A wonderfully snowy day… perfect for a little “snow-trudging” stroll through the neighborhood. We got a LOT of heavy snow overnight, and more throughout the day. Picture-perfect snow covering pretty much everything!!!

So it was a little on the freezing side this morning… too cold & too much snow & ice for biking! Not too cold for a brisk morning hike though. Low-flying clouds delayed the sunrise through ice-covered branches!

More natural textures still dusted with a bit of snow
at Lillstreet Art Center… perfect for a little Texture Tuesday!

I love when the freshly-fallen snow sticks to every branch & fence… covering the City in a beautiful blanket of white. Typically it disappears pretty quick… but NOT today! It’s still a Winter Wonderland out there!!!

Woke up this morning in a winter wonderland. A beautiful covering of snow everywhere… a beautiful excuse to go for a long winter walk along the lake. Sure, I’d rather be biking… but we haven’t had dry streets or an actual sunrise for SO long now!!! Just gray, gray, gray… and now some snow as a wonderful accent!

We finally got some sunshine today!

So I had to GET OUT!!!

Out of my condo.
Out of my studio.
Outside for some fresh air!!!

I decided to go back to Illinois Beach State Park to hike along the lakefront… and oh, while I was there, I could check on the fortune cookie “inventory” that might still be hidden out there!

Beautiful blue skies, show-covered beaches, plenty of icicles…
and yes, a handful of fortune cookies still waiting to be found!!!

Looks like another beautiful, snow-covered day down in Peoria.
So cozy. So serene. So snowy. Until you look a little bit closer…
and what do you see???

Hidden deep inside the snowy branches…. still standing…

The new “replacement” totem pole that I made for Gerry & Rosene after their first totem pole got smashed by a falling tree! Luckily, it looks like this one is okay… but WHEW!!!… that was a close call!!! I think they might need to buy a lotto ticket with that kinda luck!

While walking along the beach this afternoon, I found this “clump” of ice & seaweed. At first I thought it had little nuggets of ice stuck in it. Turns out it was more beach glass for my “quarantine collection”!!!

What started as another gloomy gray day, made a switch in the afternoon as the sun tried its best to come out. Which means… you gotta get outside quick to catch it while you can!

Dull dreary & cold Winter days are so much easier to cope with when you go down into my friend Rosene’s basement to find her coleus garden growing in full force! What better way to feed her own gardening addiction than to take cuttings at the end of Summer… and then root them & nurse them through the Winter! So many wonderful colors & textures on these gorgeous coleus plants! Perfect for a natural TEXTURE TUESDAY!!!

Too bad this little slice o Heaven is way down by Peoria!!!