Weather, Pollen and the Start of School

I have not died. But it has been almost two weeks since I managed to publish a blog post. The start of school, combined with a few days away from my keyboard for Labor Day weekend and a sense of mild depression over the Tennessee Volunteers not winning their first football game of the season, has simply made it difficult for me to blog...

I suspect that heat has also played a role in my inactivity. There have now been at least 17 days this summer where the temperature at the airport in nearby Bluefield hit at least 90. Laugh if you must, but 90F degrees is hot here. And 17 days of such weather was the all time record. We have had two days of 90-plus temperatures in September. This is the first time in 50 years the mercury has reached 90 in September. Most of our schools have no air-conditioning at all and relatively poor ventilation. Since I first went back to my school on August 24, parts of the many building have felt like working inside an oven. I come home damp from sweating all day and dehydrated and tired. And then I nap instead of blogging.

Goldenrod is also in full bloom. It has taken over the hillside behind our house and most of the valley's I drive through to work. It creates a pretty color to the countryside. But it also turns my eyes red and makes the itch. Oh well; it happens every year. A nice rain would wash the pollen out of the air for a few days. But we are near drought conditions and no one remembers the last nice rain.

Well, time to make breakfast. Perhaps I'll blog more about the new school year soon...