FRANKLIN—First appearances are important.

That’s a little difficult when sporty new Mustangs at Blake Ford Mercury are coated with yellow pollen.

“It started Monday,” Blake Ford salesman Chuck Pope said about the clouds of pollen that blew from pine trees behind the Franklin dealership. “You could see a yellow fog, and the wind is making it worse. Everything is yellow. We’re having a yellow sale.”

According to the Internet Web site Pollen.com, Franklin’s pollen count level was listed at 8.6 on Tuesday and expected to fall to 7.3 today. Both are in the medium range. The situation is expected to worsen Thursday, when it jumps to 11.4 into the high range.

Most active tree pollen types on Tuesday were from aspen trees, according to the Weather Channel. There were no reported levels of pollen from grass or weeds.

The pollen was making it tough to keep the 135 vehicles clean at Mike Duman Chevrolet in Franklin.

“We got two inches of pollen yesterday (Monday) and we rinsed them off,” said general sales manager Mike Martin. “I got to work (Tuesday) and there was an inch of pollen. We’re going to try to keep up until it’s over,” Martin said.

He doesn’t believe the presence of so much pollen will hurt sales.

“That’s because we’re giving good deals,” Martin said.

At Lakeview Medical Center, the pollen has meant more patients seeking relief from allergies.

“We’ve been seeing more people within the last two weeks with runny noses, itchy eyes and ears, stuffed head and scratchy throat,” said officer worker Dana Devantier. “We send them away with over-the-counter medications.”