In For a Penny, In For a Pound

The rain came and the air was cool and the ground was soggy. What better time to tackle an over grown garden bed? It was meant to be. I grabbed my shovel and rack and heavy duty clippers. Should have taken a "before" photo, but didn't.

The garden bed that had my attention has poison vines in it. Campers Patrick and Julie did a little weeding early in the season and paid dearly for it. I was determined to eradicate the vines once and for all. I planned to dig up the source.

I did not delude myself. I knew I was going to come into contact with vine ...... but I had a plan.
So I started by pulling the edge of the garden out and digging up all the cone flowers. Soon as I had the weeds cleared on one end of the garden, I replanted the cone flowers. Next year they will make an impressive display.

I discovered one end of the vine and pulled and pulled until I found the root, then I dug it up. I also dug up some small trees that had taken root and decided which ones to leave and which ones to remove. I discovered another vine and pulled it to the source and then had to stop for the day.

This is when I came in and scrubbed myself with the laundry soap. Head to toe. That was Monday. Tuesday I made a little more progress and did the whole shower thing again. Tuesday night I started itching. Not bad, just a little itch on my right wrist and left ankle. I had gloves on, but the vines did come in contact with my arms and legs. I tried to just ignore it.

Wednesday I discovered a full blown rash on my arms and abdomen. Must have scratched my belly in my sleep. My ear, too. And my eyelid. I was pretty miserable yesterday, but still managed to get a little mowing done and dug up the day lilies and replanted them. All the while avoiding that hateful vine that still needed to be dealt with.

Had a bad night. Took two showers yesterday and slathered myself with Benadryl cream. Right before bed I sprayed the rash with Ivy Dry. It burned like crazy, but kept the itching at bay long enough to get to sleep. I re-sprayed 3 more times through the night.

In for a penny, in for a pound. I tackled that last vine today, figuring I was already miserable, so why not? I am not done with the garden, since the sun decided to shine hot on me this morning, but the worst is over.

Now, after another shower with shockingly cold water (someone had suggested hot water, but the cold seems to work better), I have dosed myself with Benadryl and smeared more Benadryl on my rash and hope to have a nice long nap!

Maybe I will add photos tomorrow.