Spring has arrived and we are all wanting to get outside. It's too early for sports and splash parks, so what do we do?

There is something to be said for connecting with nature. There is even THIS blog post telling us there is certain bacteria in the dirt that makes us happier! Fresh air, birds chirping and some quality family time.

I take my girls to this secret spot a lot and every time I post videos and pictures of us feeding the birds everyone wonder where we are. The secret? Smack in the middle of Edmonton. Whitemud Ravine Park. It starts just off Fox Drive but we take the Snow Valley Exit down to the first parking lot. Walk a few feet into the trees and the birds are chirping. Squirrels are following you. It's basically like you're Snow White.

The birds are so used to people coming and going and feeding them, you find a spot where they are chirping and hold out your hands with seeds and they come within minutes. My 6 year old is the official Snow White of our family, with in one 15 minute span over 20 times birds feeding from her hands.

You can buy birds seed at a local hardware store. Look for ones with black sunflower seeds in them. They seem to be the favourite. And if you walk far enough (maybe 10 minutes) there is a look out you can sit down at and feed the birds, or if you bring shelled peanuts (be careful if you have allergies) the squirrels come right up and eat them!

So get outside this spring and go for a stroll. Walking is known to help reduce stress and doing it in nature is just that much better.

Love,

Jen The Bitchin' Housewife