Creepy stuff?

What creeps around here in addition to spiders, snakes and bugs ? The doggoned vines! Some of the older oak trees are covered with virginia creeper. In truth I like creeper, all that foliage looks so Sherwood Forest ish- doesn't it? In the fall it can turn a pretty bright red. Apparently creeper has a berry which is very nutritious for birds in the winter. For all these reasons - I like THIS creeper.

The alien looking plant is a Bull Thistle (which I mistakenly identified on the photo as Russian thistle - DUH Russian thistle is a tumbleweed!). How big is this nasty looking plant? Those cedar fence posts are a bit over 5 feet high! The whole leaf surface is covered with prickly stickery hard things. Even my voracious goats didn't nibble this thing when it was just a tiny sprout!

Last on my list of nasties is the ultimate evil - Poison oak or Toxicodendron diversilobum --my personal nemesis. I expend serious effort in avoiding the oils from this innocent looking plant. I can get a serious skin inflammation from touching something which has touched the oily leaves of poison oak. Remember the silly song by the Coasters? ~ you're gonna need an ocean of calamine lotion, poison ivy veahea (phonetic spelling folks and poison oak is the western version of poison ivy)~. In reality I've found a silver colloidal spray does better than calamine in drying up my itchy blistery stuff. When we have a number of baby goats, I can get poison oak from them eating it and then nuzzling me for affection (only humans are affected by the oils of poison oak - so my cat and dogs can afflict me too).

WHEW this post is therapeutic for me y'all - baring my soul about mean plants. I'm laughing at myself and hope you at least got a smile ! Life is good here on Buhlaland -I only have a half dollar sized patch of poison oak on my left hand and my DH sitting by my side (well two very spoiled rat terriers are between us). Be well and avoid creeps (hmm sounds like dating advice doesn't it?)