Sunday, September 16, 2018

The Desert is Trying to Kill Me

This abandoned house and truck sit on a small parcel of land near the industrial center of my town.  It was once a homestead and farm.  You can see the Sagebrush and Rabbitbrush have reclaimed what used to be.



Rabbitbrush, starting to come into it's fuzzy glory.
I live in Utah’s high desert.  I love living here. The mountains, red rocks and sagebrush plains all make me very happy.  Its the most beautiful landscape on the planet in my eyes, especially in the fall. Too bad Utah tries to kill me (or at least pay dearly for living here) every year. We have a plant called Rabbitbrush which is very pretty to look at.  Dusty green/blue stems lead up to fluffy mustard yellow flowers blooming prettily right now. It grows everywhere the land hasn’t been plowed or paved into submission.  It's one of those bits of nature that just won't be tamed. My dogs love to rub on it. It also makes my eyes swell and itch. My head fills with fluids till my ears buzz and I feel like I may drown in the gunk. My joints ache and I can't sleep. Yay! Allergies!


Sagebrush smells dusky and rich. It is never prettier than
in the fall.
And then there’s the Sagebrush.  Another high desert plant I love which doesn’t love me back.  Sage also blooms right now, and grows alongside Rabbit Brush. I love the way it smells, especially after a little rain. It’s tiny silvery leaves and woody stems distinguish it from Rabbitbrush. And Sage is tough. Good luck trying to get rid of this stuff. Some of my neighbors have given up and incorporated it into the landscape around their houses. It looks pretty cool. There's a lot to admire about this scrubby little brush. Too bad the tiny chartreuse flowers are also suffocating. They stuff my nose and give me flu-like symptoms that, on a bad year, no allergy pills can touch. I am grateful I don't also have asthma like my sister. She really suffers through autumn in Utah.

I’ve gotten used to spending the end of September with buzzing ears, a hoarse voice, creaking joints and itchy eyes, living as near a humidifier as possible.  I do my best to go about my life, and keep loving the desert plants. They're some of the coolest life on earth. After all, you have to be TOUGH to bloom in the desert. One might think the desert would love me back and stop making me suffer for appreciating its prettiest time of year. Wishful thinking. I guess I should consider the amazing allergy inducing pollen one more inspiring defense mechanism of the Sage and Rabbitbrush.  I can’t plow them or pave them if I can’t breath.


My dogs love to snuggle up right up under the brush.  I think they like the scent, too.  Too bad for me
they then bring the pollen home.

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