Oh did hubby get points yesterday, his display of love brought tears to my eyes.
We have a huge yard and I honestly LOVE taking care of it. I call my lawn-mower “Therapy” (because it is!) and I really don’t mind all the trimming & burning & trimming & cutting & trimming. Did I say trimming? This isn’t a manicured suburban yard.
We are in the country and all the care is just basic survival tactics, or that green grass could become a jungle. You have to trim trees, bushes and stickers so they don’t slap you up-side the head when you mow and the yard doesn’t become a thistle farm either. Not only does the Thistle need to be controlled, but there are also Stinging Nettle plants that would like to take over the grass and free me from Therapy. But I need Therapy! By the way, stinging Nettle tea is really good for you, but touch it raw and your fingers, legs, whatever body part, will burn for hours afterwards. Hubby has taught me how to pull these nasty buggers from the roots without much drama and pain.
However, there is one evil demonic plant that I am terrified of because I am so FREAKING ALLERGIC to it. When I come across this pretty-looking, nasty ass plant I end up miserable for weeks. The itching is so bad that you will literally bleed and then you wish you could use a wire brush on top of that, you know, the kind that removes resistant oil paint off of metal. You beg your husband for a stainless steel scratch pad, rake and heavy duty sand-paper from the garage. But he is smart, he doesn’t get it for you, he knows your desperate and although you hold three degrees when it comes to poison ivy you will do any stupid thing you think will work, including hazardous corrosive chemicals if you think it will give relief.
I grew up in New Jersey and we had poison ivy there that grew in the ditch near the peach orchard and it looked like this, it had distinctive red and green leaves. You really couldn’t miss it.
Here in Pennsylvania it (did I call it a nasty ass plant yet? Yes, I did, and I meant it too!) looks like any other green plant, no red leaves, it’s kinda pretty, but bitchy women can be pretty too. Looks can be deceiving. . . you know that! So, for quite a few years, I would wonder, “How the Hell did I get poison ivy?” I didn’t see any red leaves anywhere! Well bless my freaking soul, it looks so “regular” here. It’s just green, blends in and it’s a sneaky bastard, AND IT HATES ME. (Yes, I return the sentiment!)
Are you asking at this point why I titled this blog, “You know your LOVED . . .When”? OK, let’s get to that. Hubby and I spent some time this afternoon weeding and trimming (There’s that word again!) around our black raspberry plants so we can pick those wonderful treasures of Black Gold easier. When I brought Therapy over with our trailer for the trimmings, do you know what I saw? POISON IVY CLIMBING UP THE WALNUT TREE! Yes, I said shit. I may have said it twice, or three times, I don’t remember. I can’t be responsible for my language when it comes to pure evil. So, I mention to my husband, be careful around that tree there is a poison ivy vine climbing.
What does my Prince Charming do? Yes, he is from England, he always sounds like a prince, but today? HE IS PRINCE CHARMING FOR SURE! He started pulling the vine off the tree. I’m freaking out, NO! Please be careful, I don’t want you to get it! It took him three trips to the fire pit, and the ivy is gone, roots and all. (He was careful and he’s not allergic to it, at least for the first 67 years of his life. I hope that holds true at 68.)
Sometimes he tells me he loves me. Other times he shows it. What possesses a man to show love like this? Who wants flowers? Who wants chocolate, or jewelry? Well, OK, they are nice too, but he literally sacrificed his life and sanity for me!
Enjoying the Adventure (Darn it, this display of love will be hard to top)
Dr. Dink
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Please visit my other Blog: Brown Bag Letter
–a blog of stories celebrating “personal history”. You will find antique anonymous photos connected to stories people have shared with me about their grandparents and family folklore.
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The lovely photos of the evil plant are from the following pages:
downtoearthpositive 
