Not So Mellow Yellow

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Sorry folks, but there’s not much new to report around the UDH house this Tuesday. It’s not that I don’t have a few things in the works, but I just haven’t found myself taking pictures of anything lately – especially of me thanks to the seasonal allergies that I’m plagued with each spring.

For those of you who don’t live in Atlanta, perhaps you aren’t familiar with the way pollen affects this “modern city of the south”. Every year, as spring brings its beauty and color, Atlanta is coated with a fresh layer of yellow powder. And when I say coated, I mean painted with the stuff.

For example, here is what it looked like when we hosed off the driveway last weekend:

Say it with me now, blech. Unless I guess, if you’re a bee, then you’re probably pretty happy with this.

You are familiar with the pollen count, right? The pollen count is a measurement of the number of grains of pollen per cubic meter of air. Obviously, the higher the pollen count, the more of it there is in the air, and consequently, the more miserable I am. And around here, it makes the daily news. A pollen count of 1500 or more is considered “very high”, and Atlanta regularly clocks in at ‘what the @##%$?’ levels.

Take today, for example. The pollen count is at 1377 according to this site. And there was a thunderstorm last night, which means that this is actually low compared to what it’s like when it doesn’t rain.

As a result, I can usually be found each spring with swollen, itchy eyes, a scratchy throat, and if I’m lucky, sneezing like crazy. Why lucky? If you’re not regularly dealing with allergies, you may not understand – but part of the misery comes from being THISclose to sneezing, then not, and all of that stuffiness and heightened-itchy-nose feeling just stays inside your head. Mis. Er. A. Ble.

Eventually, my eyes will stop swelling to baseball size and my throat will allow solid food again. I just have to force myself to stay inside and load up on the allergy meds (by the way, does anyone else find themselves switching each year to a different one because their bodies get used to it?). But until the pollen subsides, I might as well paint myself green.