One of the sure signs of Spring in St. Petersburg is the sudden adornment of all of the city’s oak trees with long, delicate strands of oak pollen.  I’m not personally affected by the pollen, so I can appreciate the beauty without reservation.  Some others, though, the not-so-lucky ones, get red, watery eyes and sniffles and sneezes when this pollen begins to float through the air.  To all of those folks, I’m sorry that this is not a fun time for you.  But it doesn’t last too long.  And it does mean that we are beginning the season of warmer weather, more flowers, longer days, and a return to t shirts and shorts.

The first photo below is a close up shot of one small branch of an oak tree in my front yard.  Below it, the full tree in all of its pollen-laden splendor.  It really is quite beautiful – when the pollen first shows up, it’s a light green, and then, over several days, it gets darker, then turns yellow or orange.

Happy Springtime!  (For a better look at these photos, especially the first one, please click on the picture to open a new window with a full-sized image.)