Amy Laundrie

  It’s back to school time, and I feel a wistful twinge as I wander down the school supply section of Walmart. I’ve been retired for almost a decade, but old habits die hard, and I add a packet of…

I awoke early at our Northwoods cabin and walked outside to let my four pet ducks out of their pen. I nicknamed them the “Dabblers” after I brought them to the lake for the first time and they ignored the…

A friend who wrote and illustrated children’s books, Marsha Dunlap, died after a long battle with cancer. One of the first times I met Marsha was during a blinding snowstorm. A small group of us had rented a bed and…

My father dreamed of going elk hunting out west. He worked at least 40-hour weeks at American Motors and maintained a huge garden so finding the time (and extra cash) was a strug-gle. Dad occasionally took time for himself to…

My treasure box, the size of a loaf of bread, used to belong to my mother who called it her jewelry box. For as far back as I can remember, it sat on her dresser. Now it sits on mine.…

Earlier this week I buckled on a fanny pack so my phone would be safe during my bike ride. I set out and enjoyed cruising on a remote country road with rolling hills. I continued onto Highway O and headed…

This spring I was anxious to arrive at our northern Wisconsin cabin to see if the orphaned gosling we raised and released last year had returned. Last fall, after Gertie still hadn’t found a buddy, my husband and I dropped…

Memorial week is a time to pay tribute to others who have gone before us and many people do that by tending gravesites. Cemeteries dot the countryside taking up valuable land. Wouldn’t that land be better used for housing, recreation…

My husband and I were driving through northern Wisconsin this past week when we spotted an albino doe. We stopped to watch it and talked about the other times we’d seen albino deer. We recalled the exact locations, Palmer and…

Sunday we celebrate Mother’s Day, but mothers can take unexpected forms, proven by these incredible examples of surrogates across species. Earning first prize in my interspecies mother-of-the-year photo contest is a medium-sized dog with seven baby opossums clinging onto her…