While biking through the forest preserves yesterday, it’s always fun to try to spot the deer along the way. It was a little tougher than normal yesterday as everything is BROWN still!!! But still a great game… and I counted a total of twenty-eight! Another good day!!!

Yesterday afternoon I made it out for a beautiful bike ride up to the Chicago Botanic Garden and through the Skokie Lagoons. I found this wonderful area that has become a rookery for Great Blue Herons!!! There were at least 35 nests up there… many of them with a heron perched on top!

Pretty excited when I got home from biking to see the very first crocus blooming in my front yard! Love the vibrant purple color… and LOVE that I’ve never planted crocus & yet somehow this little cutie found it’s way into my street corner planter box!

Another overcast Spring day… finding new places to explore
while staying “right on track” before the rain gets here!

A beautifully chilly start to the day.
Low-hanging mist giving a frozen touch to the morning.

Bloomin’ snowdrops… a great sign that Spring is coming soon!

It was a beautiful day to get outside to play! The sun was out and the temperature actually hit 50-degrees!!! I decided to go for a nice long hike through Moraine Hills State Park. I was surprised by the amount of snow they still had, but was happy to be shedding layers of clothes as the day went on. Some beautiful scenery, slushy paths and a few sandhill cranes along the way!

Not a cloud in the sky. Just a hazy start to the morning… with some treacherous sidewalks along the way! With some overnight rain & morning fog, there were random patches of ice all along the way… slip-sliding away!!! Made me giggle as I had to catch my balance more than once!

Another big sky moment this morning along the lakefront.

Icebergs are melting, snow piles shrinking. Mushy puddles abound. Always fun to play along the lakefront in the morning sun… anxious to get my bike back out on the trail. But I fear we’re still a few days away with all of the slushy mess out there!