I wish it looked like this tomorrow morning.

Deer hunting is so much better with even a coating of snow. And the second day of Illinois' firearm season opens Thursday.

Overnight, we had a coating of snow, real winter fluffy stuff, not that thick sloppy stuff. Strong west winds spat around a few flurries as the meathead and I went down the steps into the predawn.

He left the first canine prints in the dusting. Actually, he left the first prints of any kind.

Usually, we find rabbit and squirrel tracks in fresh snow.

Maybe with this wind and the rapidly cooled temperatures, rabbits and the bushy-tailed rodents of the backyard were smart enough to wait until later to venture out.

But for a 3/4 Lab, it was heaven. His inner Labness came out--much sniffing and snorting in the snow. And he gave me a good fast two-mile walk this morning.

It was kind of beautiful as the darkness faded into a gray dawn.

As I finish typing, I see a more substantial snow is falling and has actually whitened the ground. A quick check of radar looks promising, too.

There will be at least patches of whiteness for deer hunting tomorrow.

My inner hunter resurfaces.