Cedar Fever

Ahhh, mountain cedar.  They are scattered amidst the limestone and granite hills here in the hill country.  They come in blurred green droves as I fly by them on the country roads. They are everywhere.  The feathery green leaves have now bronzed with pollen, resting in the hefts of the branches and dispersing throughout the winter air.  And because of this, they, the cedar, are slowly killing me.

After five years of living here in the serene, cedar dotted limestone and granite hills, I am finally affected by the ever awful, always dreaded, never welcomed "Cedar Fever."  This year is apparently one of the worst years within the past decade for high cedar pollen count.  And it is awful.

Do you really get a fever?  No.  There is no fever at all-if so, then you may really be sick.

Do you sneeze?  Why yes, a lot.  Uncontrollably.

Do you itch? Itch to the point of burning.  My whole face itches, my throat itches, my eyes itch, my tear ducts itch.  My skin is so tender and at night as the meds ware off, I feel myself swelling.  My husband says I look like Kelso (Ashton Kutcher) suffering from an egg allergy in That 70's Show.  Do you remember?  Let me refresh your memory.  Yep, that looks like me.

Kelso's allergic reaction to eggs from That 70's Show

It hit me unexpectedly at the park on Saturday.  I called my husband to see if he'd bring me a box of tissues as I had began sneezing uncontrollably and my nose had mistaken itself as a faucet.  He came promptly, but unfortunately too late.  I had to resort to using a fallen leaf I had found on the ground for tissue.  It was a dyer situation. 

So now you know how I've been and what I've been doing.  The word is that we have three or four more weeks of this.  Until then, I'll be here...itching, swelling and well armed with a box of Kleenex.