Friday, June 23, 2006

poison ivy

what an evil plant. i have been awake since 3am itchy and miserable. i have taken a few homeopathic remedies but the effects have seemed to have worn off during my brief sleep. i have re-dosed myself and am waiting for my oatmeal/baking soda bath to fill. yesterday i researched poison ivy and remedies. i guess jewelweed (crushed leaves and rubbed on the affected area) is the best known remedy. cortisone isn't an option for me since i have a reaction to that also. jewelweed doesn't grow here (it will soon). i guess it likes better soil than the ozarks normally afford.
general misery has consumed me lately and i haven't felt like blogging about it. i hate poison ivy. it has been too hot to tolerate being in an itchy covering.
we have had a dog stalking our chickens for the past few days. my first inclination is to kill it but i opted for the slingshot method. i had one of these high powered slingshots as a kid. it used surgical grade tubing for the rubber bands and was far to powerful for a teenager. i practiced with that thing almost daily. it was the closest thing to a real weapon that i was allowed.
i bought one while we were out yesterday. it was inexpensive and seemed like the most humane first step. sure enough when we got home that dog was there trying to get into our broiler chicken cage. the stupid slingshot was still in the packaging and the dog ran off during my frantic preparations. after checking the perimeter of the coop i decided to see if i could hit the broadside of a barn with this thing. sure enough ffwhap--the barn didn't have a chance. on to more difficult prey, i set up a piece of roofing tin roughly dog sized(a little bigger). two or three random shaped stones later i realized that there was obviously some muscle memory coming into play--i couldn't miss the thing. i decided to move a little further away--say 12 feet.
just kidding... i got about 70 feet away and was planning on trying again when tabitha came around the corner and asked "what ya doin'?" "nothing" like i was fourteen again and just killed some desireable michigan foul. anyway i picked up another rock and fired it at the offending dog, i mean, tin target. CLACK i got him. i mean i hit the target. she called me out, mentioning something about reliving a childhood machismo fantasy. a few shots later and more than hundred yards between myself and the dog-target i was confident i could reliably hit the dog during our next encounter. alright cujo, you're next.

3 comments:

sugarcreekfarm said...

Sorry to hear you're so miserable with the itching.

Can't wait to hear how you come out with the dog - funny how something like a slingshot makes you feel like a kid again.

Wild Wisteria Farm said...

I get poison ivy really bad too. In fact, I have some on my arm right now. Sometimes it gets so bad that I have to get a shot. Someone told me to try plantain leaves. First, roll up the leaf, fold it in half and seriously bruise it. Rub the leaf on the affected area until some of the juice comes out. This feels pretty good because you are "scratching" in a good way. Leave the juice on there and your affected skin will start to "weep". This helps tremendously to dry up the rash. It seemed to help with the itching also. Let me know if it helps. :~)

Anonymous said...

I've not suffered from poison ivy rashes much, but I'm told it could still happen any time. And they say that global warming will make the nasty stuff flourish even more. I'm sending good wishes your way.

Good luck with the dog. I think they can learn pretty well after a few mishaps. I suppose the owner doesn't care, and the dog's just doing what dogs do. Too bad it has to be your place.

BTW, that's a wonderful photo of your wife.

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