spring | Boise Childbirth Preparation & Women's Gatherings

My thyme lawn that is! In an effort to be a good steward to the earth we planted a low water garden in our front yard. Since regular lawn tends to be water hog, and Boise is in the high desert, I decided that I wanted to do a dark green thyme “lawn”. A few years ago Luke and I took the time to plant 100+ tiny Reiter Creeping Thyme plants from High Country Gardens. It has taken a few years and many many many hours of weeding before it grew in, but now it looks like this,

Getting ready to burst into tiny purple spring flowers- gotta support the local bees!

It’s not as smooth as grass, but it is really cushy, smells wonderful, is virtually pest free, doesn’t have to be mowed and only needs minimal watering in the hot summer heat.

The first few springs Luke and I would spend hours and hours pulling weeds from between our growing plants, but it has finally grown in enough to choke out most of the weeds, dandelions especially. I was able to get almost all the weeds this year in about 2 hours, and that’s because I pull them all by hand. It’s the only way to make sure they never come back and it keeps my garden organic. Porter joined me outside, under an umbrella, on a lovely Spring day. He was the supervisor, cracking the whip, while I was on my hands and knees yanking those suckers out of the ground. I had 2 piles that looked like this,

If I was really good, I would have picked the dandelions before they bloomed and then washed the leaves and eaten them, but I’m just not there yet.

My supervisor, propped up on the Boppy.

Thanks Arleen @ Napili Point for knitting this awesome baby beanie.

What a life!

It is finally starting to feel like spring here in Boise. It’s been a bit rainy lately, but you know the saying, “April showers bring May flowers!” The rain has also kept the air nice and clean. Leaves are starting to sprout on trees and the first flowers are blooming. Having lived in Boise for 6 years now I have learned to tolerate the winters. While I won’t be the one to say that I love experiencing four seasons, I will say that having a real winter makes me appreciate the spring and it’s emerging beauty more than ever.

One of my favorite tales is that of Demeter, Persephone, and Hades. A quick recap of the story goes like this. Demeter is the goddess of fertility and agriculture and Persephone is her daughter. Persephone is enticed by Hades to venture below the earth with him and she partakes of his pomegranate seeds. She is then obligated to stay with him in the underworld, which makes her mother Demeter so sad that she neglects her agricultural duties and all the plants wither, these are the seasons Fall and Winter. When Persephone is allowed to visit her mother the other six months of the year, Demeter gets right back to fertilizing the world in celebration of her daughters return, hence Spring and Summer. Something about the happiness that her mother feels when Persephone returns strikes the same chord in me as spring time.

I also have a real love of flowers (my dad is an artist when it comes to gardening with bright and bold flowers) that started in childhood and has grown even greater as an adult. Their colors and fragrance will lift my mood when I’m down and make me generally happy. My friend Chelsea always has flowers in her house, which I may have to take up year round, especially in the winter! While I’m declaring my love for all things vibrant, I’m going to go ahead and say that Spring is my favorite season. It keeps me optimistic and gives me hope.

My Dad’s garden in Capitola, CA

Boise’s Botanical Garden, lit up for the winter

I just love the earthy smell of flowering trees!

And their pretty pink petals.

Last fall I plopped a few bulbs in the ground and this is what grew!

Tulips are the first flower to pop up in my yard every year.

I recently watched the movie Southbounders about a woman who hikes the whole Appalachian trail from Maine to Georgia. While the movie is fiction it has a lot of great info and imagery of the hike which takes 6 months. The movie inspired me to get outside and walk more. In fact, every Tuesday Luke, Porter and I go for a walk in the hills behind Healthwise, where Luke works. While it will be nice to walk in the foothills more often, when Porter is old enough to take on a bike ride over there, I decided that I would get a head start with a little urban hiking. I also want to get Porter and I used to wearing/being worn in baby carriers.

Since today was a beautiful, albeit windy, spring day I strapped Porter into the Ergo Baby Carrier and we headed out to run some errands and to appreciate the beautiful day. I might also add that carrying a baby around while walking everywhere is an awesome workout, and since I don’t have a gym membership I have to take the exercise where I can get it these days. With that, I encourage you to get out and enjoy the spring weather, or at least stop and smell the flowers.