The Great Outdoors

Before you decide to help your spouse and your co-worker prepare to build a fence by cutting down a few harmless trees, I would read the following stories and decide for yourself if the risks are worth it. As for me, I will think twice about it next time.

The Great Outdoors: Part One

I guess city life has made me a bit of a wimp. Normally spending a couple hours cutting down small oak trees wouldn't have been a big deal for me. However it would have been nice if my colleague had mentioned two simple words -- POISON OAK -- which he now admits his property is crawling with. Had I known, I may have worn long sleeves, or probably opted not to help at all. For those of you as unfamiliar with this devilish plant as I was, it is obnoxious to say the least. It itches like a mosquito bite times a million. Luckily, I am not suffering alone. Logan was a naive as I was about poison oak; for good reason -- neither of would have any idea about it because it simply doesn't grow in elevations over 4000 feet. He got it a little worse than I did.

This is a picture of my forearm and I hope you won't take this little red mark lightly...it is terrible. Two weeks after exposure, I am still not sure I will recover.

Below is the other arm, each day I keep waking up to more little welts that pack a mean itch. Awesome, they are pretty too.

The Great Outdoors: Part Two

Before you start thinking that the third member of the Ipsen family escaped the excitement, take a look at these little beauties. I found them on Reno today. They kind of turn my stomach. Oh, and no, California ticks don't come in hot pink, that is fingernail polish. I tried to suffocate the big tick out of Reno's neck...I wouldn't recommend that method of tick removal. I pulled them both out with tweezers. yuck.

poor little dog. If I had to choose between these two fence-building tragedies, I would pick the poison oak.

Isn't that sick.