Great Outdoors Month

Great Outdoors Month is the perfect time to get outside and enjoy yourself! This month is an awesome opportunity to encourage children to play outside and teach them how it can be part of a healthy lifestyle. Immersing yourself in nature is a free or inexpensive activity for families. Not only is it something to do, but it impacts your environmental wellness and strengthens your connection to the earth.

National Gardening Week is the first week of June! It is both a celebration and an educational opportunity. This week celebrates one of America's most popular hobbies and is a great opportunity to get out into your garden, tend to it, and enjoy its peacefulness and beauty.

With summer just around the corner, we can start to look forward to longer days, warmer weather and spending more time outside! If you don't have one already, now would be a great time to start your own fruit and veggie garden. Not only does this provide you with fresh and nutritious food, but it is a hobby that many people find relaxing!

If you don't have the yard space to have an outdoor garden, you could always plant a small container garden! Below are some vegetables you could grow in a container and put outside on your porch, patio, deck or balcony:

Tomatoes, Beans, Beets, Kale, Lettuce, Onions, Radishes, Spinach and Peppers

Did you know that the average person needs around 10,000 lux of light for 30 minutes a day to maintain emotional well-being? Lux is used to measure the intensity of light. Indoor lights, like an office environment, typically provide less than 500 lux of light. The sun, however, can provide up to 100,000 lux. Even in the shade on a sunny day, 25,000 lux of light can be measured. Exposure to bright light can be used as a treatment for depression and can boost your overall mood!

Here are some outdoor activities to try this summer:

• Go for a walk in nature
• Take a bike ride
• Create some sidewalk/driveway art with chalk
• Go camping in your backyard
• Have a picnic
• Watch the sunset
• Go kayaking

Geocaching is a real-world, outdoor treasure hunting game using GPS-enabled devices. Participants navigate to a specific set of GPS coordinates and then attempt to find the geocache (container) hidden at that location. Then they can sign the logbook or leave a small treasure and return the geocache to its original location.There are 2,376 geocaches around Rochester. This is a fun outdoor activity for kids and adults! To learn more about Geocaching, visit this site.

Click here to download the geocaching app!

Want to find the best Geocaching trails in New York? Go to Trail Link!

Decorating your home with indoor plants is not just aesthetically pleasing, but it is beneficial to your overall health! Plants are natural air purifiers and release oxygen. Having plants in your home also improves your overall mood.

These are some easy to grow indoor plants:

• Snake Plant (Sansevieria)
• Spider Plant (Chlorophytum comosum)
• ZZ Plant (Zamioculcas)
• Christmas Cactus (Schlumbergera)
• Swiss Cheese Plant (Monstera deliciosa)

Here is a recipe for an Avocado & Corn Salad

Ingredients

3 ears corn, husks removed

1 medium poblano pepper

Cooking spray

3 tablespoons lime juice

1 tablespoon honey

½ teaspoon ancho chile powder

½ teaspoon salt, divided

¼ cup avocado oil

1 medium tomato, chopped

¼ cup crumbled cotija cheese

¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 avocado, chopped

6 cups coarsely chopped romaine lettuce

Directions

1.) Preheat grill to high (450 degrees F to 500 degrees F). Lightly coat corn and poblano with cooking spray. Grill, uncovered, until lightly charred and tender, 10 to 12 minutes, turning occasionally. Remove the corn from the grill. Continue to grill the poblano until it's totally charred and blackened on the outside, 3 to 5 minutes more. Let cool for 10 minutes.

2.) Whisk lime juice, honey, ancho chile powder and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a small bowl. Slowly whisk in avocado oil until blended. Set aside.

3.) Cut corn kernels from the cobs. Peel the poblano and remove and discard the seeds; coarsely chop. Toss the corn kernels, chopped poblano, tomato, cheese and cilantro together in a medium bowl. Fold in avocado and season with the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt.

4.) Toss romaine and 3 tablespoons of the vinaigrette together in a large bowl; transfer to a platter. Top with the corn and avocado mixture and drizzle with the remaining vinaigrette.

These days, video conference calls are becoming more prevalent. Use technology to your advantage! Click here if you'd like to learn how to add a virtual background, easily mute your microphone, share your screen and more!

Email: noce@smolaconsulting.com
Website: www.smolaconsulting.com
Location: 1 South Washington Street, Rochester, NY, USA
Phone: 5857774080