Monday, September 01, 2008

Labor Day Labors

This morning, Jeff mowed the lawn. In the lawn, he discovered that there was some poison ivy that had spread from the Evil Poison Ivy Patch in the corner of the yard.

That was the final straw. That poison ivy had been spreading for a long time, and I'd long been afraid to touch it. I'm not allergic to poison ivy (surprising, given my other skin allergies), but I was afraid to expose myself to it and become allergic. Also, today is a really hot day and I wasn't that excited about going outside. But I realized that I needed to just get over it and do what needed to be done. I decided to exterminate the Evil Poison Ivy Patch.

I got dressed in a long shirt, overalls, long socks, and shoes. I tied all my hair back, put on a face mask, and donned two long rubber gloves. Then I went outside and tackled that poison ivy.

I wasn't able to completely destroy it but I made quite a bit of progress. I filled a large black trash bag with poison ivy leaves, branches, and runners. There was even one big runner that was probably an inch in diameter that I was able to pull up and throw away. There's still quite a bit more to dig up but I'd say the war is on, and I'm winning.

2 comments:

hgg said...

Go get 'em! I'll cheer for you.

Doctor Pion said...

If you have a runner as thick as that, it will come back forever unless you (a) cut it back every time you see something green or (b) hit it with a systemic herbicide directly on the freshly cut vine. Even method (b) might take more than one attempt when it is that well established.

If you have a local extension office, check with them. They might have a Master Gardener who will come out and check if the herbicide might affect something else and even apply the tiny amount needed so you don't have to deal with buying/disposing of that nasty stuff.