Amy Laundrie

The woods have a heartbeat. I walk through a valley and look up to view icicles dripping onto the rocks below. The droplets will nourish the ground this spring so other trees and plant life, such as berry bushes, can…

Tap, tap, tap. My secret valentine will not be dissuaded and keeps tapping on the bay window. Earlier this morning, at sunrise, I heard him whistling at me. If I was back in high school, I might suspect my old…

Many of us are complaining about the weather, so when a friend surprised me and mentioned that he’s learned to love Wisconsin winters, I asked him for details. He said he took a lesson from the Alaskans, many of whom…

So, it’s been several weeks since New Year’s. How are your resolutions coming? Did you make one involving exercise? Were you swayed by one of the latest fads such as sculpt workouts, Zumba, spinning (bicycling), shine dance (see my article…

What would you do if you found a half-grown pig looking sick and lost wandering your neighborhood on a blustery, cold day? It was on such a day, that a gentleman named Sam found an abandoned pig barely alive in…

Years ago I was at Ellison Bay’s folk school, “The Clearing,” for a weeklong class called “Touch the Earth; Love the Earth” when the director mentioned that we could sign up to spend the night in the Cliffhouse. Back in…

“When I was a freshman, one evening my date handed me the first violet of spring. I looked at it, told him its Latin name and then I ate it. It was our last date.” —Frances Hamerstrom, American ornithologist, Wild…

Traveling to Panama just weeks before New Year’s was a good reminder to cherish the old and embrace the new. Impressive pre-Columbian ruins are nestled between modern skyscrapers, some with amazing architectural designs. One soaring building was blueish and had…

Christmas is sights, especially the sights of Christmas reflected in the eyes of a child. William Sarayan, American novelist and playwright In planning for the holidays, I asked my daughter who lives in California if she’ll be bringing mandarins like…