“We know that in September, we will wander through the warm winds of summer’s wreckage. We will welcome summer’s ghost.”~Henry Rollins
September has been beautiful in our part of the Ohio River Valley…Except for the allergens. This part of the world is ground zero for hay fever and this time of year is high tide. (Am I mixing my metaphors?)
The weather begs us to open the windows and let in the cool breezes but the pollen that tags along with it sends our family into impromptu sneezing contests. Ragweed is most likely the culprit, although my wife is also allergic to goldenrod. Pity, because I’d really love to bring in big bundles of the gorgeous stuff to fill vases, mason jars and whatever else I could find with it. Not worth the assault on our sinuses, though.
So despite the pollen in the air, this is a busy time in the garden, too. Lots of stuff to do as summer ends and autumn begins. So we load up on allergy meds and antihistamines, don our work gloves and have at it, sneezing be darned.
Have you started prepping your gardens for fall yet? And is hay fever a problem in your neck of the woods?
NestOfSquirrels 
The allergens have been high this summer too but we did have a small frost which cut things down a bit, I just can’t wait for the killer frost, it is so nice to go out without suffering. Take care.
Frost is still a few weeks off for us (I think). There seems to be a sweet spot for getting outside between the first big frost and cold weather arriving. Cheers!
Thankfully no hay fever where we are 🙂
Hooray! Sneeze-free gardening! 😉
Ha ha .. I’m very happy about that 🙂
Hay fever is a problem in neither my neck nor my nose. Lucky!
Excellent! May you forever be sneezw-free! 😉
For the first time this year, we’ve been suffering from hayfever in September! Good you’re not letting it stop you from gardening 🙂
Takes more than a few sniffy noses to stop us 😉 Sorry to hear you’re suffering, too.
Not too badly, thank goodness!
My husband has been sneezing like crazy but I don’t really have a problem. I’ve pruned the raspberries, moved some plants, started the deadheading process, cleaned the chicken coop and took two trailers full of branches to recycling. The fall chores are well underway. :-).
Sounds like you’re really getting after it! There’s something satisfying about getting the garden ready for winter 🙂
Problems with pollen usually appear in May and June in the UK and in Italy I can’t speak for other European countries.
We get a big blast in the spring and another in the fall. First frost usually takes care of all the problems 🙂
That goldenrod looks amazing! So beautiful.
Thanks! For a few weeks every year they make the fields shine like gold. A harbinger of summer’s end.
Beautiful photos. Sorry those gorgeous views have their downside.
Thanks! An the sneezes are a small price to pay for all that beauty 🙂
Allergies are bad here in the northeast too this year. I was out front weeding this afternoon with a bandana tied across my face, lol. Beautiful pictures!!
🙂 We’ve resorted to that method on occasion as well…whatever it takes to get out in the garden! Cheers!
I have never heard of Autumn pollen causing allergy problems. Here the Hay fever season is Spring and early Summer. The Golden Rod growing en masse like that does look beautiful.
Thanks! Ragwood that blooms late summer/early fall is the main culprit. Soon enough, though, a frost will take away the allergens…as well as most of the bounty of the garden…always a mixed blessing 🙂
I don’t have too bad a problem with hayfever at this time of year; just a few sneezes here and there. However, I get wicked sinus attacks–my head, my teeth, my ears–achy, and stuffed up. It takes a good hour in the mornings before I feel almost normal, after the decongestant, Advil, and strong caffeinated tea can do their work! I’ve done minimal fall prep work in the garden, mostly planting new perennials to get established for next year. Denial is a river that runs deep!
Those sinus attacks sound lousy…Hope it gets better soon! Good luck with your perennial planting! Cheers,Ben
Isn’t it too bad that goldenrod gives people so much trouble–it’s so pretty! Fall is falling in upstate New York–very cold nights and tree leaves turning–I love it!
I agree, fall is such a great time of year. Our leaves are just starting to think of turning colors but it won’t be long now! Cheers, Ben
Thank goodness Goldenrod is outside just as pretty as inside but I do feel sorry for the sneezers. I do not know if it is because we are Europeans and not exposed to all these pollen for the greatest part of our lives…but no allergies what so ever! Nor to poison ivy either. The first years, our mosquito bites were enormous, but that has calmed down too. And here in our Cincinnati garden there is a delightful absence of these in my opninion totally useless creatures. ( Everybody in Canada wil agrree to this;0)) Our North American dog on the other hand is allergic to ragweed, it creates an afwul itch. But a trip to the vet, an injection and lots of cuddles and treats afterwards, solves that too;0)
I’m glad that you’re immune to the miseries of the seasonal allergies this area afflicts on so many of us! And I agree with you about mosquitos…useless! 😉 We’ve installed a bat house at the back of our property with the hope of cutting down on them but I’m not sure we have any residents yet. Cheers, Ben
ps love the quote!
allergies-oh my goodness bad this year! I also get the stuff on my skin and it is itchy! I went to an allergist as a kid and had all the shots for years( ragweed was my nemesis), when I get them it means pollen count is high out there! I had them badly this past month. I am better now and back out in the garden. Mine is ragweed. I had some get on me in the garden w hen I was out working early part of September. I do have golden rod in my beds for butterlies, so I don’ t believe I have a problem with that-yeah!
I love your fall photos-lovely:-) Golden rod against the blue sky-perfection in nature!
what a wonderful quote, and a wonderful blog, now, off you go and spark up the chainsaw, though i hate to see a good tree go, i also hate it when it goes on my house!.. c
Thanks so much, for both the kind words and the encouragement to practice a little amateur forestry! Like you, I hate to cut down a good tree, but these two are rotten through and through…they did attract a couple of pileated woodpeckers last winter, though, so that was a nice gift. But I’d rather not have them gift me with the need for a new roof 😉 Cheers, Ben
have a lovely evening.. c
We’ve been having a little sporadic bouts of sniffling and sneezing, but in MN it’s been a bit of a wet fall this year with huge changes in temperature. My “pup” Gibson, a huge “laprador” nearly 100 pounds of lean muscle, is a transplant from Georgia (I call him my “used” dog) and he needed drops for his eyes, poor thing.
He has had several bouts of sneezing, one so severe, that surprised, after five or six sneezes, he struggled to sit, and half hovered, swaying unsteadily back and forth, still sneezing. It ended in the Grandaddy of all sneezes, one so large and so violent his head hit the floor in a resounding crack. Upon which he looked at me, clearly astounded, as if to say, “What did you do?”
The only thing worse than people allergies might be doggie allergies 😉
Fantastic post. A real joy ❤
Best wishes to you,
Aquileana 😀
Thanks so much! 🙂
Thx for explaining where all that yellow dust is coming from!!! (And I just gave my car its semi-annual bath…sigh.)
I think the allergy season is finally drawing to a close for us…at least our noses seem to thing so 🙂