Welcome to my blog!
When I was ten, I dreamed of becoming a wildlife photographer. Growing up with a television that only received PBS stations, my evenings were largely consumed watching Nature, Wild Kingdom, and occasional BBC nature specials. By the time I was twelve, that dream had morphed into a desire to work more directly with the wild animals I longed to understand - something more along the lines of David Attenborough or Jim Fowler. What I didn’t realize at the time was that the most direct path towards achieving those dreams was to study wildlife biology in college, which meant working hard in science and math during my high school years, which I certainly did not. More inclined to excel in the humanities, my academic path lead me to work in corporate communications, and later in real estate development. But I never fully let go of those dreams to work with animals. During the early years of raising my two daughters, I volunteered with animal rescue groups and discovered a love for teaching as an educator for a few conservation organizations. While my interaction with wildlife was limited, I took satisfaction in knowing that this work indirectly benefited the creatures that I never stopped loving. When I found myself able to dedicate a few hours each day to something other than my family and household, I decided it was never too late to chase that childhood dream.
This past April I had the opportunity to meet my childhood hero Jim Fowler, just a few weeks before he left this world. I shared with him my childhood dream, and told him about the work I was doing with conservation and wildlife rescue and rehabilitation organizations. He was encouraging and assured me that it was never too late to work with wild animals, especially during this time of ecological upheaval. When Jim’s son Mark told me of his passing a few weeks later, I made a promise to my deceased childhood hero, that I would pursue that dream with vigor and determination.
Jim Fowler and I in April 2019
My initial goal is to educate the general public about the wildlife that lives among us, here in the United States, and what we can all do everyday to help that wildlife survive and thrive in an ecologically precarious environment. This website and accompanying blog is the first step towards achieving that goal. A few days each week I hope to post information about the creatures that live in our backyards, so that we might all better understand our wild neighbors and how we can coexist and thrive together in both a natural and manmade context. With any luck - and the help of my good friend and social media guru Jess Grutkowski - the blog entries will be posted on both the Call of the Wild website, Facebook page, and Instagram page. Your questions and feedback are always welcome, so please stay in touch and never hesitate to contact me.
Jim Fowler once said “The biggest challenge is how to affect public attitudes and make people care.” I’m going to give it my best try, Jim.