After a few sizzling days of 90-degree weather, we are back down to a temperate 60 degrees in New York City. Although it may have felt like summer recently, the other day I woke up to a harsh reminder from Mother Nature that it is indeed still spring. With the past weekend feeling more like the middle of July than the end of April, my roommate and I relished the Brooklyn summer breeze and left our apartment windows wide open. The next day, we woke up to a nice coat of pollen over EVERYTHING. The floors, dishes, stove and TV were all dusted with pollen. I spent most of the morning washing the floors and wiping everything down. Normally, this would have bothered my allergies, but I think moving from Pioneer Valley, Massachusetts, where the pollen travels from New York and settles right in the valley, has strengthened my immunity. Lesson learned, the windows cannot be left open for 24 hours until the leaves have fully blossomed. -Courtney Centeno, account executive