned. I guess I shouldn’t really be surprised because every time we visit the park I leave feeling a little different, a little better, a little more at peace with the world than I did when we arrived.

    We didn’t follow the normal route this day. Instead, we decided to take the back way up to Condor Ridge before the sun got too hot. The smell of the trees as you walk up to Condor Ridge is so refreshing. Add to this the sounds of babbling brooks and small woodland creatures rustling in the bushes. Before you know it, you are transported to a land of pure beauty where nothing bad can happen.

    Surrounded by majestic trees and rolling hillsides … the view literally takes my breath away.

    I could sit up here for hours just soaking in the beauty. I realize that I am in the midst of what some call an ah-ha moment – I close my eyes and take a deep breath. Just then my son sits down next to me on the bench and says, “Mom, isn’t it nice to just sit and watch nature?” My heart fluttered a bit and I felt a tear roll down my cheek. How could he know what I was thinking?

    Yes, it was a wonderful moment. One that I believe we both needed. In our own ways, we both came to a place of peace. Surrounded by the beauty of Mother Nature, watching rhinos and giraffes roam the hills in the distance with my son, everything seemed to become clear to me.

    My ah-ha moment was almost too simple for me to see.

    When I stopped running in circles and took the time to breathe, I realized that the important things in life are not on Facebook, or Google Plus, or Twitter.

    The important things in life are right in front of me …  

  • Reflecting with Maderas at the San Diego Zoo

    I’ve watched her grow since she was born. Watched her rough-house with her brother Tikal and explore the world around her just like any child would do. 

    Maderas is now 9 months old. Watching her last week was a little bittersweet – she isn’t a baby anymore. The once playful cub is now coming into her own and becoming quite the elegant jaguar, just like her mother Nindiri.

  • Endangered Species Monday – Making a Difference with Social Media

    When most people think of social media, the first things that come to mind are Facebook and Twitter. However, there is another platform that is quickly creating a stir within social media circles – Google Plus

    I will be the first to admit that when Google Plus first came about I was skeptical. What was wrong with Facebook? All my friends were on Facebook so why switch to something new where I didn’t know anyone … makes sense right? Well, I created my profile and then really didn’t do much.

    Recently I have become very, how do I say this – bored? frustrated? over it? with Facebook.
    Sure I like seeing pictures of my friends kids, but Facebook seems to have become one big advertisement or sponsored post.

    I want to be informed. I want to interact with people that have the same interests as me. People from all over the world who have the same aspirations and concerns as I do about conservation. The answer – Google Plus communities. I can’t say enough about how wonderful these communities are. The interaction between people is so much more than what I have experienced on Facebook and the people seem genuinely concerned about the topics.

    My favorite community was started by +Rick Schwartz and it is all about conservation, endangered species, making a difference, and more. The community is called Conservation: It’s about Making A Difference and I can tell you that it is doing just that.

    Social media is so much more than a tweet of 140 characters or a status update on Facebook. Thanks to Google Plus I have found a new means of creating awareness and making a difference. I still love getting news through my twitter account and sharing stories there – I mean the power of a re-tweet is undeniable in making a difference for endangered animals.

    I’m not ready to leave Facebook completely, but I am definitely spending less time there and more time on Google Plus.

    If you’re on Google Plus you can find my profile here. Circle me and let’s connect.

  • Another animal adoption – Welcome to the family Taz

    One thing that Dylan really wanted for Christmas was for someone to adopt him a Tasmanian Devil. He has been fascinated with Tasmanian devils for years and sometimes spends hours on the computer looking at pictures of them and reading about the facial tumors that are causing so many Tasmanian devil deaths.

    Lucky for Dylan, he has an aunt who knows how much he loves these little guys because she symbolically adopted a Tasmanian Devil from World Wildlife Fund in Dylan’s name.

    Tasmanian devils are mostly solitary animals and found only on the Australian state of Tasmania. They are nocturnal, which means they eat at night, and sleep in nests of grass and bark in hollow logs. Once thought to be a threat to livestock, Tasmanian devils were hunted extensively until they became officially protected in 1941.

    The species slowly came back from being over hunted and now faces a different threat. Devil facial tumor disease has been killing these devils for the past decade and the population is significantly reduced – the survival of the species is considered threatened.

    Welcome to the family Taz!

    You can see our other adopted family members by clicking the tab “Animal Adoptions” at the top of the page.

  • Sunset Sunday – Fire in the sky above Catalina

    Something told me it was going to be a fabulous sunset, so I went to a local viewpoint and waited patiently with my camera in hand. This is what I saw.

    Have a fantastic week and don’t forget to take time to watch the sunsets.

  • Reading for Wildlife to help save endangered animals

    So last summer when my son was raising money for the tigers he did just about everything he could to raise money. He recycled, he helped clean out his grandparents garage, he washed cars, and of course gave up birthday presents in lieu of donations.

    So in November when he was asked by the San Diego Zoo to be a tester for a new program that would launched later this year he was more than happy to help. (Basically, he’s a human guinea pig to test the new program and help make improvements before it goes live.) He jumped at the chance -Anything for wildlife!

    Either way, he was so excited to be a part of this and personally,  I was honored that the San Diego Zoo asked him to be one of the 8 team members.

    The new program is I ______ for Wildlife. The idea is that you can pick any activity you want and raise money for endangered wildlife through donations made on your personal fundraising page.
    Since Dylan loves to read and learn everything he possibly can about animals, he will be reading for wildlife.

    Dylan has pledged to read 1500 pages of fascinating animal facts in 100 days.

    I have created an album on the Life with Dylan Facebook page to document his progress and will be posting some video clips there as well. Dylan has a goal of raising $500 and so far he has raised $175 – If you would like to help Dylan reach his goal, please visit his personal fundraising page http://donate.sandiegozoo.org/goto/DylanFryer Any size donation is appreciated and all donations are tax deductible.

    What wouldn’t this kid do for wildlife?
    He is truly an inspiration and his passion shines through in everything he does. Go Dylan go!

  • Morning stretches with Tatqiq at the San Diego Zoo

    About a week ago Dylan and I went to a Polar Bear Tweet-up at the San Diego Zoo to learn more about the polar bears and other arctic animals. We had hopes of some great polar bear interactions and underwater swimming antics, but the polar bears had something else in mind. Sleeping.

    In Tatqiq’s defense, it was cold and early on a Sunday morning. She’s a princess and needs her beauty rest. Watching her morning stretches wasn’t what we had in mind, but still very entertaining.

    After a few minutes of stretching, Tatqiq decided she wasn’t ready to get up and went back to sleep.

    While Tatqiq slept, Chinook and Kalluk were busy playing, or should I say attempting to bred again, on the other side of the exhibit. Either way, we had a wonderful time and learned so much about polar bears and the arctic fox from JoAnne Simmerson. Be sure to read JoAnne’s posts on the zoo’s blog to stay informed about all things polar bear. Oh, and the Polar Cam is always fun to watch too!

  • Endangered Species Monday – Let’s Save the Rhinos in 2013

    I could never choose just one animal. I mean really, let’s face it, if I could save all the endangered species I would. To say that one is more important than another is not right because they are all equally important and needed on this planet. However, sometimes one animal stands out among the rest. For me that animal was a rhino. A special connection was made the moment that I touched and fed the rhino brothers at the San Diego Zoo. I had looked into the eye of an endangered species and I would never be the same.

    In December I made a decision to make 2013 the year that I personally made a difference for the rhinos. After reading recent news articles, I have never been more sure of a decision.

    A record 668 rhinos were killed in South Africa in 2012 – that is a 50% increase over 2011. This figure astounds me. I shed a tear for each one of the rhinos lost when I read articles about the killings. We must put a stop to poaching and educate people about what rhino horn really is – keratin – the same thing as out hair and fingernails. Rhino horn is not medicine!

    Just when I thought it couldn’t get any worse, I saw this headline on twitter the other day Poachers hack baby rhino with axe … Wait, was I reading this right? This couldn’t possibly be true. What good is killing a baby rhino? There is no horn to take from a 2 month old baby rhino – this is uncalled for and made me so angry. So angry and so sad that all I could do was cry. This poor defenseless rhino was being attacked because she got in the way of the poachers who were cutting off her mother’s horn.

    2013 is not getting off to a very good start for the rhinos. As of January 11th, the death toll is already up to eight and if this baby doesn’t survive it will be nine. I have no time to spare. The number one way for me to help the rhinos is to create awareness. I will also share stories, photographs and raise as much money as I possibly can. So far I have two ways of raising money for the rhinos …

    San Diego Zoo Safari Park Half Marathon – I will not be able to run the half marathon because I am volunteering to help with the race and with Cinco de Rhino that evening. However, I can still virtually run the race and raise money for the greater one-horned rhinos. Your tax-deductible donation on my fundraising page will help make a difference. $5 or $10 or $25 it doesn’t matter – every little bit helps.

    I have also written a letter addressed to President Zuma as part of the One More Generation letter writing campaign. (Our letters are #557 and #558 – letters are listed alphabetically so scroll down to Fryer) These letters are a way of creating worldwide awareness and bringing our pleas to stop the poaching to President Zuma himself. I would love it if you would write a letter too!

    Something has to change. This needs to be the year that wildlife poachers are stopped before it’s too late. There is not much left that we can do for the Northern White Rhinos and the Javan and Sumatran rhinos are not far behind. If the numbers keep climbing at 50% increases, then we will be that much closer to another animal facing extinction.