It is definitely full on spring here in North Carolina and with that comes pollen – beautiful pollen. I have been. hit by allergies hard this weekend and had to take a day (or more) off from life because I am so congested and miserable. it won’t last forever and the trade off is the greening of every thing living, the beautiful flowers that are popping out and the baby animals that are appearing.

The pollen on our lake tells the story.

.

.

One swipe of the top of my outdoor coffee table shows just a small sample of the yellow stuff that is coating every single surface . No wonder I am sneezing up a storm.

.

.

The flowers in our front are growing like crazy and soon the porch will be hidden.

.

.

A peony that decorated a table at a recent event shows the beauty of the season.

.

.

Our afternoon visits continue from the raccoon that is driving Maksim to distraction. It is not uncommon behavior if this is a momma raccoon to be out during the day foraging and this one does not act sick so hopefully it is not. But honestly — It could leave anytime and I would not be sad about it.

.

.

It makes its run on the top beam of our back deck before climbing up that soffit to the roof where it scratches and skitters around foraging maple seeds and other treats off our roof. It makes Maksim crazy and he is getting his exercise racing from door to window to door up stairs downstairs and all over again as he tracks it. No wonder he is so tired.

.