A beautifully chilly start to the day.
Low-hanging mist giving a frozen touch to the morning.

A SIMPLY GORGEOUS AFTERNOON!

Plenty of blue skies, wispy clouds, a swift breeze… and MY BIKE!!! Sure, I rode twenty miles this morning, but when the temperature goes up into the mid-60’s for the first time this year… you just GOTTA go out to play… for another forty miles!!! Whoo-Hoo… Spring is coming!!!

It was a beautiful day to get outside to play! The sun was out and the temperature actually hit 50-degrees!!! I decided to go for a nice long hike through Moraine Hills State Park. I was surprised by the amount of snow they still had, but was happy to be shedding layers of clothes as the day went on. Some beautiful scenery, slushy paths and a few sandhill cranes along the way!

Feels like Spring is coming soon… but we still have a lot of ice to melt away!!! Some really cool ice “sculptures” happening in my back courtyard.

I think there’s still stairs under there somewhere?!

We had a surprisingly warm day here in Chicago today… lots of sun & lots of melting! And the perfect opportunity to get back out on my bike for another wonderful afternoon ride along the lakefront!

While today may be gray, yesterday was a great day to PLAY!!! After a full day in the studio, I got to sneak out yesterday for a great, late afternoon ride along the lakefront. Lots of melting snow, lots of puddles & lots of wet-grime flicking up on my back!!!

Didn’t care… too much fun pedaling!!!

With warm temps, the snow is melting which gives even less reason for Chicago “dibs”. A strange local custom where people put chairs, tables, garbage cans & all kinds of trash in their shoveled out parking space to “reserve it” for when they come back. Kinda loved this impassioned message I saw this afternoon on my way home!

Just got back from a sweaty afternoon jog along the lakefront! So excited to see all of this snow starting to melt. We have a long ways to go… but it was encouragingly warm this afternoon. Of course I put on too many layers and regretted it quickly… and got tired of splashing through all the mushy puddles. But I’ll take it if it means Spring is one day closer!!!

And here’s a little “tour” of my back courtyard stairs & back porch situation. We have a little freezing issue going on here these days! Too much ice, not enough melting! Some spectacular icicles forming everywhere… natural beauty… and unfortunately, dripping all over the stairs creating an impassable “slippery slope”!

Guess my laundry in the basement can wait for a few more weeks until things melt?!!!

Another beautifully gray morning here in Chicago…
cold, chilly, bone-chilling “damp” with plenty of icicles everywhere! Perfect for a neighborhood stroll, right? Lots of icicle spikes forming & dripping to create iced-over clumps of “preserved” nature!