Birds Do It, Bees Do It . . . & I Wish They'd Stop!

Actually I don't care who does it, but I'd like to see less pollen from reproducing plants! Actually that's not a true statement, I don't mind seeing it - it's breathing it that's the problem. This past week brought the highest pollen count in recent memory in this part of NC. Last weekend's burst of summer temps caused almost everything to bloom at once and the resulting pollen haze was stifling - at least for the allergy-prone (like me!).

Luckily a brief rain has washed away much of the offending yellow stuff, but here are a few pictures to give you an idea (these were sent by a friend and I'm unsure of the source).

The photo above was taken at Pullen Park in Raleigh; the swirling pollen is rather pretty - at a distance! If you're ever in the area, stop by Pullen Park to ride the famous carousel or take a turn on the paddle boats (I suggest waiting until the pollen season has past).

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the worst of the pollen has washed away - normally we have about six weeks of it so perhaps this year we'll only have two or three. In the meantime, I'm keeping my allergy medicine close at hand!

Hope your weekend is filled with clean air.