People around here badmouth the cedar trees (technically a type of juniper, but we call them cedar - don't ask me why, because I don't know!) They are looked down on because they spread fast and drink up all the water. They gang up on oak trees and anything else that has roots and leaves. Don't get me wrong...I actually have a soft spot for cedars. The smell reminds me of going to my grandparent's cabin near Lake Medina near San Antonio when I was little, and the old trees with thick trunks are beautiful (to me, anyway.)
But right now I don't like them so much. There is so much cedar pollen in the air, thanks to the otherwise perfect weather (sunshine, mid-70's, breezy) that I'm wishing someone would take some steel wool to my eyes and SCRATCH!! I'm taking antihistamine every way I can - orally, nasally, and ...eye-fully? With eye drops...you know what I mean.
Maybe they're just trying to get revenge for all the trash talk and weeding out of their kind that goes on, but, come on! they're not doing their cause any good. Here are a couple of pictures I found of cedar pollen explosions - I never have my camera when I see one myself. The first one is in Arizona (by digital_house - I believe in giving credit) and the second one is in New Jersey (by Benny Bishop). I never realized other people were suffering just like we are. It doesn't make me feel any better.
While I'm on the subject of revenge, here's a cartoon I cut out of this week's Parade magazine that really made me laugh...