Another beautiful day… clear skies with a warm start & a forecast of upper sixties for later this afternoon. It’s hard to think that just a couple days ago we had SNOW!!! And that by looking at the calendar… we probably will again!!! But for now… maybe just today & tomorrow… SPRING IS HERE!!! Okay, just let me have this one…

Now don’t get me wrong… I’m not saying that it is quite “warm” yet as there are still remnants of Winter literally hanging on along the lakefront. And there are no delusions here that Winter is over. You know there is probably more cold & snow on it’s way at some point!!! But let’s enjoy this while we can…

Turned out to be a nice sunny day today, albeit a bit breezy. But I did see a ray of hope… a flowering witch hazel tree! Some say it’s Late Winter… I’m gonna call it Very Early SPRING!!!

The beautiful Fall colors are still hanging on in Chicago… literally clinging to cement walls! Great colors, great textures & great shadows!

A beautiful splash of Fall colors… colorful clusters of red berries on autumn trees as Fall continues to hang on a few days longer. And here for it!!!

So, sure I should be in the studio glazing…
or sure, I should be at home setting up for my HOLIDAY HOME SHOW...
but c’mon… it’s another gorgeous Fall day in Chicago!!!…
and I couldn’t say “NO” to my bike!!!

Especially when there are small pockets that still have trees holding onto their leaves!
Won’t last for long… enjoy it while you can! I can “work” later tonight, right???

Fall is definitely here… and leaves there are a-fallin’!
Loving the colors & textures… so different on every leaf.

After last week’s sudden snowfall, we’ve lost a LOT of colorful Fall leaves. However… I did find this colorful “hanger-on-er” this morning… a splash of beautiful Fall color lingering as long as it can. And I’m here for it.

So I was scrolling through Instagram earlier today and ran across this post.
And I thought to myself… “Wow, that flower looks a LOT like the dahlias I have blooming at home right now. And I wonder if mine will survive yesterday’s snow at all?!”

And then I looked closer… it also looks like my condo… also looks like my bricks… like my basement window frame… my dahlia plant… my tomato cage… wait a minute… THAT IS MY DAHLIA!!! Blooming but struggling under the snow!!!

Turns out Sarah walks her dog Sheryl past my place regularly, and has been enjoying my dahlias all Fall. Who knew???… That the “runner-up-in-my-eyes” on THE GREAT AMERICAN BAKING SHOW would be posting pictures of my dahlias on her Instagram?! Small world!

And just for the record… the snow did them in!!! Got home tonight and the plants are frozen, wilted & DEAD!!! Hope I can still save the tubers…

So we got a good bit of snow yesterday & freezing “rain” overnight… not sure if it was a trick or a treat? Sure, it was pretty enough, but I definitely wasn’t ready to chip all the ice off my car this morning just to get in!!! Loving the Fall colors… I just want them to last longer!!!