Along with all of the wonderful pots on the Tour, it was also a beautiful Spring weekend.
With a little chill in the air there were great signs of Spring everywhere we went.

And some great milkweed pods bursting open to fee the seeds.

Sure, I may be in Dover for a “glitter gig” planning meeting, but that doesn’t mean I can’t take a little time to enjoy a bit of nature while I’m here, right? I always love seeing how the natural surroundings change when you travel. Just a short airplane ride and everything can change!

Okay, so I can find a little “pretty” outside my hotel window too… here’s the view of the Dover Downs Speedway. It’s used for both horse harness racing & auto NASCAR racing. The outer loop is for cars, the inner loop is for horses! And in about a month, we’ll be working around the speedway grounds to set up the Firefly Music Festival. For more information, click here.

When I got home tonight, I found out that a friend of mine had posted a beautiful picture of two ikebana vases with beautiful spring flowers on her Facebook page! Your daffodils make my vases look so much better Mary Pat. Thanks again for sharing!

When I parked my bike to take some more pictures this morning, I found some really great colors & textures growing on the side of the tree.

As seen on Colossal.com…
Exploded Flowers is a series of photos by artist Fong Qi Wei that shows a variety of flowers dissected into individual components. Reminiscent of exploding fireworks, it’s fascinating to see the radial footprints each flower makes relative to the size of its actual bloom. The series placed second in the 2012 International Photography Awards. You can see more from the series on Wei’s website.

Spring has finally “sprung” in Chicago… even if it’s just inside the Chicago Flower
& Garden Show at Navy Pier. It was such a great “retreat” from the cold with beautiful
colors, smells, patterns & textures! A sign that Spring may actually be on it’s way!

Not only were there tons of beautiful flowers… but there were also piles of tulips!!!
A full color palette of petals. Who knew there were so many different kinds of tulips?!

But one of my favorite things were the vertical wall gardens. Especially because there was
a lot of colors & textures all in one place… each vying for a special place in the sun!

When I stopped to take sunrise photos, there were thin sheets of ice “floating” delicately
on blades of grass. The lakefront path was glistening this morning as the sun came up…
with small crackling sounds as I walked through.

It was another beautiful morning today along the lakefront. Sure, it was a little cold.
But that’s what layers are for. The recent cold spell has allowed the “glaciers” to build up.
So this morning there were a lot of “glaciers” and “icebergs” along the lakefront. As well as
frozen puddles all along the bike trail… some more dangerous than others which I had to
stop and carefully walk across! Too slippery for my skinny little tires!!!

And the more the slushy waves came in crashing, the more the glaciers were growing
and building up… thicker & thicker. The bigger the splash, the thicker the ice layer!

Not only was the lake “frozen” but so were the puddles along the lakefront.
Shiny reflections all over place. And precarious walking in my bike shoes without traction!

I especially liked this section where the “glaciers” were breaking up and turning into round
floating icebergs. I thought it was cool how the outer edges were frozen and a bit “taller” with
a puddle of water inside?! I’m sure there’s some explanation… probably much like the
crashing waves building up the glaciers.