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!!!

We finally got some sunshine today!

So I had to GET OUT!!!

Out of my condo.
Out of my studio.
Outside for some fresh air!!!

I decided to go back to Illinois Beach State Park to hike along the lakefront… and oh, while I was there, I could check on the fortune cookie “inventory” that might still be hidden out there!

Beautiful blue skies, show-covered beaches, plenty of icicles…
and yes, a handful of fortune cookies still waiting to be found!!!

Colorful & chilly… with a chance of frozen puddles!
It was a bit colder than I expected this morning… good & bad. Good to see some cool frozen bushes covered with icicles. Bad to see ICE already… I am so not ready for this!!! Had to be more careful of “puddles” along the trail… now slippery ice puddles!

And oh, by the way… “Dear Santa, I need much warmer gloves!!!”

Another gusty windy day in Chicago! A lot of leaves dropping from trees, flying around, swirling everywhere and eventually piling up in the darndest places!

The overnight temperatures dropped quickly, and it looks like the ginkgo trees dropped their leaves quickly too! Still more leaves to go… but for now, there’s a beautiful carpet of golden leaves on the ground.

Sure, the beautiful 70-degree days may be gone, but it was still an amazing day for another bike ride. The Fall colors are trying their best to hang on for a few more days… and I’m very thankful. Blue skies, a few more clouds and a few more miles! Giddy-up!!!

Nothing but blue skies heading home from my afternoon “hooky” bike ride along the Lake! Always fun to see the City from the “other” side!

Icicles, already?!!!
You’ve got to be kidding!

Sure, it felt a little colder this morning when I set-out on my bike… but I am by no means ready for THIS!!! It was a beautiful sweeping sunrise with a nice splash of color! But it was the frozen splashes on the pier fencing making the first icicles of the season that really struck me. Yep, struck me as too soon. TOO SOON!!!