We were at Lake Norman near Charlotte this past weekend and Nancy got the sniffles.
“Ahh tink ahm ketchin a code!” she said.
I looked out at Lake Norman, saw a bunch of yellow pollen on the lake and diagnosed her with an allergy. She took a couple of antihistamine tablets and squirted Flonase, but she still had a “code.”
On the way home, I saw why.
We were driving up I-85 near Durham and the air looked yellow. It was like a golden smog. You could barely see the horizon. Then, when we went inside a restaurant for less than an hour, we returned to find our car literally blanketed in pollen, There was such a thick film on the windshield, I had to use wiper blades and wiper fluid to get it off. And in less than an hour!
I’ve seen pollen before, but not like this. Charlotte is about a week ahead of us, climate wise, and if the NC situation is a sign of what’s to come, I’d suggest we all stock up on drugs and Kleenex.
Apparently, there are two agents involved in flowering trees, plants, grasses and weeds – male and female. It’s the males that cause the problem. These little pollen fellows are very light and dry, and go airborne with little or no effort. The thickness of the nasty little devils depends on humidity and wind. Conditions must have been ideal because I have never seen pollen like that.
Some people are largely immune to pollen while others suffer terribly during pollen season. It bothers me a little, but not nearly so much as it does my wife, Nancy. She really has a “code.”
Allergy symptoms are reduced on days that are rainy, cloudy or windless, because it does not move around much. But on a hot, dry, windy days – look out!
But don’t blame your flower garden. Pollen from roses and other bright flowers are relatively harmless. It’s the pollen from tree, grasses and weeds that are deadly.
The bad news is that pollen season is upon us. The good news is that it won’t last long.
In the meantime: Ahh-choo!