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!!!

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!!!

It’s a beautiful snow-covered day in Chicago! Looking out my kitchen window to see my back porch “curtain” of rusty gears under a new blanket of snow! A good day to go hiking through the snow… or to curl up under a blanket on the sofa! Either way, enjoy the snowy day!!!

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!

With a fresh coating of overnight snow, this morning was a great chance to get outside to hike & play along the beach again. Not the sunny & warm most people expect while at the beach… but BEAUTIFUL nonetheless.

My new “quarantine collection” of beach glass grew a little more today too!!!

Last day of the year.
Last chance for an afternoon run before the New Year.

Cautiously stepping, but loving the branch silhouettes
& the sunny reflections shimmering on the ice-crusted snow!

A welcome surprise… finding a Major Wheeler Honeysuckle plant still blooming this late in the season! Love how the bright flowers make a great contrast to the yellowing Fall colors of the leaves still on the vine!

Gotta love when science & nature collide. Like this wonderful example of photosynthesis. I was first drawn to the vibrant red colors of this bush.

I was noticing how each leaf was a different color, a different shade of red… and even MORE dramatic when I moved a couple leaves to find a bright yellow spot.

A “void” on the red leaf because the sun wasn’t getting to all of the bottom leaf to change it to red! Isn’t Mother Nature AMAZING?!!!