Life with Dylan

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  • Garden Festival – The Mother’s Day Bouquet That Keeps on Blooming

    All families have traditions. Some traditions have been passed down from generation to generation and other traditions are newly created with the anticipation of being carried on for many years to come. My family has some traditions that I can remember doing since I was a little girl, but I think my favorite tradition is the one Dylan and I started two years ago for Mother’s Day. We spend the day together enjoying all the sights and smells that the San Diego Zoo Discovery Days: Garden Festival has to offer.

    The beauty of each flower.
    The intricate details of the orchids.
    The other side of the zoo – the side most people overlook.

    This year’s theme is “How Does Your Garden Grow?” and will feature display booths where visitors can get gardening tips on pruning techniques, container gardening, the difference between soil and dirt, odd and curious plants, botanical wonders, growing bamboo, making a home garden more beautiful and bountiful, and more. Visiting the booths during this two-day event is a wonderful way to learn some great tips and tricks from the experts!

    Garden Festival also will offer self-guided walking tours, a scavenger hunt featuring plants with animal names, craft activities for children, and a chance to meet Zoo horticulturists, insect keepers and a researcher from the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research who is working to save plant species around the world and in our own backyards.

    I always enjoy seeing how the zoo’s horticulturists have decorated the planters and have been known to take hundreds of pictures … of flowers! My favorite part of Garden Festival is the opportunity to spend time inside the fabulous Orchid House.

    Yes, the San Diego Zoo has an Orchid House! Did you know that?

    Last year was my first time visiting the Orchid House and I was in awe of the beauty that was all around me. There are now 949 rare, unique and glorious species of orchids to see … and 22 of the orchid species are conservation worthy!

    Presented by Sparkletts and held every Mother’s Day weekend, the Garden Festival has quickly become my favorite family tradition. I can’t think of a better way to spend Mother’s Day then being surrounded by flowers while I spend the day with my son at the San Diego Zoo.

    Does your family have a Mother’s Day tradition?

    For more details about the activities and booths offered during Garden Festival visit http://zoo.sandiegozoo.org/gardenfestival

  • Think globally, but act locally.

    For the past two years Dylan and I have been involved in fundraising for one of our favorite non-profit organizations. So involved, that I can’t remember a time that we were not raising money for one thing or another. Cans for Critters, Reading for Wildlife, Tiger Trail, a new home for the Amur and Snow Leopards, and so on. With the support and generous donations from friends and family, we have been able to surpass all of these goals to help make a better life for our animal friends at the San Diego Zoo and San Diego Zoo Safari Park. However, with such big goals (over $3,000 raised) we have not been able to give as much as we would like in other areas like animal adoptions, wish list gifts, and our monthly wildlife hero contributions.

    Many of the exclusive events Dylan and I are invited to attend throughout the year are part of the Wildlife Conservancy’s monthly donor program. Meeting scientists and hearing lectures from those who have traveled to China’s panda sanctuaries, flown over the Arctic looking for polar bear dens, or studied the breeding habits of the cheetah are just a few of the experiences we have enjoyed. Knowing that we can help and make a difference globally is what made joining the Wildlife Conservancy such an easy decision for both of us.

    We became Wildlife Hero’s on Endangered Species Day in 2012 and have been helping to save animals all around the globe ever since. I support the Wildlife Conservancy because I know that their work is making a difference locally and globally. Whether I am giving my time or my money, I feel that I am part of a family working toward a common goal of saving the world’s endangered species. Preserving wildlife, banking DNA, preventing disease, conserving habitat, restoring nature, and inspiring change are just a few of the things that my monthly donations support.

    Creating awareness for endangered species and raising money for two new exhibits, which will have our names on plaques at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park (Tiger Trail) and San Diego Zoo (Amur and Snow Leopards) is something we are both proud and honored to be a part of. We considered starting another local fundraising venture, but instead decided to take a break and focus our efforts on the big picture.

    We are thinking globally and have decided to increase our monthly Wildlife Conservancy donation so that we can make a bigger impact in the field. Locally, we will continue to make purchases from the monthly wish list and symbolically adopt animals.

    One of the wonderful things about being a Wildlife Hero is that you can do it from anywhere in the world … which brings me to our challenge for you.

    For as little as $10 a month you can become a Wildlife Hero and start making a global impact too. Visit endextinction.org today to join the fight against species extinction.



    Will you be a hero for wildlife?

  • Life lessons on getting older and wiser

    Lately, I feel that every year or so I have come to a place in my life where my priorities are changing. What was important last year isn’t important now and what I thought I needed last month, I’ve realized I can do without. Is this what getting older and wiser is all about?

    That moment when you realize there is more to life than what you’ve been doing …

    Looking back and wondering where did the time go?
    Time is running out. My baby is almost a teenager.

    I want to leave the rat race and go far away from it all. Far away from Facebook and Twitter. They can suck the life right out of your life if you aren’t careful.

    I want to read a book. Play a game with my son.

    Have a real conversation with a friend … In real life … Not by text or instant message.

    Get outside and see the world.
    Go explore what Mother Nature has to offer and yes, photograph the heck out of it!

    I think the most recent change started when my computer crashed. It forced me to take a good look at the people around me and opened my eyes to a lot of things I didn’t like. Life has a funny way of letting you know what’s really important.

    I will still be writing, but maybe a little less frequently. At the moment I am thoroughly enjoying my decision to slow down and take whatever life has to offer me. Fewer deadlines means less stress and more time with my family.

    If I only knew in my 30’s what I know now in my 40’s …

  • If You Dream It, You Can Be It

    Nothing makes me happier than being able to share a story through photography.
    Sometimes the pictures come out crystal clear and sometimes they are a bit fuzzy.

    Just like life, the story isn’t always clear, but somehow we manage to get the message.

    I’m gonna be a mighty king, so enemies beware!

    I’m gonna be the mane event, Like no king was before

    I’m brushing up on looking down

    I’m working on my ROAR

    Oh, I just can’t wait to be king!

    It’s never too soon to start dreaming of what you can become …

  • Endangered Species Monday – African Lion

    Lions are amazing animals that have become iconic symbols of the African plain. Through movies like The Lion King, children have learned that lions are looked up to with great pride by other animals. Lions are often one of the first animals a child will learn about. Of all the big cats, lions are the ones most often associated with a roar. A roar that can be heard up to 3 miles away. These majestic cats are not listed as endangered by the IUCN, but as vulnerable – only in West and Central Africa are they classified as endangered. This status will not last long at the rate humans are killing lions.

    Lions have vanished from over 80% of their historic range. The lion population is listed as decreasing and on more than one occasion, lions have been labeled on the brink of extinction.  Aside from the fact that humans are overhunting the lion’s wild prey and destroying their natural habitat, humans are also illegally killing lions for trophies to hang on their walls. As horrible as this sounds, it is true.

    Dr. Guy Balme, Panthera’s Lion Program Director said, “Lions have slipped under the conservation radar for too long. If we do not act now, lions will find themselves in the same dire predicament as their Asian counterpart, the tiger.”

    African lions live about 10-15 years in the wild and have been known to live up to 30 years in zoos. However, the average lifespan in captivity is 20 years.

    The lioness pictured above is Tango. Tango was a Transvaal lion who was born at the San Diego Zoo on August 12, 1992. She and her sister Mweezi lived at the Safari Park for a while, where Tango gave birth to a litter of 3 cubs in 1995. Shortly after giving birth, Tango and her sister came back to the zoo where they both lived out the remainder of their lives. Mweezi passed away in 2009 and Tango left us January 20, 2013 … she was 20 years old.

    Although Tango was born and raised in captivity, she never let anyone forget that she was a wild African lion at heart … Her roars could be heard on a daily basis. Lions are social animals and it was obvious that Tango missed her sister.

    Make your voice heard and Cause an Uproar with National Geographic’s Big Cat Initiative or join the fight with Panthera on Project Leonardo. Whatever you do, however you chose to create awareness for these magnificent big cats, just remember that you can make a difference. Lions deserve to roam the African plains without the fear of being killed by man. Africa is their home and we should respect that.

  • The Day My Laptop Crashed

    It is one of those things you say will never happen to you. It only happens to other people.

    It is the reason we all backup our pictures, but really, that is just a precaution, because like I said, it will never happen to me. 
    And then the day comes when you turn on your computer, your trusted friend who has been there for you day and night, the one who got you through so many college papers, and they greet with you a black screen. Not the award-winning picture of a tiger you expect to see, just a black screen. No icons, nothing. 
    Yes, this happened to me. 
    I can’t even begin to tell you how may times I tried turning the computer on and off. Taking out the battery and putting it back in, thinking surely this would fix the problem. To my dismay, nothing was working. The hard drive was gone. Ka-put. Nada. And my life was quickly spiraling out of control. How would I write? How would I edit all the photos I had uploaded from my camera?
    Oh no, my photos? 
    Wait. Yes. I had just done a full back up 3 days prior. My photos were safe.
    This was almost three weeks ago. Three long weeks of limited social media and basically no photography. Sure, I could access Facebook and Twitter from my iPhone, but it just wasn’t the same. I have a Chromebook, which I love, but it just isn’t the same. Since it was the only working computer, Dylan pretty much had it all the time for his school work and games. I know, the sacrifices we make as parents are rough.
    Ironically, after a week or so I wasn’t really missing social media like I thought I would. I was actually enjoying the break. It was nice not to worry about deadlines and scheduled posts. Nice not to think about writers block or whether or not people would even read the post I was writing. The only problem was I really missed my photography. I missed seeing my pictures in Lightroom. It wasn’t that I missed posting them to Facebook or sharing them on Twitter, what I missed was the photography itself. 
    To me, photography is not a competition. It is not about being the first to get the shot. Photography is an art form – a creative outlet that has become part of me.   
    Today my new computer arrived. The first new computer I have had since Dylan was born. Once the basics had been set up and the internet connection established, I had one very important thing to download. I felt a sense of joy come over me as I double-clicked that little icon. Lightroom was back. Oh, how I missed her. 
    Moral of the story… the day my laptop crashed may have been a blessing in disguise. I learned that the art of photography itself is more important to me than sharing the pictures on social media. Sure, I love having people like my pictures, I would be lying if I said that I didn’t, but there is so much more to life than how many likes a picture gets on Facebook. 
    So friends, back up your photographs on an external hard drive …
    because this can happen to you. 

  • You never know what will happen when you’re feeding a giraffe!

    Feeding giraffes is sort of second nature to Dylan now. He has fed them twice at the zoo and twice on a Caravan Safari at the Safari Park. So I would think that he could follow a few simple rules.

    Rule #1 – When the safari guide gives you a bunch of leaves, hold them in your right hand. Keep your right hand down by your side. The giraffe will be coming up to your left side.

    Rule #2 – Take one leaf at a time and place it in your left hand. Hold the leaf up and the giraffe will take it from you.

    Rookie mistake of taking too long to transfer the leaves from one hand to another and a hungry giraffe who knows the routine, resulted in this …

    A priceless capture of Dylan in disbelief of what just happened and a giraffe who is looking for more leaves. I love both of their expressions!

  • Do you have a favorite frog species?

    Today is World Frog Day and we wanted to share a few of our favorite little amphibians. After all, today is their day … A day to celebrate frogs!

    Vietnamese Mossy Frog

    Amazon Milk Frog

    Poison Dart Frog

    More Poison Dart Frogs

    Mountain Yellow-Legged Frog

    Tree Frog
    Happy World Frog Day!



  • A Love of Reading Non-Fiction and an Eagerness to Learn More

    Any day my son wants to read is a good day in my book. Reading is one of my favorite ways to learn, not to mention an opportunity to transport yourself to another place and time. Dylan has enjoyed reading since he was very young. Whether I was reading stories to him or he was making up his own stories to the pictures, the love of reading has always played a significant role in his life.

    Dylan has never been one for chapter books like most kids his age or for fictional books. His passion is reading non-fiction. He wants to learn when he reads. Although he has read Call of the Wild, Gulliver’s Travels, and most recently Small as an Elephant, he really does prefer the factual books. 
    I’m sure many of you have been in gift shops with your kids and they want some plastic toy that you know will break in a few days, or a stuffed animal that will get tossed aside in a week or two. So you can imagine my excitement when we walk into a gift shop at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park and he asks for a book. 
    Not just any book, but the book … the book he saw in the library when we toured the Beckman Center for Conservation Research. 
    The one and only LOST ANIMALS Extinction and the Photographic Record. 
    Now this book may not seem very interesting to you, but it ad Dylan grinning from ear to ear. Why you ask? Well, see that animal on the cover? That is a Thylacine, also known as a Tasmanian Tiger. Dylan has had lengthy conversations about this extinct animal with zookeepers and is truly fascinated with them.  
    So far he has learned about the Heath Hen, which became extinct in 1932. A devastating fire swept through the breeding grounds on Martha’s Vineyard and the remaining hens died from a mysterious disease, possibly the result of in-breeding. The last known Heath Hen was named ‘Booming Ben’
    One of the animals that Dylan spoke to Dr. Ryder about was the Quagga and he is anxious to read more about this fascinating animal. I love that he has an eagerness to learn more and can continue to nourish his passion for learning through reading books like this. 

  • Happy St. Patrick’s Day

    I may not be Irish, but I like the color green and I have green eyes that are smilin’

    Snakes may not be my favorite, but this photograph is a favorite of mine

    This may not be the Emerald Isle, but it IS an Emerald Tree Python …

    Happy St. Patrick’s Day!