Life with Dylan

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  • Learning to love those slithery reptiles called snakes

    I will admit that snakes have not always been at the top of my list. Heck, they weren’t even in the middle – they were tied for dead last with the spiders for many years. When we would visit the reptile house at the San Diego Zoo, my son would be right up against the glass and I would be back against the wall following along at a somewhat safe distance. Yes, I know there is a think piece of glass between us but being a girly girl these slithery reptiles scared the heck out of me.

    Slowly I learned to get closer to the glass. To watch the snakes and learn about them.

    Zookeeper Rick taught me that there is no such thing as a poisonous snake – only venomous snakes.

    Rakesh is a beautiful Indian Python that I had the opportunity to get very close to at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park during a keeper talk. There was no glass – just me and the snake. And you know what?

    I was OK. I didn’t die.

    In fact, I wanted to touch Rakesh – but that wasn’t allowed.

    Through photography I learned that snakes made excellent subjects. Then when I uploaded the photos I saw how beautifully detailed they were. OK, maybe they aren’t so bad.

    I never thought in a million years I would be saying this, but I am actually excited to visit the San Diego Zoo this weekend for Reptilemania.

    Snakes, lizards, Galapagos tortoises, and so much more … bring on the reptiles!

  • Treasures in the sand

    You never know what you will find when you walk along the beach. Sometimes all you see is sand and maybe some kelp that has washed ashore. Then there are those rare times when you find something special – something unique. I like to call these findings treasures in the sand.

    To some this is just a small shell and some pieces of colored glass. To me it is much more. This was once a home to a small ocean creature – a sea urchin – and the glass has been washed in the tide so many times that it is now smooth. The contrast of colors and textures speaks to me. The shell tells a story – the story became a photograph – and this photograph is now my treasure.

  • Endangered Species Monday – Giant Panda

    The giant panda is probably the most universally known symbol for conservation.

    Once widespread through southern and eastern China, the giant pandas current range is a limited area of northwestern China. Poaching for skin and body parts, along with the loss of the giant pandas habitat (bamboo harvesting and human development) are the two main factors that are keeping the Giant Panda on the endangered species list. Despite the many efforts made by China and successful panda breeding centers like the San Diego Zoo, the future of giant pandas is uncertain. While the numbers are thought to be increasing, there is still work to be done to save these beautiful animals.

    For more information about the giant pandas, what is being done to save them, and what you can do to help visit the WWF website worldwildlife.org/species/giant-panda

  • Sunset Sunday – The waters edge

    Hands down, my favorite sunsets are at the beach. Watching the sun go down behind what seems to be an endless ocean still fascinates me. I know the world is round, but it is still fun to think the sun is sinking into the deep blue sea.

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

  • Happy World Rhino Day!

    Touch a rhino. Look into a rhinos eyes. Talk to a rhino and have them respond to you.

    Do this and I promise you will fight for them too.

    Today is the 3rd Annual World Rhino Day – create some awareness and remember – Rhino horn is NOT medicine, it’s keratin just like your fingernails.

    Some rhino population stats for you:

    • Javan rhino – fewer than 50
    • Vietnamese Javan rhino (extinct 2010)
    • Sumatran rhino – fewer than 200
    • Borneo rhino – perhaps 30
    • Greater one-horned rhino – 2,949
    • Black rhino – 4,860
    • Southern White rhino – 20,600
    • Northern White rhino – 7 (these will be extinct within the next 20 years)
    For more inforamtion on what is being done to stop the killing of rhinos visit SavingRhinos.org and YaoMingBlog.com 

    *Statistics taken from SavingRhinos.org

  • Paper, plastic, or I have my own bag?

    For the longest time when you went to the grocery store your food was put in a brown paper bag. There was no other option. Then suddenly plastic bags became the hot new thing. They were lighter than paper and had handles that allowed you to carry four bags in each hand. Paper or plastic became the most asked question at many stores.

    I remember having some pretty heavy debates with friends and coworkers about the pros and cons of each. Paper killed trees, but was more easily biodegradable. Plastic stays around a lot longer and harms sea life, but doesn’t use as much fuel to produce as paper. (When looking at this scenario, you must also look at the emissions from the logging trucks and the size of the carbon footprint) Both have good points and bad points, but there is a better answer to the age-old question Paper or Plastic? Simply reply, “No thank you – I have my own bag.”
    This is what the inside of my trunk looks like. My motto is have bag will shop. 
    I have reusable bags of all sizes and if for some reason I forget to grab one out of the trunk I go without a bag. Smallest carbon footprint I can make when it comes to shopping.
    I recently asked the question paper, plastic or I have my own bag on twitter and Facebook and was quite surprised by the replies. More people than I thought answered that they bring their own bags, which I think is fabulous! However, the others almost all chose plastic. This disturbed me so asked them why. 
    I got answers like “I use them for gardening” or “We use them to take out the cat litter” … OK, reasonable answers. So then I asked have you ever thought of buying ecofriendly, biodegradable plastic bags for this instead? The answer opened up a whole new conversation. 
    Why would I buy plastic bags when the bags from the grocery store are already made from recycled plastic? 
    Well, being made from recycled plastic and being biodegradable are two different things. Just because something is made from recycled plastic does not necessarily mean that it will be recycled again. Remember the post about how the city recycles for you and you can just throw everything in the trash can? Believe me, it was an eye opener for me too when I read what was on my city’s website. 
    Bottom line is educate yourself and do what you can to reduce the pollution left behind from paper and plastic bags. You may not go completely green with your shopping bags like I have, but hopefully this post will get you thinking a little more about what you will say the next time you are asked paper or plastic? 

  • Why we love urban wildlife

    It’s one thing to love wild animals like tigers, rhinos, and orangutans – it’s another to love urban wildlife. My son and I happen to love both and as you may know from reading previous posts, we have a local favorite. His name is Nutty.

    We love Nutty. He’s funny – he amuses us and he never runs away when we watch him from our window. The other day we noticed that Nutty has a friend who has started visiting the tree with him. (To clarify, we have no idea if Nutty is a male or female, we just refer to him as a him because that’s what my son decided)

    Nutty’s friend is a little smaller and much funnier. Nutty seems to just sit and eat – maybe that’s why he is so big. His friend, who we have named Nutette had us laughing so hard the other day. (Again, no idea if Nutette is a female, we just refer to her as one)

    Nutette first assumed the position of down low and hold on to the tree branch for dear life. She spotted the pine cone she wanted and quickly ran to it. Then with pine cone in mouth proceeded cautiously across the branch and down the tree trunk. Once safely on the ground, Nutette took off running down the street – pine cone still in mouth.

    Somehow I think that Nutette may be “stealing” pine cones from Nutty’s tree … hence the tactical moves and quick escape.

    Either way, these squirrels keep us entertained, teach us new things, and most of all remind us that all wildlife – even urban wildlife – has a place in this world.

    What urban wildlife have you seen by your home?

  • Anything is possible when you think like a child

    When nothing seems to be going right and your day seems like it can’t get any worse … remember what it was like to have the mind of a child. The word impossible was not in your vocabulary.

  • Endangered Species Monday – What is the IUCN?

    Since starting the weekly posts Endangered Species Monday, I have had some people ask me what the IUCN is and exactly what they do? So today, rather than feature another endangered species, I am going to give you a little background on the IUCN and how endangered species are classified.

    IUCN stands for International Union for Conservation of Nature, which is the world’s oldest and largest global environmental organization.

    Many people have heard of the IUCN Red List, but not all know the depth of it – including myself. What I do know is being that being high up on the Red List is not a good thing.

    Under the Endangered Species Act, an animal classified as endangered receives more protection than one classified as threatened. The IUCN breaks the classifications down into 7 categories and rates the level of threat based on certain criteria.

    • Extinct
    • Extinct in the wild (only captive individuals survive)
    • Critically endangered (almost certain risk of extinction in the immediate future)
    • Endangered (faces a very high risk of extinction in the near future)
    • Vulnerable (faces a high risk of extinction in the future)
    • Near threatened (could be considered threatened in the near future)
    • Least concern (no immediate threat to the survival of the species)
    Plants and animals are listed by the IUCN and what many people don’t understand is that every living creature, both plant and animal, have a very specific place in the ecosystem. If a plant becomes extinct and it is the main food source for an animal, then that animal will most likely become extinct too. 
    Once a species is classified as endangered, certain laws and restrictions can be put into place to help save them and hopefully remove them from the endangered status. Unfortunately, for some species this puts a higher price on the animal for hunters and they quickly move up to critically endangered. When this happens, I am thankful for organizations who work together to help bring species back from the brink of extinction.

  • Sunset Sunday – Tropical Paradise

    Nothing says sunset better than a Maui sunset.

    Something about tropical island sunsets with palm tree silhouettes makes me want to hop on a plane and go back to Maui.

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