Conquer Boredom and Breathe in the Fresh Air

Before you start to get stir crazy with all the social distancing and isolation talk, start planning ways to spend time in your yard. Some items may not be as exciting as others, but the fresh air and Vitamin D will do you good.

Productive Things to Do in Spring (in no particular order)
1-Plant cool season crops, once the ground thaws (and possibly the irrigation company turns on the water), the ground is safe for planting crops like peas, radishes, broccoli, spinach, cabbage, beets, turnips, lettuce, and cauliflower. Even if it is just a small space, fresh produce can be tasty and rewarding.
2-If your not ready to plant, or you haven't had a garden before, now is a good time to start preparing ground. This might be adding mulch or compost to your soil, or possibly tilling the soil if it is heavily compacted. You might even consider using some timbers, commercial kits, or recycled materials to create garden boxes to make the gardening easier. There are lots of options for creating quality soil in your garden beds.
3-Its rarely too early to get a handle on the weeds. If the weeds are coming up then it is time to apply pre-emergent herbicides like "Preen" or "SnapShot". The pre-emergent herbicide will help to prevent new seeds from sprouting in the ground. For weeds that are already there mechanical control is good, though some weeds will be treated more effective with chemical controls. 
4-Now is a good time to prune ornamental trees, shade trees, and shrubs. As the leaves start to emerge, look for areas that are dead and remove them to encourage the plant to put growth energy into the remaining live branches.
5-Now is a great time to fertilize lawns and any other plants that could use the extra nourishment. One great way to get lasting nutrients to your shrubs and trees is to apply an organic bark mulch to the soil beneath the plants.
6-Aeration is better done in the fall here, but for clay soils that haven't been aerated, now is better than never. Aeration helps to get oxygen to the lawn roots and allow the soil space to move around and loosen up.
7-Once the water is turned on, take this cool time to check out your existing sprinkling system, or consider installing a new system. A well tuned sprinkling system will save water, money, and help your plants thrive.
8-Now is a great time to consider if there are any plants you would like to change in your yard or areas where you would like to add more plants. Spring is the best time of year to plant new plants.
9-Start planting flower seeds to increase your habit offerings (bring in more Hummingbirds and Butterflies this year) and add more color and interest to you yard. This is also a great way to involve any children you might have.
10-Maybe you would like to change your yard up a little bit. Now is a great time to layout a new shrub, flower, or garden bed. Pull out the hose, spray paint, or anything you can find and layout the new beds. You can move and adjust the lines as much as you want. That will give you a chance to see how the bed will look before you start doing actual work.

We have lots more ideas, so keep checking about. Some of the ideas are even focused on entertaining children.