As an eighties teen with dreams of an advertising career, I enjoyed all the fun that came from working in a New York City ad agency with a major beer client. Soon thereafter, I returned to school to learn how to teach children to express their creative side. In my late 20s, I found myself married to a manly outdoorsy hiker and by my early 30s I was a mom of twins. Well, the joke was on me because raising two little babies into now almost teens has been an awakening. Teaching respect to young minds in the land of “the entitled” is the toughest job I have ever encountered. With one of my children being allergic to corn syrup, my former ad girl/teacher self had to learn to wear another hat: gardener. I quickly learned about healthy soil and to grow food seasonally in order to feed my family real substance.

Who knew that corn syrup would rule our American diet?

Before I could blink, I had taken on creating an organic vegetable garden in the local elementary school, making sure every student played in the dirt with me. After almost losing the sight on my left eye, I now spend as much time as possible capturing the every day moments that make-up my life.

While I still do not like a heavy backpack, an outdoor privy if I’m lucky, or trail cuisine, trekking to explore the quiet wilderness is all worth it – to witness the planet still holding onto its wild side.