poison ivy

I’m allergic to poison ivy.  I have been allergic to poison ivy all my life.  This was a real bummer to me as a kid since my house was on an acre of piney woods in a small neighborhood where that was one of the smaller plots and it was all mostly wooded.  Our house didn’t back up onto Buffalo Bayou but some of the ones down the street did and it was about a five minute walk to get there...through the woods.  Since there weren’t a lot of kids my age and all the kids in general were spread out, I spent a lot of time by myself in those woods.  Before I learned how to spot poison ivy in all it’s permutations, I came home with some whopping cases.  I’ve been covered from my toes to my knees on more than one occasion, also all over my arms and on my face.  I’d say that that would be the worst but I still remember the torment on my feet and legs and the terrible terrible itching.  

The reason I bring this up is that I think I have poison ivy on my toe.  It’s been many many years since I got poison ivy.  Most of my outdoor activities have been in places where either it doesn’t grow or it is easy to avoid.  It grows out there at the country house, mostly in the little thicket behind the shed at the back edge of the property where I don’t go.  I’m happy to leave that spot to the wild things.  It does, however, pop up in the yard around the house and then I dig it up and throw it away.  Poison ivy does not go on the burn pile.  I’ve already dug it up in two spots in the last week but I guess I must have brushed against it before I spotted it on Friday.  I’m in the process of digging up a large stand of cannas on one side of the shed, cannas aren’t my favorite and these are the unimpressive native orange ones, and it was hidden by the dead foliage from last year.  I guess next time I won't dig in sandals.