Loblolly Pine: Pinus taeda (Part 2)

That rich, yellow-colored pollen that is so pretty on the spider web is the start of the problem. It’s pretty - caught in the spiders web - but it signals the beginning of Spring-time allergies; sneezing, wheezing, coughing, sticky eyes and dried or runny nasal and sinus passages.

It gets on everything. This is mild, A few days previously, my car was covered with a sold, millimeter-thick coat of pollen. No burgundy color showing. Then it rained and pollen started falling again before the water drops dried. And that’s how it stuck.

At the lake, at first it wasn’t too bad. A gentle swirling across the water

And then the ugly side. When the pollen that falls onto the water and forms a thick scum along the lake shore downwind.

The patterns formed are sometimes artistic but it’s messy for a week or so.

It's almost gone after a week - until next year.
To be continued… later.
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Distribution Map:
- United States Department of Agriculture Plants Database: Pinus taeda (Loblolly Pine)

Identification resources:
- North Carolina State University: Pinus taeda (Loblolly Pine)
- Pine

Related posts:
- 2010: Year Of The Wildflower
- Loblolly Pine: Pinus taeda (Part 1)