I have poison ivy. I get it roughly three times a year. I even have a little joke about it. When someone asks me if I know what poison ivy looks like I say, 'sure' and point to my rash . . .

I really have very little idea what the plant looks like, though it has been pointed out to me a lot. To my mind the plant has absolutely no distinguishing characteristics. It looks exactly like any other weed. Exactly.

I've had poison ivy more or less everywhere: hands and feet ( last year I got it on the sole of my left foot) arms and leg, crotch area. I even had a few blisters on my butt one time. I'm not entrirely sure how I got poison ivy on my nether regions, as I normally have at least a pair of shorts on when I'm outside, and I've never had it and an'outdoor experience' in close proximity to each other. Rudely scratching myself must be the answer.

This time I have a bit of it on my arms and some on my left ear. I've never had it on my ear before, so this is truly a new miserable experience for me. I got it this time helping my brother Al build a fence in his backyard this past weekend. I think the fateful moment came when I changed out of my long sleeve shirt and into one of his t shirts and then helped him clear a bit of bush in preparation to put put some pickets. Anyway, I blame him entirely. Thanks a lot Al. I hope you and Polly ( his dog, for whom the fence is dedicated) enjoy that fence.

The itching isn't the worse thing; it is the weeping rash. Last spring I had it pretty bad on my mouse hand ( the hand I use to manipulate the mouse not an actual mouse hand) I spent a week or so with my affected fingers wrapped up in a paper towel. I had to keep washing off the mouse none the less. It was truly foul.

Now I have it on my ear and it sucks. That is all.