Northeastern Illinois had about 12" of snow Thursday night through Friday morning. It was the heavy stuff that kills AARP shovelers. It was the kids' first snow day ... and last day before their winter break.

I have a good-sized 4WD tractor with a front-end loader and rear blade, so I was more like a kid in a pretty white sandbox - making real big piles for the kids to play on. I also ran around to see if I could help out neighbors, but most of them have their own tractors or big honkin' snowblowers.

Tonight we got another, oh, maybe 1/2" of snow. Its really a nice night out. My daughter & I wandered around for a while enjoying the silence and beauty. No wind at all, maybe in the 20's, and best of all ... no bugs.

Maybe I'll take some pics tomorrow ... though its supposed to be really cold (single digits F).

Ken