Nasty oak trees

I have five big, beautiful live oak trees around my house, plus a struggling Monterey oak.  I love the shade from the trees; the first time I walked out into the backyard, I fell in love with the trees.   So cool and shady on a hot summer afternoon, I knew I wanted this house.  But little did I know about live oak trees and their nasty habit.

The leaves seem to fall year around, but in early March they go into a major drop.  Some years are worse than others, this has been a moderate year.  Some years I've come home to a carpet of leaves that have accumulated in just a few hours.  I haven't decided if it is better to clean them up frequently or just let them fall and then have a major back-breaking clean-up day.  In early April (later this year) this stuff starts to fall along with the leaves.  It is pollen, ugh!  Not only does it make you sick, but it turns everything a sick yellow.  Like the leaves, it falls for weeks and some years are worse than others.

That's bad enough, but add in four long-haired dogs that bring this stuff inside the house.  No matter how often I clean the deck, this nasty stuff comes right back.  Same thing with vacuuming inside the house.  If fact, I almost think vacuuming is making it worse because it seems to explode into tiny little dots.  It is almost impossible to get off the dogs; I've had to resort to using a "flea" comb that has teeth that are very close together and even then it just seems to explode and then the little dots are impossible to get out of their fur. 

So, what is the dogs' favorite thing to do right now?  They go outside and roll in the stuff until they are covered!  Ugh, nasty oak trees hurry up and finish doing your thing.