Little Tree People

One day I went out into the backyard to see the kids playing back by the fence. We have 2 apple trees and a cherry tree back there as well as some great big leafy bushes that cover the fence. Oliver and Ivy had been turning Violet into a tree person. What fun! They had stuck leaves all throughout her hair and down the back of her shirt and were leading her around the yard like they were in a parade. Oh so cute! Its just so fun to watch their little imaginations at work.

Unfortunately, this story has a very tragic ending. After they were done in the yard I took them out to run some errands. About 20 minutes later, Violet started going crazy complaining of a very itchy back. She is pretty sensitized to itching so its hard to really take her seriously every time she has and episode like this. It could be brought on by a crinkle in her sock, a pair of scratchy tights, water droplets that haven't completely dried, etc. A couple of summers ago she got completely eaten alive by mosquitoes and had a pretty rough few days. She hasn't been able to handle the slightest bit of itchiness ever since. Anyway, so I thought it was related to to the leaves, but in a "I just rolled down a grassy hill a few times" kind of itch. Well, not so. The next day her back had erupted in a very painful itchy rash that lasted forever, it seemed. All over her back, her scalp and even her earlobes. We tried creams and soaks, etc. and then Mark finally prescribed some oral steroids which got it under control. We had asked the children to show us exactly where they got the leaves from, which they did. The leaves were from a bush along the back fence that was a bit different from the others, but definitely didn't seem too out of the ordinary so we thought maybe she is just allergic to that plant. They were issued strict commands to stay away from the back fence, but I don't think you could get Violet to go back there if her life depended on it!! Later, a friend of mine was over who is a naturalist at a local national park. I had her look at the bush and she told me it was POISON IVY!!! What?!!! She said that it starts out as the 'leaves of three' type vine but then it can grow into a crazy huge tree! She said, "yeah, that's pretty insane to have one this big in a backyard, because usually people will get rid of it when its still a small vine." Noted. Needless to say, Mark had a fun weekend pulling out the poison ivy. Anyhoo, these last two pictures look so twisted to me because poor little Violet has no clue about the drama that is about to befall her!! The picture of her back was taken 11 days after she was exposed. Like I said... Never ending!