Life with Dylan

Author: Michelle

  • The Magnificent Bald Eagle

    Creating awareness about these beautiful birds has played a major role in bringing the Bald Eagle, the US National Bird, back from the brink of extinction. 

    The Bald Eagle is no longer listed on the endangered species list, but they are still protected under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act.

    Once on the brink of extinction, the majestic bald eagle is now flourishing across the nation.
    A friend of mine was lucky enough to see one in the wild at Snoqualmie Falls, WA and captured this beautiful photograph.

    Photo by Randy Campbell
    To learn more about the Bald Eagle you can visit the U.S. Fish and Wildlife website. 

  • Lorikeet Landing just got a little more colorful

    Lorikeets are bright and cheerful. They love nectar and have a fairly loud chatter; especially when they are inches from your ear. However, being surrounded by these little birds and experiencing them up close is worth some high-pitched chirping. Last week Dylan and I went to say hello to a few of the newest members to call Lorikeet Landing home.

    Recently thirty more birds have joined the existing population at the Lorikeet Landing aviary, nearly doubling the population from 43 to 73 lorikeets. The new birds came from an already-established flock and keepers say the new birds are very social and integrating well with the existing flock.

    Lorikeets are very social birds that flit around the trees looking for flowers and nectar. While lorikeets are interesting to watch, they also serve an important role as pollinators. Yes, these birds are pollinators! The lorikeets feed on nectar from various plants and that feeding helps transfer pollen. They have a very unique tongue, with its brush-like texture, to drink the nectar.

    When not flitting around the tree tops, lorikeets will spend time grooming each other.


    The next time you visit the San Diego Zoo Safari Park be sure to stop by the Lorikeet Landing aviary and purchase a cup of nectar to feed them. The aviary is open to the public from 10 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. daily and is located in the Nairobi Village at the Park.  


    There are a few hidden gems at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park that don’t always get the attention I think they deserve. Lorikeet Landing is one of them … and next week I will share the other hidden gem with you.


    Have you been to Lorikeet Landing? 






  • Smooches from Tatqiq

    Tatqiq blowing kisses to her adoring fans.

    Tatqiq is a 13 year old polar bear who lives at the San Diego Zoo. She is one of my favorites because she has such a wonderful personality. Tatqiq and her brother Kalluk were orphaned at a very young age when their mother was killed by a hunter in Alaska. After being rescued, the cubs were brought to the San Diego Zoo where they continue to thrive, entertain guests, and educate us about the plight of the polar bear.

  • Animal Conservation and Philanthropy – It’s in the Family Crest

    If you ever had doubts concerning how much my family cares about animal conservation, what you are about to read will chase those doubts away. I am sure you have figured out that conservation is pretty much what makes the world go around for Dylan, but this … well this is something that even I didn’t see coming.

    Dylan had a homework assignment that he was to complete over the winter break. He had to create his own family coat of arms using symbols, animals, and colors from a sheet his teacher gave him. Each item gave a description or a meaning of what it stood for. Here is what Dylan created as our family coat of arms.

    Bear 
           Protectiveness






    Flaming Heart 
           Passion



    Blue 
           Loyalty






    Green 
           Hope and Joy






    Pelican 
           Devotion



    The words I understood. They seemed like wonderful words to describe our family and I was proud of what he chose. Being that he is so passionate about animal conservation, I was not surprised that he chose animals for two of his sections. It wasn’t until I read his explanation on the back of the poster board that I realized he had just created the perfect coat of arms for our family.

    “My coat of arms shows my families love for philanthropy. My blue and green checkerboard shows that my family keeps all of our promises to conservation; and our hope and joy for conservation. The bear shows our families protectiveness of all animals we come across. My pelican shows my families devotion to save animals near and far. My flaming heart shows our passion for anything wildlife related.”

    Like I said, you can remove all those doubts from your mind. Dylan has now put it in writing and created a family coat of arms that I am proud to display.

    We are a family that believes in conservation.

    We take pride in our philanthropy projects.

    We value our belief that through animal conservation and education we can help save endangered animals all around the world.

    Yes, this is the perfect coat of arms for our family. Excellent job Dylan!

  • Hopes and Wishes are so much better than Resolutions

    It’s that time again. Time to say goodbye to the old year and hello to the new one. Some people have a hard time with the transition and dwell on all the things that did not get accomplished. I used to be one of those people until I made a simple change. So simple in fact, that I was just changing the words. Two years ago I started making New Year Wishes instead of New Year Resolutions. Wishes remind me of a birthday cake and blowing out candles … Resolutions just sound like work.  So far, the majority of my wishes have come true.

    Jungle Bells - San Diego Zoo

    The first year (2012) I was able to make 4 out of 5 wishes come true. I call that a job well done. So imagine my surprise today when I went back to read my New Year Wishes for 2013 and realized that I had made all 5 wishes come true …

    Hello. Amazing! I can’t think of a better way to start 2014.

    I definitely took a step back last year and spent lots of time looking within myself. There were lots of changes and learning experiences for both me and Dylan. However, one thing that remained the same was our passion for creating awareness about endangered species and doing all we could to make a difference.

    Here are my New Year Wishes for 2014 …

    1. Start drawing again. In high school I loved to sketch and paint. This will be the year I rekindle that creative side I once loved so much.
    2. Teach more kids about endangered animals and conservation by expanding Dylan’s Animal Adventure Camp into more than just a summer camp. 
    3. Make time to write about what inspires me. I have a folder filled with notes and ideas for posts, but never found the time to actually write them. 
    4. Stay current on my photography and share more of my images. No more falling a year behind on editing and posting pictures. 
    5. Continue to read more, explore more, and keep learning more. 
    Yes, I know that #5 is a repeat from last year, but it is just such a good wish to have. 
    Dylan and I were very blessed with some unforgettable experiences and wonderful supporters of his fundraising projects last year. We are both excited to see what the new year has in store for us and what new doors may open leading us to new adventures. 

  • Dylan made a difference in 2013!

    As 2013 comes to an end, I can’t help but think about everything Dylan did this year. Reading for Wildlife, adopting animals, volunteering his time at the Safari Park Half Marathon, hosting his own summer camp, raising almost $1,000 for the Snow leopards and Amur leopards, and most importantly … creating awareness for all endangered species.

    The year was filled with philanthropy, conservation, and making a difference. Thank you for letting us share our journey with you. We hope you come along for the ride again in 2014!

  • A glimpse of our Christmas 2013

    A quick glimpse of our Christmas holiday …
                      in other words, a glimpse through my iPhone camera lens.

    We hung ornaments and sent out Christmas cards …

    We spent time at the San Diego Zoo celebrating Jungle Bells and getting in the holiday spirit

    We patiently awaited Santa’s arrival … 

    and were excited to see what he left under our tree on Christmas morning … 

    Santa was good to us this year and we thanked him.

    Then Mom went shopping with her Christmas money … 

    Considering that I am almost a year behind on edited my pictures, I thought it only right to use Instagram pictures for this post. However, now that I have a new camera I may be posting a lot more pictures in 2014!

    We hope you had a wonderful holiday and were able to spend time with the ones you love.

    Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

  • A Christmas Wish message from Dylan

    Just 3 short weeks ago Dylan shared his Christmas Wish for the Leopards at the San Diego Zoo. His goal was to raise $500 by Christmas and as of today he has raised $475! 


    Thank you to everyone who has donated, shared his wish, and supported his dreams to save endangered animals.




  • We’re Sending Out Recycled Christmas Cards This Year!

    I decided not to do a Christmas card this year. To be perfectly honest, the main reason is I just don’t have the time.  I should have started planning months ago and I didn’t. Why? Because I have been so busy over the past few months cleaning out closets and cupboards and purging like crazy every weekend, that Christmas cards just were not a priority!

    While doing this I came across a ton of Christmas cards from the past. Some full boxes and some only a few of each design. Either way, they are perfectly good cards!

    So I got an idea to recycle my cards this year. Rather than worry about creating the perfect card to send out, I decided to use the cards I already have.

    One year I ordered a few too many, another year I bought one box too many, and one year I just bought a box because it was 80% off at an after Christmas sale.

    Either way, these miscellaneous cards have just been sitting on a shelf. Serving no purpose except to take up room that I could use for something else. I now have an empty shelf and plenty of Christmas cards to send out.

    I may add a Christmas letter (which I haven’t done in years) to some of the cards, or a school picture of Dylan for family far away … who knows, either way I feel good about recycling old things to make them new again.

    No, I did not buy cards that were made from recycled paper … Nor did I make cards from recycled items. I recycled things that I already had in my home. You see friends, there are many ways to recycle. You just have to give it a little thought.

    What can you recycle this holiday season?

  • Dylan’s Christmas Wish for the Leopards

    This was the first year that Dylan participated in Giving Tuesday and as you can imagine he dove right in. He proudly wore his San Diego Zoo Global Wildlife Conservancy Giving Tuesday sticker all day and told many of his friends at school what giving back was all about.

    Dylan and I had discussed ahead of time who we would be supporting on Giving Tuesday and even watched a National Geographic Google+ hangout about Causing an UpROAR for Big Cats together that evening. I watched the hangout live, but knew it was something Dylan would really enjoy too.

    After watching the Google+ hangout and listening to Steve Winter talk about saving the tigers and other big cats, Dylan was inspired to continue his journey of helping big cats.

    What started out as a dream to teach other kids about endangered animals and conservation became a reality with Dylan’s Animal Adventure Camp last July. Dylan raised $300 from camp registration, which was a great start, but no where near his $1,000 goal. We have a few things in the works to continue the message of Dylan’s Animal Adventure Camp and of course we will host another camp next summer, but why wait to reach his goal?

    Why not start now?

    After we gave $5 and $10 donations to various non-profits that we support on Giving Tuesday, Dylan had an idea.

    “If everyone who follows Life with Dylan on Facebook and everyone who reads this post gave just $5 to my fundraiser, then I could reach my goal of $1,000 this year instead of waiting for the next Dylan’s Animal Adventure Camp in 2014.”

    He wants to help build this new home for the leopards!

    Building a new home for the endangered Snow Leopard and critically endangered Amur Leopards at the San Diego Zoo is very important to Dylan. (Just as important as helping to build a new home for the tigers at the Safari Park.) Knowing how rare it is for anyone to see these animals in the wild, Dylan believes a new and improved habitat at the San Diego Zoo will help create more awareness and educate more people about these beautiful big cats.

    So Dylan is asking for your help to make his Christmas wish for the Leopards come true by donating $5 or $10 to his fundraiser. 

    If you would like to help Dylan reach his fundraising goal by Christmas Day, please make a donation here

    Thank you for supporting a child’s dream to save endangered animals all around the globe.

    Update as of December 25, 2013 … 
    Dylan has raised $500 for the leopards. Thank you so much for helping to make his Christmas Wish come true!