Another crisp beautiful morning. Loving the textures & colors of the fallen leaves.
However… not happy that they’re falling so quickly. I love Fall.
But I’m not ready for bare-tree Winter!!!

Looks like the Fall colors are spot-on this weekend!!!
So beautiful… and hoping the leaves hang-on for awhile longer!!!

Another STUNNING Autumn day!

Sure, I have the longest list of things I “should” be doing… that I “need” to be doing”… and yet I “just had to” get outside for possibly one last blast of Fall perfection for another nature hike. This time it was out to my childhood favorite hike around the lake at ROCK CUT STATE PARK. The colors are still changing. I thought they would be a little further along, but I think the warm weather we’ve been enjoying has slowed down the color-change a bit. Didn’t matter… still plenty of color to find & nature to enjoy!

Too soon for poinsettias… instead, this is the Smoke Bush in front of my condo. For some reason, only the tips of the branches are turning red so far?!

Since the day was gorgeous, and I was road-trippin’ around Central Illinois… I decided to stop by to check out CHANNAHON STATE PARK on my way home. I had never been there before – so it was kinda cool to see the old locks along the canal. The colors are starting to change. The hiking was easy, more like a stroll along the water. And it was fun to see some wildlife… including a big white swan swimming around out in the wild!!!

This afternoon’s bike ride took me north along the lakefront following Sheridan Road… past the stunning mansions, up to Openlands Lakeshore Preserve, up to where the “PATH ENDS” across from the Great Lakes Naval Station. But just because it “ends” there, it does not mean that your ride has to end there too. It just means you need to hope off and ride on the roads for while to get to the harbor for a lunch & ice cream break… then & only then, is it time to turn around and pedal back home. It was a wonderful ride with fantastic weather & stunning autumn colors!

I PLAYED HOOKY ALL WEEKEND… yeah me!!!

It was another perfectly GORGEOUS day to be playing outside! I decided to hike the day away at MORAINE HILLS STATE PARK. Beautiful scenery & bold Fall colors around every corner of the park. And surprisingly… very few people?! It felt like I had the park to myself… as I only saw a handful of people out on the trails while I was hiking for hours. Another wonderful adventure playing out in Nature. So much to see. So much fresh air. So wonderful. The weather was FANTASTIC… and I just had to get outside to play all day!!!

Today was just beautiful! Clear skies, cool breezes, no humidity & the warmth of the sun on your shoulders. A perfect day to play outside hiking through nature appreciating the beauty all around. The flowers, the trees, the leaves, the butterflies… and the deer! It seemed like we criss-crossed paths a couple times… checking each other out each time! Such a wonderful day playing outside! No better place…

Too soon???… I’m diggin’ the Fall vibes.
Loving the colors, but I’m not quite ready to start losing leaves already!!!

Another rainy morning… definitely feeling the Autumn vibes!