Pollen Trails

[White Rook]

Hello All,

If you look at this morning's webcams, you'll see pollen trails along the shores and it looks like it's in the Varney Point cam too. Yekkkkkk.....

[Lakegeezer]

Yesterday around noon - the wind was shifting in many directions and it was hot and muggy. As it shifted, the pollen came out of the pines like puffs of yellow smoke. It was amazing how much would come off a single tree. At times, the air was a yellow haze. Our beach area, which is cove-like, was completely yellow. The dock posts have a yellow ring around them. The storm last night did a good bit in breaking it up, but everything needs a good cleaning.

[Weirs guy]

I can't remember it being this bad here at the Weirs. Every beach has a green ring of water at its edge and my truck gets covered each night. Maybe we should be selling "Official Bikeweek 2007 Winni Lake Pollen" on e-bay?

[Steveo]

Originally Posted by Weirs guy

I can't remember it being this bad here at the Weirs. Every beach has a green ring of water at its edge and my truck gets covered each night. Maybe we should be selling "Official Bikeweek 2007 Winni Lake Pollen" on e-bay?

I agree, I have never seen it this bad before. Must be due to wet spring, good pollen production. My beach had at least 10 feet from shore of solid yellow. It looked like someone dumped gallons of bright yellow paint.

[Skip]

Originally Posted by Steveo

I agree, I have never seen it this bad before. Must be due to wet spring, good pollen production. My beach had at least 10 feet from shore of solid yellow. It looked like someone dumped gallons of bright yellow paint.

Excellent observation and a thesis backed up by Channel 9 this morning. According to the staff at 9 this year's pollen, pine in particular, is some of the heaviest observed and recorded. They also believe, as you stated, that the extra production is due to copious amounts of rain in April at the exact time that nature determines how much pollen to produce.

The pollen count is high again today but shows a steady forecasted decline over the next three to four days.

On a sidenote I was travelling the Route 16 corridor in Wakefield this past Sunday and also observed the smoky clouds of pollen as I travelled north over Wakefield Hill. Looking towards the pine barrens about the Ossipee Lake the swirling clouds of yellow pollen was simply amazing!

Thank the Lord and whoever else that invented Allegra!!!

[Paugus Bay Resident]

Thank the Lord and whoever else that invented Allegra!!!

Amen to that!

[KBoater]

Good reason NOT to wash the windows yet. I think I'll wait another week or maybe another season Wait that's when I start getting ready to go to FL. Maybe I will wait until after hurricane season.

[DRH]

The air has been thick with pine pollen this week, and the lake has been covered with it. I took the following picture yesterday, 6/12, showing a thick, yellow coating of pollen.



Click here for a larger version of the photo.

[MAXUM]

Is it me or does this year seem particularly bad?

[DRH]

Originally Posted by MAXUM

Is it me or does this year seem particularly bad?

I think the amount of pine pollen right now is probably pretty typical of what we see at this time each year.

Addendum: But as you can see in the posts above, several others believe it is worse this year, which Skip says was confirmed by WMUR (Ch. 9) this morning, so my initial observation is probably not correct!

[gtxrider]

Please skim the lake before I arrive this weekend. I do not want to get pollenated.

[Mee-n-Mac]

Originally Posted by gtxrider

Please skim the lake before I arrive this weekend. I do not want to get pollenated.

So sorry no can do. NH passed a "no skimming" law If I may paraphrase Henry Ford, "You can have your scum-line in any color you want ... so long as it's yellow."

[nj2nh]

. . . better be gone by next Friday when we FINALLY arrive at heaven on earth.

What do you think the chances are? My allergies were just beginning to wind down here in Jersey. I had put the Claratin and Alavert (swear by that one) away and finally been able to stop buying box after box of tissues.

If there is one thing that I do hate about the lake, it is those yellow veins in the water. But, in the vast scheme of things, it is hardly worth complaining about.

Jersey Girl
(who is going to go look up how to spell "scheme.")
(seven days and counting)

[Rose]

Originally Posted by Jersey Girl

. . . better be gone by next Friday when we FINALLY arrive at heaven on earth.

What do you think the chances are? My allergies were just beginning to wind down here in Jersey.

Pine pollen is not much of an allergen...from http://www.hoptechno.com/book46.htm

"The chemical makeup of pollen is the basic factor that determines whether a particular type is likely to cause hay fever. For example, pine tree pollen is produced in large amounts by a common tree, which would make it a good candidate for causing an allergy. However, the chemical composition of pine pollen appears to make it less allergenic than other types. Moreover, because pine pollen tends to fall straight down and is not widely scattered, it rarely reaches human noses."

Now if someone could tell me what else is going on when pine pollen is abundant, then I'd know what my worst allergen is, because this time of the year is the only annoying time for me.

[ApS]

Not now, but towards the end of summer, look at ragweed.

Ragweed pollen I've seen under a microscope while searching for something else.


It's huge!



Agree with DRH: the pine pollen quantity on the lake surface this year seems about the same to me. It's never "good".

[gtxrider]

Originally Posted by Mee-n-Mac

So sorry no can do. NH passed a "no skimming" law If I may paraphrase Henry Ford, "You can have your scum-line in any color you want ... so long as it's yellow."

Now the GTX will look like a bumble bee...black hull with yellow stripes.

[KBoater]

Has Mother Nature put a Yellow Caution sign all over the lake??

[Island Life]

Originally Posted by Rose

Pine pollen is not much of an allergen...from http://www.hoptechno.com/book46.htm

It may not be much of an allergen, but I wouldn't want to swim in it. It's not just lying neatly on top of the water, but is suspended throughout the deeper layers of water, too. It's so thick in places that my black dog was yellowish at times. Am also having to deal with that nasty ring-around-the-boat stain.

But I agree with others, it doesn't seem much worse than last year.

[jetskier]

Originally Posted by FLboater

Has Mother Nature put a Yellow Caution sign all over the lake??

I went out on the jetski today and there are still big patches of pine pollen. My jetski had about 1" of pollen built up along the waterline (sitting on the mooring). This seems worse than usual.

Jetskier