Poison Ivy…

Poison Ivy Muncher

I am allergic to poison ivy and unfortunately, there is a lot of poison ivy here at Piscataway Acres.  I really hate this noxious weed.  Years ago, I would go on poison ivy eradication missions.  I would suit myself up and go out with some toxic substance and spray the nasty plant until it was dead.  Then I got animals and the spraying of harmful chemicals had to stop.  I was at first very happy to find out that sheep, goats, and pigs all love to eat poison ivy.  I thought that I had found my partners in eradicating such vile vegetation.  But soon I learned that they eat it, walk through it, and lie in it.  They get the poison oils on their fur and then, want to play with me.  Needless to say, they are not eating it fast enough and I find myself with little patches of the itchy rash.  The sheep in particular are bad carriers of the oils as they cross the Piscataway Creek and go into the large ivy bushes.  The sheep are also known for being a bit pushy when it comes to feeding time.  They rub all over my legs and arms as I prepare their evening meal.  Washing up afterwards certainly helps, but I am afraid this is just one of the prices I have to pay for having loved animals.