Last week my dad was able to get his hands on some free lilacs that a lady nearby was digging up. Because I was obsessing over them this spring, he asked if I wanted any. Of course I did! So Saturday my folks came down for the day (bringing along my sweet little niece to play with Laura).
We got down to business digging holes and getting the plants in. (My parents now also realize why I put off planting anything. I’ve told them that we have rocky soil, but they learned just how rocky.) We also cleaned up the planting area while we were at it, and I pulled out what seemed like miles of some annoying, invasive vine that wrapped itself around my forcythia. I typically thing of poison ivy as shiny leaves with a red tinge, like the photo on the left up at the top of this post. The vine I was pulling looked (so I thought) a little more innocuous.
Well, a couple days later I woke up with bumps on my arm. I thought maybe I get bit by a spider or some other pest during the night. Then… huh… I also had something on my neck. I soon realized that it was poison ivy. In retrospect, the vine looked like the one on the right.
Sigh…
So far it hasn’t spread too bad, but it is so itchy and uncomfortable. (Not to mention unslightly — especially on my neck!) Unfortunately, aside from riding it out there are only so many things you can do. I’m using calamine lotion and Tecnu scrub (suggested by a friend) and that seems to be helping. Of course, Benedryl is helping the most with the itch factor, but I only take that after everything is done for the day and I can crash. It makes me so groggy, but it’s worth it for a decent night’s sleep.
Let’s hope this clears up fast!