6 Spring Activities to Enjoy during Allergy Season
Posted on March 27, 2015 • 5 minutes • 900 words
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It always surprises me how soon the last snowfall and the first warm sunny day are to one another. As the frost from a cold Canadian winter melts, we’re greeted with the warm, sunny spring. Grass turns from brownish-beige to bright green, flowers bloom, and the world wakes up from its winter slumber. While most would be excited, for those suffering from nasty allergies, it can be a reminder that your nose is about to get runny. I partnered up with REACTINE® to help allergy sufferers kickoff the start of this spring with something more exciting than marathoning your next Netflix series. Here are 6 spring activities to enjoy during allergy season. 
Go Biking
While many Canadian cities lack the infrastructure for us to bike regularly, even getting out there once a week is enough to remind you that biking isn’t just a great workout, it’s actually fun. Leaning into turns, hopping curbs, riding through puddles knowing perfectly well that your backside may look like you lost a battle with a spicy burrito. It’s all part of the fun. On top of it all, you can burn a whopping 700 calories per hour if you’re pushing yourself. Say goodbye to that winter waistline! [box border=“full”] Protip: If you’re prone to suffering from allergies, consider biking later in the morning or earlier in the afternoon. Pollen has a tendency to hit you hardest in the early morning, and in the early evening, so plan around them! [/box] 
Plant a garden
Scientists have proven that gardening makes you happy. They claim microbes have been found to have similar effects on the brain and are without the nasty side effects of antidepressants. Not only does the soil give you a boost in happiness, it also decreases anxiety, and increases your ability to learn
. Whether you’re in it for the mood-boost, or just want to chow down on some carrots and cucumber in a couple months, getting outdoors and planting something is a surefire way to beat whatever bit of winter blues remain.  If you’re prone to allergies and an avid gardener be sure to stock up on REACTINE®
- using it daily helps to relieve allergy symptoms to help restore your normal quality of life. 
Go on A Photo Journey
Spring is a great time of year to take photos of nature, the outdoors, or even your community. After months of greys and blues, we finally see the signs of the landscape burried beneath the snow. What was once a deathly looking tree becomes a blossoming tree. Consider putting together an itinerary. Aim to hit a handful of different locations, you might surprise yourself that your best photos end up coming from the travel to those locations. 
Digital Spring Cleaning
Spring cleaning is a regular part of most peoples yearly rituals. Packing up those giant winter boots, the thick winter jacket, that box full of single mitts that have lost their twin, it can be therapeutic. Sort of a farewell to a few items that dutifully served you during winter. While your closets may get tidied, your hard drives are often left a cluttered mess. Consider spending an afternoon organizing, labeling, backing up, and deleting files and photos you no longer need. Don’t forget to run a few updates when you’re done, or if you’re nerdy enough, nothing beats a reformatted computer. If you aren’t savvy enough to pull that last one off, consider taking your machine in to your local PC / Mac Service Centre and see what kind of maintenance package they offer. [box border=“full”]
Protip:
Check out the apps Daisy Disk
for finding files / folders that are really eating up your hard drive space. Be sure to check out Adobe Bridge
or Adobe Lightroom
for organizing / tagging your photos. [/box] 
Go Camping
While May long weekend is typically the official start of the camping season, it sometimes takes an extra couple of weeks before it warms up enough to really make it that enjoyable; however, that does depend on the part of Canada you’re camping in. If the weather is going to cooperate though, nothing beats a spring camping trip. It’s just warm enough to enjoy the outdoors, and still cold enough that the fire is a tremendous source of comfort and warmth. Throw some camp coffee in the mix, and you’ve got the perfect weekend getaway. [box border=“full”] Protip: Camping with allergies? If your tent isn’t protecting you from all the elements, you might want to keep some allergy meds like REACTINE® on hand. That extra bit of protection can really make all the difference in terms relieving allergy symptoms and getting a quality sleep. REACTINE® can start to work in 20 minutes and last 24 hours. [/box] 
Visit Your Farmers’ Market
While many farmers’ markets stay open throughout the winter, many shut down and don’t open till spring. The vendors at farmers’ markets always make for a good conversation. Sure, spring season is often quiet, but the vendors showing up will often have specials on things like jams, jellys, and preserves. Their shelves might be a bit more sparse than they likely would be by mid-summer, but you’re sure to find something tasty, along with a few cute knick knacks.
Do you have any favourite spring activities? Comment below!
This post was sponsored by the makers of REACTINE®. All thoughts & opinions are my own.
