This is the time of the year when the grass pollens hit their high. If you have problems with cottonwood pollen, you probably have the same problem with grasses. This past two weeks, there's been, first, some rain, and then day after day of sun and even, amazing, heat. Which has been delightful as a kind of weather. The gardens look great, even with a few weeds still uneradicated and growing bigger everyday, because
everything is growing bigger every day, and lots of things are either staying in or coming into flower. It's a delight and, every day, I get as much time as I can physically manage out in the yard.
That's been a little difficult this past couple of weeks because I definitely have those aforementioned plant allergies and, every four or five years, it gets bad enough to turn into asthma. And this, it turns out, is one of these four or five years. So, my nose is running, I'm sneezing constantly, I'm coughing, I'm congested, and I'm popping pills. So, I looked on the net today to see what the pollen count was in Whatcom County and, actually, it's quite low right now. But, the site warned, the grasses are on their way and they're going to be big. Apparently, in my yard, they're already big.
The site went through various treatments for allergies, all of which I've participated in at one time or another. Yesterday, I stepped up to the asthma inhaler and got a better night's sleep than I'd have for several days. It also urged sufferers to stay away from the wild grasses that are giving off the pollen. That had never occurred to me as a possible response. I mean, the air is full of pollen and the garden is right outside my door and the air is coming right into my door, so how is it that the air indoors would be better than the air outdoors? Staying in the city, as opposed to the country: that I understand. But, if you're in the country, aren't you actually there?
Apparently not. Thus do I now understand why my allergies get worse when I spend hours each day with my head in the weeds. What I need, I guess, is more rain. Or less grass? The reason I have so much and such tall grass is that I quit mowing it on the grounds that grass didn't need to be tamed by me. Maybe it does, though; at least if I hope to get a regular good night's sleep in May.
