As part of our Asian themed party, we had branches of blooming cherry blossoms
in several of the rooms. A beautiful “pop” of color and a hint of Spring. Lucky for me…
we had some leftovers! So I brought home a few bundles to brighten up my home.

So many branches… so many that my neighbors got a beautiful centerpiece too!!!
Even this beautiful branch in an Emily Murphy bottle is now gracing my back porch.
Even a small bundle on my stove in fromt of my collection of mini’s!

And I think my class might “benefit” from some extras on Tuesday night as well.
Shhhh… don’t ruin the surprise!

The snow finally hit Chicago today.
We’ve had a few flurries here & there… but nothing like today!
And of course, the worst of it was during the evening rush hour. So my 8-mile
drive from “glitter gig” to the studio took me just over two hours and fifteen minutes!!!
And this is what it looked like most of the way… green street lights & red tail lights!

And not a single City snow plow along the way! What’s up with that???
Who would have thought that less than two weeks ago I was riding my bike
along the lakefront enjoying beautiful sunrises?!

If I didn’t need to make it to the studio to “top off” a cone 10 kiln tonight
I would have definitely gone straight home. But thanks to Corinne, she had
some space left in her kiln and was asking for people to fill the space…
and you know I’m the “King Of Kiln Filler”!!!

It was another unusually sunny & warm Winter day here in Chicago.
So, what else to do?…  but go for a nice long bike ride. And it was wonderful.
A lot warmer than my morning sunrise rides have been. So I went even further!
When I got home, I was struck by the beauty of my new orchid as it was dappled
in shadows from the sun that was streaming in through the dining room windows!

Don’t get me wrong… the overnight temperatures are still pretty cold in Chicago.
Leaving some incredible frozen “sculptures” along the lakefront.

I doubt that they “survived” the 50-degree day we had today?! So much better than the
freezing cold & blizzards of snow we should be having this time of year, huh?

When I stopped along the lakefront this morning to take some sunrise pictures,
I also found some frozen puddles. No surprise. It was pretty darn cold out this morning.
But upon closer examination, they were no ordinary puddles… err, frozen puddles.
These may have been the coolest puddles EVER!!! Look closely…

Yes… that ICE is literally “floating” about 2-inches above the ground. Crazy, huh?
And even-freakier, no residual water under the frozen puddle surface?!

Yes, it appears as though the ice is “stretched” kinda like frozen Saran Wrap?!
My guess is that somehow the puddle of water froze quickly overnight, and somehow
most of the water in the puddles evaporated (or otherwise disappeared?) leaving behind
a very thin layer of ice suspended about two inches above the remaining water & rocks.
I still have no guess on how these incredible “spikes” of ice could have happened?!
They’re literally jutting out from the rocks?!

And look how thin the ice is… thinner than a piece of glass!

If you look even closer… you can even see some green plants living under the glass!
Like a little “greenhouse effect” for the plants living along the water’s edge.

So?… can anyone explain this natural phenomenon better than I can?
It’s the kind of unexplained beauty you can only find in nature… if you take time to look!

And look close at this last one… stretched, rippled, spiked, pulled, drooping… all frozen ice!

Like I’ve said many times before… “one of the best parts about biking is stopping.”
If you don’t stop some times to enjoy your surroundings, you’ll miss great experiences
like this. Fun at the alpaca farm! The kids were out in their front yard with free water
and fig bars. Which was all fine & good. But I was more intrigued by the alpacas
behind them. So we started talking with the Mom & kids… and they finally invited us
to go back and see the alpacas. They explained everything you ever needed to know
about their alpacas! We even got to pet them & feed them. But you gotta stop to play!

A fairly simple barn. Nothing too exciting… until you see the alpacas in back!
They were busy grazing & relaxing. Until the owner clapped her hands and they came over
to greet us. Hoping to be fed I believe. So we did… Could they BE any cuter?!

For more alpaca information… and an opportunity to buy them all AND the farm…
check out the website for Abounding Acres.

By Sunday, I was really ready to sleep in. But then again, there was another sunrise
calling my name. Urging me to get outside to enjoy my Northwoods surroundings.
So I did. And it was very peaceful. More pastel. Less vibrant than the days before!