Pull Some Poison Ivy Off a Tree

April 24, 2010.  Saturday.

Situation:  Moi and I both work tonight.  I take Mway out about 3 pm, bringing along one of her small sticks that I find where she dropped it sometime or other next to the piano in the music room.

State of the Path:  Mway is already outside when I go out the door.  Near the pig pen, she roots at something in the ground, but immediately drops it – it’s probably a piece of plastic or something like that.   Notice ferns coming up in the path by the wigwams, and down by the creek, a few of the may apples have flowered.  There really are so many shoots of plants coming up now, that it’s overwhelming to note everything – I could spend an afternoon walking around with the Audubon book, and then who knows how much success I would have?  I think to myself that I should at least concentrate on the shrubs, and learn how to differentiate between the so-called Russian olive shrubs and the honeysuckles – and then there are the elderberry shrubs; they must be coming into leaf or flower by now.  The shrubs are very prevalent on our property, and very noteworthy on a walk, because they crowd the path in a number of places: particularly past the monkey vines by the old orchard, and down by the creek, just past the deer stand, among the tall trees, and at the feed channel to the skating pond.   Down at the creek, I start to pull off the poison ivy off the one tree, but my gloves have so many rips and holes in them, I’m hesitant to do anything but a half-ass job.

State of the Creek:  The water in the swale from bug land is only standing now, and it does not cover the sand bar just before the creek.

The Fetch:  Up at the clearing I toss the stick as I’m walking across the grass; Mway runs after it and brings it back to me before I can take two steps.  Again I toss it, and she brings it back before I can take two more steps.  Finally I reach one end of the clearing.  Mway fetches the stick quite a few more times, then she plays the game of holding it in her mouth and growling until I tell her to drop it.  She drops it, barks as I’m picking it up, then fetches the stick a number of more times before she decides to run down the path on the way back to the house.
Addendum:  Tomorrow I’m taking off from work, and Moi and I will be taking the Boy to NYC.  It’ll be an all day affair, and I will not be able to take Mway for a walk.  Moi has asked Dennis to do the honors.