My hedges/poison ivy are out of control!

My hedges are out of control! Well, they were last week. Until I took it upon myself to tackle what I considered to be a simple project. Especially considering I had a shiny new electric hedge trimmer to aid me in my mission. Well, I never imagined there would be such a large pile by the time I was finished. Nor did I for a minute consider that there could be poison ivy amidst the severed branches. Well there were and I picked up armfuls of downed branches to carry them to the street’s edge and the next day I woke up with an outbreak of red dots all over my arms and legs. You see, I am VERY allergic to poison ivy. When I was in like, 3rd grade I was carving branches and somehow ended up with a thick vine of ivy juice all over my arms. The next day my eyes were swollen shut. I have been careful ever since to avoid it. Until last week. Ironically my father in law was standing there pointing out what he suggested was poison ivy, but I thought it looked like regular ivy and, well, yes, I am admit I was wrong.

Needless to say, shooting Eileen and Eric’s wedding on a hot July day was made slightly more uncomfortable by the outbreak that was making me look like a leper, but as any dedicated photographer would do, I kept shooting and didn’t miss a beat. I attempted to allow the recovery to happen on its own, but after a few late outbreaks I decided to rely on the wonders of modern medicine. After less than a day of treatment everything looks much better. I already bought a nice big bottle of poison ivy killer and am looking forward to evening the score:

Poison Ivy – 1, Paul 0 (for now)

I will spare you all a view of what my arms look like.