As I drove home from work on Friday I noticed the snowy white flowers of the Bradford Pear trees. It was like driving through a winter wonderland of white blooms for a small section of the interstate. I love seeing these trees in bloom. Now we have the purplish flowering red bud trees showing their colors and the lingering buds of the tulip trees that blossomed quite earlier this year than ever. Punxsutawney Phil might have called for six more weeks of winter this year, but in the South we have had a mild one and a very early spring.
Of course with all this blooming and pollen in the air comes the dreaded allergy season. I have been an allergy suffering since I was a child. I’ve undergone the allergy scratch test twice now. I did allergy shots as a teen which “cured” me for several years and I began my second round of shots a few years ago. I’m now up to a two week interval or maintenance and I’ll probably stay on these for a while. Besides building your immunity to what you are allergic to, I’ve found the shots also help protect you from getting as sick during flu season. That has been my experience. Others may beg to differ. And as I type this I’m knocking on wood that I don’t jinx myself. I also had sinus surgery in Fall of 2010 which has helped a lot too.
Leanne Tyler 