As I sit here writing this, I am covered in poison ivy. They say that it is the ‘poor me’ plant, because no one pays attention to it if not to rip it out of the ground or to curse its name. Some also say that each plant holds a special message for us and poison ivy comes to us when we are harboring some sentiment of ‘poor me’ in our lives. Okay, yes, I admit, I am prone to self pity every now and then. Maybe it is a message from the gods that I better get my thinking back on track. While I meditate on this, let me take you down memory lane to other times I caught the lovable plant’s attention…

The first time I experienced the blistering compassion of this poisonous plant I was living in the mountains of Oregon at Trillium Farm. I was finding a rough adjustment period in the rustic wilderness- peeing in the woods, sleeping with a bat, and continually trying to avoid all of the seemingly constant threats to my safety. I once stood absolutely still on a backwoods path for five full minutes because I thought a large rock was a mountain lion about to attack. After arriving from a life of city living, the romantic ideas of wilderness boiled down to fear, uncomfortableness, and allergies.

And then one day I began to itch… Well, anyone who’s had poison ivy (or oak, as it was in this case) knows how the story goes. After a week of suffering, my friend Susanna offered me the height of compassion- she bathed my entire body in witch hazel, Calagel, and some other magic that finally brought relief and rest. After that, it seemed I finally accepted the wild’s ways and began to find comfortableness in nature- poison oak made her point.

The second time I caught it, I was helping my then-boyfriend, Zak, take down some dead trees in his parent’s yard. Feeling ever the strong woman, I took that chainsaw and reveled in getting my hand’s dirty. A word to the wise- when getting one’s hands dirty, remember to wash them within 30 minutes of exposure! It quickly became full body poison ivy. Hesitant to try any non-organic remedies, I sought out poison ivy’s companion plant, Jewel Weed. Since jewel weed and poison ivy grow next to each other, they are said to be homeopathic remedies. So, we harvested a bunch of jewel weed, brought it home, ground it up into a paste with some olive oil, and applied it. For days I left a trail of green everywhere I walked. Though it did relieve the itching somewhat, after a few days, I just couldn’t stand looking like the jolly green giant anymore, not to mention it seriously impacting my ability to do anything else but feel sorry for myself. So, to Rite Aid I went, and bought my favorite elixir, Calagel.

This time it was pure and simple yard work that got me. Remind me next time to shower within 30 minutes of touching anything resembling a three leaved plant.

Please share your stories of meeting this enchanting plant!