Springtime in Ah..ah...Arkansaschooo!

These somewhat random pictures of my deck are to illustrate the heavy dusting of pollen that is currently coating EVERYTHING. I don't remember this from last year!!

The chair, deck rail, and floor normally do not have the yellow cast. And so, I have discovered I have allergies! I woke up with a sore throat two days ago and now it has progressed to itchy eyes and stuffy nose (plus the sore throat). Can anyone recommend some good over-the-counter medicine? I never had to take it before...

I also need to tell my tree story. Here is our orange tree:

Cute, huh? You would never know that 4 months ago it was 6 inches taller and had 14 inch branches? Here is what happened. Along about January, it was still very cold outside at night, even frosting sometimes. We were keeping the tree inside. But during the day, it was warm enough and sunny, so I thought I would put it out on the deck and let it get some sunshine (and I can't water it well inside, since it has nothing to drain into). But one fateful night, I forgot to bring it in. The next morning I rescued it, but the damage had already been done--the leaves hung limp and I knew it was not good. Eventually the leaves dried up and fell off, and then the branches dried up. We figured it was done for. I was sad, since Nate cares for the thing like his child. But seeing the sad state it was in, about a month ago, Hannah decided that she was going to water it and bring it back to life. By this time, it was permanently on the deck again, partially because we had given up hope for it, and partially because it was now warm enough. For one week, Hannah faithfully watered it every day. On the following Saturday, Nate and I were very surprised when, going out on the deck to read his paper, he spied some tiny green sprouts near where the lowest branches joined the tree! Hannah was overjoyed the next Monday when I showed her and now she insists she brought the tree back to life. We can't believe how well it is doing!