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I’m about to celebrate another birthday and as my grandmother used to say, I’m getting up there. Last month  I picked out what will probably be my last kayak. An older person thinks about those things. It really isn’t so…

In Our Own Backyard Fifty years ago, Catherine Marshall’s book Christy had a profound effect on me. In my idealized view, I wanted to be just like Christy and help children who were dealing with poverty and other serious issues.…

Do you ever think about how your childhood, teen years, and high school experiences shaped the person you are today? After attending my husband Frank’s class reunion and hearing stories about his younger years, it’s easy to see how he…

I recently took my grandsons to Lake Delton’s school’s playground. When my older grandson asked me if I’d ever brought my students here, I told him I had. Years instantly melted away and memories, like welcoming ghosts, rose from the…

Labor Day was created to honor American workers, but the winner of my August photo contest, Annie the working collie, might like it if we acknowledge working dogs as well.  Because of their sensitive noses, we’re able to use dogs…

The elderly woman had a determined look on her face. Her back was bent with osteoporosis, and she wore a brace on one knee. Still, she kept on with a determined jog. I was at Milwaukee’s USA Triathlon National Championships…

To prepare for August’s “Global Sleep Under the Stars Night” and in honor of my new picture book coming out featuring nocturnal animals, I gathered a flashlight and my favorite pillow, set up a cot outdoors, and put my dog’s…

Yesterday my husband, who enjoys watching Good Morning America, called for me to join him since they were featuring beluga whales and he knows I once had a memorable encounter with one. Lara Spencer narrated the segment as hip hop…

The gosling my husband and I raised, now three years old, is a misfit. She looks the same as the other four adult Canada geese on our cabin’s lake, but since she imprinted on humans, I’m sure the other geese…

One early spring morning in Wisconsin, a luna moth pupa wiggles. It had spent all winter camouflaged in the leaf litter and its ability to wiggle scared off several predators, including several mice. Now that its metamorphosis is complete, the…