The weather is getting warmer, and time has finally arrived to get outdoors and enjoy the longer days and spring blooms!

With such an abundance of spring activities, there is no end to the choices of how to spend your days. Smelling the fresh cut grass, seeing all the blooms on the trees and in the flower beds, always makes me thing of new beginnings. What a great time to reflect on what you have enjoyed in previous years and the perfect opportunity to spark some interest in new hobbies or spring traditions. Peek at a few of these suggestions to spring into the outdoors and have some fun!

Do you have a green thumb?

Ah…fingers in the dirt cultivating a tiny seedling into a beautiful plant with the bonus of fresh fruit or vegetables to enjoy at mealtimes. With a plethora of garden options, the possibilities are endless here. There are plenty of places to research what grows best in your area and the best way to achieve a favorable outcome. For those of you who haven’t been blessed with growing skills, no need to fret…there are garden options for you too! Try your hand at a water garden, fairy garden or rock garden. Whatever you choose, have fun with it! Pinterest is a fabulous resource for finding helpful information for all your gardening endeavors.

Get out the checkered tablecloth!

Plan an outdoor picnic or barbecue. Explore one of the many state or local parks or forego the trip and picnic in your backyard.

Ready to kick back and relax instead?

Outdoor patios at restaurants are steadily gaining popularity and you can enjoy the outdoors while someone else does all the work. Have a look at the recommended St. Charles area restaurants with outdoor seating.

Dust off those hiking shoes.

Ever tried out the Katy Trail?  There are 240 miles of scenery, nature and rural history just waiting for you with most of the trail closely following the Missouri River. Each trailhead provides educational information, so you can learn while getting some great exercise. If your path doesn’t happen to cross the Katy Trail, no need to fear, there are 74,000 miles of hiking trails in US. Choose one close to you and get your hike on!

Remember good, old-fashioned hide and seek? While you are out blazing new trails, you could add some excitement and challenge with Geocaching. Use a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver,  mobile device or other navigational technique to hide and seek containers, called “geocaches” or “caches”, at specific locations marked by coordinates all over the world.  

Make an impression through expression.

How about creating some “Kindness Rocks” for the Kindness Rock Project? Painted rocks also make great yard decorations and custom garden markers.

The Great Outdoors

Crickets chirping, frogs croaking, toasted marshmallows and star gazing are just a few of the highlights you will discover after pitching your tent in one of the 13,000 public  campgrounds in the US and Canada. Sleeping bags and mother earth not your thing? Don’t sweat it, you don’t have to miss out on all the fun! There are plenty of cozy cabin rentals available at many of the public campgrounds. You can still enjoy all that camping has to offer without giving up all the modern amenities.

Par for the course!

Play a round of golf. If your swing is not quite up to par, try frisbee/disc golf and get some great exercise off the cart! You must not forget family fun for all awaits at the miniature golf course where skills and luck matter more than your swing.

Let’s go fly a kite

Mary Poppins sang it best! Such a simple way to enjoy a windy day…. Watch out for trees!

Capture some snapshots

Spring is the perfect time to try your hand at taking beautiful photos. No fancy camera equipment? Not to worry! Almost everyone has a smartphone now that is very capable of taking great photos. There are endless amounts of apps that are available for both the camera and the editing. Have a look for yourself in the app store. No need for a computer or a camera. Since most of us never leave home without our phones, we can work on it wherever and whenever. Maybe you will even capture something you want to hang in your home or give to someone as a gift.

Farmers market is in full swing

One of the best things about this time of year is stocking up on fresh and healthy food that is grown locally. Support your health and your local community growers.

Calling all Grill-Masters

Set your sights on trying something different, maybe with a smoker instead of a traditional grill. Making your own smoker is like a rite of passage into the grill-master kingdom. Ever tried grilled romaine or asparagus? How about a grilled peach? Recipes are plentiful with a quick internet search.

Feeling Fruity?

Venture on over to your local orchard and pick your own strawberries. Hand picking your own fruit ensures you get the ripest and freshest fruit available. Whip up some strawberry shortcake when you get home.

Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!

Grab the family and head to the zoo. Enhance your experience by reviewing feeding and show times to get a front row seat to all the action.

Take me out to the ball game!

What better way to spend an afternoon than cheering on your favorite team while soaking up some sunshine! It is so exhilarating to listen to the crowd and see the excitement on all the kids faces when the mascot starts dancing! If the major league prices are not in your budget, check out a minor league game for some family fun!

Ready, Set, Go

Fully armed with some fresh ideas for planning endless amounts of entertainment, feeling energized and ready to get your spring on, but stuck inside at work? There’s a cure for that! Spruce up your cube or your office! Now is the time to get some new furniture, add some fresh flowers or hang some new art. If you can’t be outside, bring the outdoor feel into your office.

Before plotting your action plans, just take a few moments and relish in the simple pleasures of spring. Open your windows and let the spring breeze blow in, listen to the rain, watch a sunrise or a sunset, smell the beautiful flowers, feel the sun on your face, just take the time to notice the simple things that make you happy.

I came across this quote, and it seemed so appropriate this year after such a long winter.

“If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant.” – Anne Bradstreet

Seize the day and go get your spring on!