you can look but you better not touch... poison ivy

Spring has sprung and it is wonderful. My African violet has violeted and the lil lettuce seeds are sprouting in my teeny tiny patch of soil. Its so exciting!! The pansy patch I found in our fridge leftover from I don't even know how many tenants previous to Becca & myself, hasn't faired quite as impressively. The meadow tea from Grandma on the other hand is already making my mouth salivate for summer refreshment! Be sure to stop by for a visit and I'll treat you to a spot o' iced tea.

Its not just pretty flowers and goodies for tasting that grow though. My arch enemy poison ivy (or sumac or oak, I just call it all ivy) has also reared its ugly head. After taking test runs on our new zipline we realized some nasty briars were a-growin and needed to be addressed. Happy to be outside doing 'manual' labor I started clipping away at the pricklers. It was a slow process since I had on short sleeves and no gloves (to my credit though I did have on boots and long pants and tried not to touch the ivy). I started to notice other vines growing on the ground and got the overwhelming sense of paranoia that takes over when I'm in dangerous proximity of coming in contact with this despicable creation. Dan came by to take over and I hurried myself away with a furrowed brow whilst comments of '... I need to go wash...' The moral of the story is, foaming handsoap, while convenient and useful for those of us who are too bothered to lather up, is not an effective cleanser for poison oils. Green soap (which is actually orange) is the only way to go. Too bad I didn't have any on hand. My arm suffered a few weeks and is finally looking better. (Apologies for those who are weak in the stomach... its gross). It was close to comparison of the outbreak on my leg from two years ago. That was from one of the famed canoe trips. All in all though... if getting a case of the weepy reaction means I get to be outside enjoying this beautiful world, I guess it can all equal itself out. :)