Tree-huggers and leaf-lovers: our family of four

One of the really great gifts of living on or around wildlife refuges is the chance to hop onto a trail for a quick nature walk. When Jena was seven, and Maya was four, Steve worked as a wildlife biologist at Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge on southern Puget Sound, and we often plucked the binoculars from their hook in the kitchen and hit the refuge trails. On this day, the girls spotted a young garter snake, then scooped it up for a better look (click on the pic to see its flashing tongue) while Steve snapped a photo.

To this day, our girls are nature lovers; Jena works for a national conservation organization, and Maya has returned to school to pursue a degree in wildlife biology, while working part-time for her pops.