Tuesday, April 26, 2005

Pollen = Poison

Spring is both my favorite time of year and my most-hated season, for the same reason - all those gorgeous flowering trees which are blooming like crazy are also pollinating like crazy. For those of us who are allergic to that stuff, that means at least two miserable weeks of allergies. We start feeling the effects when the pollen count gets to about 100 (or even 50, for the hyper-sensitive). Folks who aren't allergic still find it an irritant when they're trying to breathe pollen-saturated air on days with counts of 200 or 250. The readings the last week or so have been up around 1100 or worse! =:o This is the time of year I wish I could move into a bubble until the trees quit pollinating.

It's rough - I want to be out digging holes in the dirt and planting flowers, trimming the unkempt azaleas, and just enjoying the mild breezes. Instead, I have to stay inside with the doors and windows tightly shut, wishing it were warm enough for the a/c to kick in. That, and being unable to sleep as well as usual, occasionally make me just a bit cranky, and my brain a bit pollen-fogged. As a bonus, the allergies also make me that much more susceptible to migraines. So yes, I love all the color again when I've gotten thoroughly sick of the winter's gray deadness, but I sure do wish the trees would come up with a more efficient way to propagate themselves.

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