I Love Spring

Spring is the best time of year. The days are getting longer, the temps are getting warmer (except for this week. Cold front came through), the flowers are blooming and my very favorite plant is growing like the despicable weed that it is: poison ivy. Ever since my first encounter with PI one summer a long time ago down in South Carolina, I have had a hate/hate relationship with PI. I really, really hate it and it, being the damn plant that it is has absolutely no feelings at all. Now, I am a veteran; a skilled spotter of all things PI. I can spot the stuff in the dead of winter. I don't need any leaves to warn me. Unfortunately, at least once a year, I miss it and it is all over but the weeping and the itching. I don't quite know why, but the first bout with PI each spring is always the worst of the year. And this year is no exception. I have had PI somewhere on my body for almost 2 weeks now. The original spots are still going strong and they have recruited others. A couple of them I know where I got them. The others are a complete mystery. Sometimes, I think they just materialized outta thin air. My own demonic version of spontaneous generation. Now, I realize that once the oil has been washed away that you cannot transfer the stuff around. However, it seems like the oil is a lot more difficult to get rid of this year. I am fairly certain that some of the blisters are the results of transference from a pair of shorts (the oil was on the seam around the bottom of the shorts; blisters right behind the knee, oh what joy.). I got a couple of small spots just by walking underneath a huge branch that had just been pruned from a tree. The remaining stalk was about 20 feet up. Those weren't bad and were gone quickly. One of the places I haven't gotten it yet, strangely enough is on my hands. Usually they are the first to go.

And yes, I have tried just about everything there is out there. The best I've come up with so far is Benadryl at night to help me sleep and just leave the stuff alone the rest of the time. Time will eventually take care of it. That and some Roundup!