What fresh Christmas hell is this

[sholio]

MY CHRISTMAS TREE IS BUDDING. This would explain the sneezing around these parts for the last week or so; I can only imagine the pollen that is currently circulating in the enclosed space of the house.



New needles! The dark needles are the old ones; the clumps of light needles at the ends of the branches with little semi-transparent coverings are how they grow new ones in the spring. I've never had a Christmas tree do this before, that I can recall.



Pollen cones. >:| I got it all over my sweater the other day and couldn't figure out where it had come from.



Must we though.

(Edit: the tree is a wild black spruce. I don't know why this has never happened before, since we usually do just what we did this year and cut one in the swamp behind the house. Maybe we just never harvested a large and mature enough tree for it to happen?)

Comments

[sovay]

MY CHRISTMAS TREE IS BUDDING. This would explain the sneezing around these parts for the last week or so; I can only imagine the pollen that is currently circulating in the enclosed space of the house.

Except for the allergies, that is incredibly cool!

[sholio]

I am strangely delighted by it! It's also providing a sort of ad hoc allergy test since we normally get a bunch of different pollens in the spring, so it's hard to narrow down exactly which one is causing issues. At least this time we have only one suspect.

[sovay]

At least this time we have only one suspect.

For Christmas in 2015, I found out I was allergic to blue spruce.

[sholio]

OH NOOOOO! I didn't even know spruce resin allergy was a thing! (Our Christmas trees are always black spruce, as that's what grows around here and we usually get them from somewhere in the swamp in back of our house.) That is a MOST unpleasant discovery.

[sovay]

(Our Christmas trees are always black spruce, as that's what grows around here and we usually get them from somewhere in the swamp in back of our house.)

That's neat! I wonder if I would also be allergic to black spruce. (I do not intend to stab myself on one to find out.)

I don't think I've ever seen a Christmas tree pollinate before, either.

[sholio]

I was also wondering that! I wonder if it's general spruce resin or a specific type. I also do not suggest stabbing yourself to find out.

(Edited origins of tree into above post, as it may be relevant information.)

[philomytha]

Christmas Pollen! That's bananas!

(Now I am thinking this should be an entirely new kind of tropefic in which exposed characters start uncontrollably singing carols and giving gifts and baking things...)

[sholio]

CHRISTMAS POLLEN!! Someone please write this ... I'm begging.

[ride_4ever]

🎄 Christmas Pollen Tropefic! I want this! I want there to be an entire Christmas ficfest where this is the theme!

[lilacsigil]

I am allergic to pine trees! Unfortunately my childhood home was a few kilometres downwind from a massive pine plantation, which meant a few sinus surgeries as a kid, but after I moved away, I would mysteriously get horrible sinus problems at Christmas until realising what kind of tree people had inside at that time of year... I wonder if your spruce suddenly thinks it's spring now that it's in a warm house!

[sholio]

OH NOOOOO. That sounds deeply unfun! I'm glad you live in a place where pines aren't particularly endemic!

I think spring is exactly what it thinks is happening. Unfortunately it's about to get a rude awakening when it's unceremoniously booted into the cruel outdoors.

[lunabee34]

Oh, dear. LOL but oh dear.

[leesa_perrie]

That is both fascinatingly cool and also allergenically not cool *hugs*

[radiantfracture]

How beautiful and weird and messy. Your descriptions leave me smelling spruce in my treeless hotel room.

[trobadora]

OMG!!!! That is fascinating, even if it's also very inconvenient.

[ride_4ever]

🎄 I have never before heard of a Christmas tree budding after being cut down and brought inside. TYK for sharing this interesting event (but bummer about the allergies).

There's a swamp behind your house? Shows how ignorant I am -- I didn't know there were swamps that far north.

[sholio]

It's a peat bog, technically! They're actually the majority of the ground ecosystem at our latitude.

[silverflight8]

Trees, such exhibitionists!

[aelfgyfu_mead]

Wow! I never thought about this. The budding (ha ha!) scientist in me is fascinated.

The fellow allergy sufferer recommends handkerchiefs or the tissues that come with lotion in them.

[umadoshi]

Your poor allergies! But other than that, how neat!

[timespirt]

That is pretty cool.

[yalumesse]

Ohhh dear. Have fun?? And hopefully not allergies.

[lannamichaels]

Wow!

[lokifan]

I'm sorry for how much I'm laughing :) Delightful!