What would Halloween be without some good, old-fashioned pumpkin carving?!

Artist Ray Villafane began carving pumpkins on a lark for his art students in a small,
rural school district in Michigan. The hobby changed his life as he gained a viral
following online and unlocked his genuine love of sculpting. Here are a few of his
eerie pumpkin creations from the past five years!

Villafane has made a name for himself with the pumpkin carving even though he is
allergic to pumpkins. “If I’m carving too many or too long, my skin gets really itchy,”
Vilafane said. “If pumpkin juice gets anywhere near my eyes, my eyes itch.”

Villafane created a pumpkin-carving tutorial and posted it on his website,
VillafaneStudios.com. In it, he recommends carving with the following tools:
a large clay ribbon loop, a medium clay ribbon loop, a mini clay ribbon loop,
an X-acto knife and a paring knife. Who knew that my old clay ribbon loop tools
could be so useful in the pumpkin carving realm?! A great chance to re-purpose them!

Just some more pretty pictures.
The Fall colors were so incredible while I was up in the Northwoods…
I took HUNDREDS of photos!!! Everywhere you looked, it was gorgeous…
and I had to take more & more photos at every turn. Here’s just a few more!

As much as I hate to admit it… summer in Chicago might be over?!
The weather has changed. It has gotten a lot cooler. The sun’s not as strong.
One more “confirmation” was this morning when I saw that the lifeguard stands
along the lakefront are all being removed. Lifeguards are gone. Summer’s over?!
I’m not buying it… I will grasp onto “summer” as long as I can…

My afternoon bike ride with Chris was wonderful once again.
The weather was great and riding even better. Spring has sprung… and I was happy
to be able to get out of the studio and go play outside. It’s always more fun to play!

With an early start to our biking season, it’s been fun watching the woods surrounding
the bike path evolve from dead, brown Winter woods to the vibrant, Spring green forest
it is quickly becoming. It’s like seeing the seasons change right before your eyes!
With flowers & textures everywhere you look!

We also continued our weekly, favorite riding game of “deer hunting.”
As we pedal the 35-mile route, we keep an eye out for deer along the way.
And today was our highest count ever… 53 deer!

While my bisque kiln was cooling today, I decided to head off… into the woods.
So I drove out of the city, with my friend Nancy, and up to Rock Cut State Park in
Rockford, Illinois. As a kid, I spent many a summer weekend camping there with my family.
Now it’s just a great escape from the hectic city – and today was wonderful opportunity to get
away and enjoy the adventure. It felt like a mini-vacation as we hiked around the lake… twice!
The weather was great and spring was popping out everywhere you looked. I love the colors,
the textures and the small surprises throughout the forest. The tiniest of wildflowers.
The vividness of the duckweed. The sprouts of the mosses. The smallest of nature’s details.

And my personal favorite… and old, grown-over sign & fence. Keep off what?… the lake?!!!

So I’ve “added” another ride to my schedule. My friend Chris and I have decided to ride
the Chicago River North Branch Trail every Monday & Wednesday after work…
as weather & time allow. Today was our third trip this season… another 32 mile ride!

It’s a nice ride that weaves through the forest preserve, around lagoons, across prairies,
and other nature areas taking you from the hectic city street corner of Devon & Milwaukee
where we park our cars… up to the Chicago Botanic Garden where we rest, stretch, chat,
refill water bottles then turn around and start pedaling back. A beautiful ride even this
early in the season where everything is brown & bare… with hints of green. We’re looking
forward to watching the seasons change as we continue to pedal.

BONUS: Along the way, as we’re cruising through the Forest Preserves, Chris and I
are always “deer hunting” and keeping a running tally of all the deer we see along the way.
It’s always a treat to see deer right there along the bike trail. And it always amazes us
how many people just go by without even noticing these precious wonders of nature!

Encouraging… that this morning’s sunrise was beautiful & pink.
Encouraging… that the snow fences were coming down along the beaches this morning.
Encouraging… that I crossed the 300-mile marker on this morning’s ride.
Encouraging… that all of my windows at home are wide open.
Encouraging… that I’ve already moved some of my plants out to the back porch.
Encouraging… that today is the official start of the city’s street cleaning in my neighborhood.
Encouraging… that it’s supposed to get over 80-degrees today!!!

Encouraging… that Winter may actually be over?!

With some surprisingly warm weather here in Chicago, the morning bike rides have been
a little easier to “get motivated” for. With the warmer mornings, I can wear fewer layers…
and get out a little sooner! Although it is Chicago… who are we kidding… it might still snow?!

I woke up this morning to the “First Day of Spring” here in Chicago!!!

And to think that yesterday I got outside for a nice long bike ride along the lakefront
wearing biking shorts and a sleeveless jersey… enjoying the sun & warm weather!
Hopefully this will be the LAST of the winter “fun” before Spring really shows up.
Only in Chicago…