Still enjoying some beautiful Fall moments & colors. Even though it feels like their time is quite limited. It came down as snow, but quickly melted into water droplets.

With a forecast of a warm & partly-sunny afternoon, I decided to take the afternoon off to play hooky at the Illinois Beach State Park north of the City. A new adventure destination for me! As I drove further north, the temp started to drop. As I got close to the park an ominous fog covered the sky. The waves were crashing all around but oddly coming coming out of a foggy distance. The colors were beautiful but oddly shrouded in fog… as I pretty much had the entire lakefront park to myself in an isolating fog.

The scenery was AMAZING…
albeit not the warm & partly sunny afternoon by the lake I had expected.

Looks like some new GHOULS made it down to Orlando, Florida… and quickly joined the festive family! Including one of the retired & much-coveted Mummies!!! Thanks for sharing your Ghouls Collection with us Anna!

These rainy Fall mornings are definitely putting a kink on my sunrise biking addiction!!!

Pretty Fall colors & yummy sliced berries in their new handmade berry bowl! Such a colorful & pretty display… and healthy too!!! Thanks for sharing Trish!!!

Another grey & dreary day in Chicago… so it’s always a welcome surprise to find a splash of color like this sumac bush in my front yard! Loving the range of colors and the natural overlapped textures created by jagged leaves!

Yesterday was another great chance go get out of the City and enjoy the rural landscape. There’s something so calming about driving through farm fields & prairie lands during Fall. A little bit sad knowing that these colors will soon be gone… especially with the gusty winds yesterday.

To help celebrate my big day yesterday, I set out to enjoy another beautiful day of Indian Summer. I just LOVE this week of gorgeous days with amazing Fall colors. It’s been a great week to be “celebrating” & playing hooky during the day! Riding north along the lake took me up though Openlands Lakeshore Preserve to enjoy the lake, the trees, the colors, the freedom… and just being out there enjoying it ALL!!!

Another AMAZING day playing outside in Nature!!!
THANK YOU MOTHER NATURE.

After teaching class this morning, I zoomed off to Rock Cut State Park with my friend Tiffany. The weather was AMAZING again… and practically no one is there in the state parks during the week. A perfect combination… making for another perfect chance to get out of the City to relish in the beautiful Fall colors… again!

Another beautiful day with the Fall colors just starting to pop out. A little too early for the “full Fall” color show… but still beautiful. So I decided to take the day to “play hooky” and hike around Rock Cut State Park in Rockford, Illinois. We used to camp here a lot when we were kids, so there were quite a few childhood flashbacks along the way! A great day to kick-back, relax and hike around the lake… THREE TIMES!!!

Another beautiful day to get out