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I’ve always loved getting up early, when the world seems to hold endless possibilities and before responsibilities tug at me. One of my daughters does, too. And a dear friend of mine does as well. I enjoy writing; my daughter…

The human heart has about 2 billion beats in a lifetime. That’s about 35 million beats a year, about 100,000 beats a day. How are you going to spend yours? I’m having a fish fry outside at the Keg in…

While walking on one of my favorite hiking trails, a monarch flits past me. This fragile insect, no heavier than a paperclip, will soon begin its journey to Mexico—battling heat, storms, and cold, adjusting its flight with the sun or,…

Garoo-oo-a-a-a. The call of the sandhill crane always makes me search the sky. My fascination began in my 30s, when my husband and I joined the annual Sandhill Crane Count. We rose at 4 a.m., brewed a thermos of coffee,…

Every evening after supper, my husband and I scheme and whisper like spies as we plot ways to get our small dog to take her three pills… and nearly every night Josie outsmarts us. I start in the kitchen with…

It started with a mess: rotting firewood, a broken cartwheel, and my husband muttering, “Maybe I’ll try to fix it.” At the time, it felt small and ordinary. Later, I thought of the saying that the flap of a butterfly’s…

I’m on the porch flipping through the Italy section of my latest travel catalog when a tooth in my lower right jaw throbs. Please stop, I tell it. I try to distract myself with descriptions of Italy’s art, culture, and…

I’m taking a twilight stroll along the river walk when it strikes me: fifty years ago this week, I moved to the Dells. I can still see myself lugging suitcases down a narrow spiral staircase into the basement apartment I’d…

Last week I added a surprising new addition to my life’s résumé: hot air balloon crew member. My brother, sister-in-law, husband, and I joined my cousin Mike—a balloonist—at the Rhinelander Hodag Park’s Salute to Heroes Balloon Festival. He handed us…

I’ve got that buzz again—that creative thrill that zings through me when I stumble on just the right idea for a column or dream up a fresh way to celebrate the launch of my latest book. My fingers twitch. My…