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.

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!

It was still a little chilly, and quite windy, as the breeze was blowing in off the lake. Which kind of made it feel like a headwind going in both directions! But it was still well worth the extra effort. As the flooding rains have stopped, as have the snow showers. With a lot of sunshine, it feels like Spring might actually be on its way… to stay this time!

Another sign of Spring… precious, little purple flowers popping up along the bike path.

Not to mention the leaves that are finally bursting out to greet the sun.
Guess all of that rain earlier in the week really paid off!

A couple more welcoming signs of Spring…
buds coming out on the trees and the winter snow-fence coming down along the lakefront. Surely that means that warmer weather can’t be far behind, right?!

I keep hoping that Spring may actually be here…
Still covered with last year’s leaves, I did a little uncovering this morning  and found a little sign of Spring popping up in my backyard flower pot garden! One step closer…

So here’s my morning routine…
My alarm goes off and I drag myself out onto my back porch. Checking to see
what the weather is like, and more importantly if the ground is wet or frozen.
If it is, I crawl back in bed for a little more sleep. It’s just not safe to ride in the dark
with poor road conditions, or at least that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Imagine my surprise this morning when I stepped out and found out the deck
was covered with snow?! A little crunchy. A little frozen. A little cold on my feet.
I guess it was only appropriate for the official last day of Winter, huh?

At least there was one up-side to the morning… there’s a little hint of Spring
sprouting out on the fence. One more sign that Spring might actually be around
the corner?! C’mon Spring.. c’mon warm weather!!!

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!

Well, Winter has returned to Chicago… and it’s beautiful.
We’ve had a pretty easy Winter so far. Very little snow. So it’s fun to get snow today!

Hard to believe that it was just yesterday when I was riding my bike along the lakefront.
The “huge” snowstorm they predicted seems to be a little bit lighter than expected, but
it’s still coming down! The snow is even covering the roof of my birdhouse on the back
porch. And there’s still more snow on the way!!!

After yesterday’s brief “warm-up”…
a lot of the snow & ice has melted off the bike trail making my morning ride
a lot more fun.. and a lot safer!

The ice mass in Lake Michigan has also begun to melt & break up.
We now have actual icebergs floating along the lakefront.

Yes… actual footprint textures made by the flocks of Canadian Geese that  stroll
along the lakefront crossing the packed pebble paths. You know I love a good texture…
the fact that it was made in such a cool & unusual manner makes it even cooler!!!

After icebergs & geese… it was finally time for a beautiful sunrise!