Winter moments captured in snow.
Loving a good morning snowfall… powdered & pretty.

Just a little bit of snow this morning… so pretty, so fun!!!

And another one finds it’s way out of the frozen cold… and into a warm home! This little fortune cookie was found sitting right on top of the entrance sign to south unit of Illinois Beach State Park.

More fortune cookies still out there…
in both the north & south units of the park!!!

Looks like one of my pottery students weathered the elements today for a little “fortune cookie scavenger hunt” up at Illinois Beach State Park. Good find Ashley… and thanks for sharing your wintery adventure with us!

Another brisk morning in the single digits.
Loving the chilled mist & slushy ice on the lake.

A little early morning sunrise along the lake…
makes you think it just “might” be warmer than it really is outside!
Brrrr…

Yesterday my adventure took me out to Illinois Beach State Park… about an hour north of Chicago, just a smidge south of the Wisconsin border. I enjoyed the fresh snow, the blue skies & just playing out in nature. It was so weird to practically have the entire state park to myself?! I think I saw less than a dozen people all day long!

So I had free run of the place to enjoy the magic & majesty of it all… no random people in my photos! And along with the freezing temperatures came some amazing ice sculptures… windblown & gravity-defying. So much fun to experience these magical moments all around. Such a great day. Such a wonderful adventure.

So we finally go some snow in Chicago on Saturday night!!! Happy New Year to us all. Not nearly as much snow as predicted, and it was followed-up with beautiful blue skies the next day. So yesterday I put on the hiking boots and went outside to play in the snow! So much more fun than curling up on the sofa… which it seems like we’ve all been doing a little too much of these past few gray & gloomy days!

First snow of the season… and of course I choose to do a quick road trip out-of-town!!! Maybe I need to start checking the weather forecast before I hop in the car!!!

With an overnight rain, the gingko leaves came tumbling down… creating carpets of yellow leaves wonderfully spotted with some lingering raindrops!