By Amanda van Kammen, Germany
My family and I decided to spend our autumn holidays in the Caribbean. This vacation was a dream come true. I immediately loved the island, with its sunlight, nature settings, and friendly local people. Almost immediately when I walked around the island, I started recalling memories of a past life there.
By Kristy Walker
As a wildlife photographer, I had always wanted to photograph swans with their babies. One year I spotted a swan in a marsh at a park near my home. I could hardly believe it, but this female was making a nest. Every day I visited the place in hopes of seeing her babies.
By Sheri Kramer, Minnesota
Some years ago, I was having one of those days where I felt particularly sad and lonely. Rather than stay home and sulk, I opted to spend some time at a nearby nature preserve.
By Johanna Kothbauer, Germany
I have always been skeptical of miracles. As a doctor in Munich, Germany, my miracles are to discover exactly how the eyes work and can be healed, for instance, or how they interact with the brain.
But once during a long journey to the other side of the world, a different sort of miracle occurred.
By Steve Runfeldt, Minnesota
During my first phase of graduate school, I studied how bonobos communicate and vocalize. They are cousins of chimpanzees. My graduate-school professor, an expert on animal communication, had worked with renowned scientist and author Jane Goodall in the past. Dr. Goodall researched the similarities in behavior between animals and people. I’ve discovered a fascinating spiritual link between chimps and humans.
By Gillian Wilkins, Queensland, Australia
For thirty years, I worked as a small-animal veterinarian, mostly for cats and dogs. I also treated reptiles, guinea pigs, and mice and realized I really like exotic, unusual, and wild animals. Since my practice was located in the city, I didn’t get much wildlife to care for at my vet office, but when I did, I enjoyed working with the creatures.