07 June, 2013

An itchy problem

Two weekends ago on the holiday weekend we spent most of two days clearing brush and weeds out of the back yard on the other side of the fence. Last weekend we went into the completely wild area behind our property.
Guess who has poison ivy rash on her:
Left arm
Left hand
Right leg
Cheek and jawline
GO AHEAD AND GUESS! I feel fortunate that none of the patches are very large, so things could be worse. But a few times in the last weeks I’ve felt like I could just go to town on scratching myself until I looked like a piece of raw meat. Because anyone who is honest will admit that scratching poison ivy feels so good right up until the point where it doesn’t.
And another thing…guess who didn’t get a rash? My husband! Thomas and I are oil and water. When we do yardwork I am always filthy and rash covered and have sticks in my hair and he looks like someone just took him out of the box. Maybe it’s a case of “He’s rubber, I’m glue, bounces off him and sticks to (me).” Not that I’m bitter. Much.
The first part of this week looked like it was auditioning for a show on the Weather Channel called Perfect Days and yesterday and today it is a delighful rain. I love this kind of rain; it’s gentle and steady and goes on and on. At yoga last night I could hear the rain on the roof and it was so calm and peaceful. I don’t like driving in the rain at all but I do love being warm inside, snuggling under the covers and hearing raindrops patter through the leaves and hit the roof and the cars and the road. I also am happy that my blueberry and gooseberry bushes are getting a thorough watering in. I imagine all this rain soaking into the earth and refilling the groundwater reserves and letting all the plants have deep drinks. I can tell that our grass loves it, I think it has grown three inches overnight.
I will end with a fun fact about poison ivy. Birds and animals can eat the berries or rub themselves all over the plant without any rash. It is only humans that are allergic to the urushiol that causes all the problems.

No comments:

Post a Comment