Poison Ivy, Mango and Pistachio...Oh, My!

  Down near the marsh edge, we let the tall pine trees grow.  I do not like them next to the Little Bayou House since any storm blowing through the area can snap the trees off and plummet them through the rooftop.  Hurricane Katrina did that.  In the midst of the storm, I heard a loud crash and found that we had a delightful "pole" in the middle of our living room.  Thankfully, no one was injured but it could have been devastating.  Since then, every pine tree near the house has been removed...except one and I have been after Mark to cut that one for years.  Better to be safe than sorry.

  The trees near the marsh are far enough away that they will do no damage if they fall or get struck by lightning (which the trees are prone to do.)   The pines do not seem to mind the brackish water around their roots so all is well..by them and me.  There is a third reason that I am glad the pines are not too near the house.  They seem to be a poison ivy magnet!  Each tree is literally covered with the vines!  Since the trees actually stand in the marsh, I refuse to go "de-ivy" them.  (Again, better safe than sorry!  I do not want to step on a cottonmouth while trimming a vine.)  

  Eastern Poison Ivy can take over just about anything that is handy to climb.  It does this by little, hairy root like structures that actually penetrate its host (even if that host is a brick wall).  The base of the vine can get up to around six inches in diameter and the vine itself can grow to a length of a hundred feet or better.  It will branch out and twist around the host until it is entirely covered.  Most people would be in misery if they tangled with such a vine as they are (as the name states) poisonous.  A mere touch can lead to a horrendous rash!   The itching seemingly is all consuming and never ends.  

  Humans are prone to having a reaction to the urushiol or oils found in all parts of the poison ivy vine...leaves, roots and stems.  The oils remain even after the plant is dead and contact can still lead to misery!  I was pondering today how squirrels can worm their way through the thick mass of vines and not be affected by the toxins.  After watching several squirrels racing up the ivy covered pine trees, I had to find out the answer.  It seems that only humans and a few other primates have problems with the toxins.  Critters can actually eat the berries, stems and leaves without problems.

  Now...a little known fact to most of us.  Poison ivy is not the only plant to produce the rash creating urushiol.  Of course, most of us know that poison oak and poison sumac do BUT did you know that mango, cashews and pistachios all belong to the same family as poison ivy? Both mango trees and cashew trees can cause a irritating rash to those exposed. Pistachios seem to be less potent but still can cause rashes in some people. So folks even get a rash by eating the peels of a mango!  So...be careful folks!  You best leave the wallowing about in the leaves containing urushiol to the critters.  I think the pine can keep its poison ivy vine to itself.  I had good intentions of chopping it out this winter but...nah, I'm good.

The Strength

  Pop used pull out the morning glories that would come up in the flower beds.  He was meticulous about his gardens and whatever he deemed a weed was immediately pulled and trashed.  However, he did allow them to grow on the fence lines where I admired their loveliness.  His gardens were the talk of the town for their beauty and neatness.  I can only imagine that he cringes when he looks down upon my feeble attempts at raising plants.  I love them but I also do not have the heart to pull out anything that blooms or looks interesting.  I figure if a plant is determined to grow in the garden, then I should not be the one to judge its worthiness.

  This morning as Mr. PJ (the old dog) and I were out strolling the hillside, I found a tiny morning glory that was bound and determined to be its best.  As a seed, the little thing had had the misfortune to be cast in the lawn instead of the soft dirt of the garden.  Still, it sprouted and tried to compete with the sod.  The whole vine was not more than a foot long but it had a bloom!  One of the deepest, richest purple blooms that I have ever seen was on that tiny vine! The flower was tattered and torn but, in my book, it still just as lovely as a floral shop rose!  I was so impressed by the tenacity of the volunteer plant that I figured I will put a nix on anyone cutting the grass until the plant is finished doing its plant thing.

  Sometimes we just have to keep on "keepin' on" even though the road is a tough travel.  The little plant, this morning, let me know that no matter the challenges, there is always a way. The strength will come.  So...when things look grim...be a morning glory!

Down in the Compost Pile!

  One never knows what can be found in a compost pile until a good bit of time is spent there.  I am still cleaning the gardens so I have become quite familiar with the contents of the pile.  A good bit of refuse is hauled to the fenced composting area.  Every year, wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow of leaves are dumped in to mulch down for potting soil.  Every day, the pile receives kitchen scraps such as coffee grounds to add to the nutrition in the soil.  Occasionally, some stray veggie or fruit that is a bit over ripe is tossed into the pile as well.  More oft than not, seeds will germinate there.  I have always thought that if a seed sprouts in the compost pile, it would flourish and be amazingly productive.  That is not always so.  This past summer the only thing that flourished in the rich soil was some odd vine that sort of resembled a Morning Glory.  It was a huge vine with saucer-sized leaves but made the scrawniest flowers I had ever seen!

  I was thinking about that plant today when I dumped another load of leaves over the fence.  I wondered if the vine was going to make another appearance this summer.  The vine and I battled over who was going to have domain over the compost pile and I do believe the vine won.  Although I tugged at the thing seemingly on a daily basis, I could never completely get rid of it.  Then in midsummer, I gave up.  I did not admit defeat but rather found that a few moths and butterflies seemed to crave the nectar in the tiny blooms.  If I wanted to enjoy their beauty, I had to tolerate the vine cluttering up the compost pile.

  So I learned that the compost pile not only held a bunch of decomposing vegetable matter, it also held life.  A lot of critters crawl, creep, slither and fly about under and above the pile.  These critters all help with the decomposition of the contents of the pile so are therefore a necessary part of it.  With all of those critters creeping about, it sure makes me glad that the pile is a good distance from the back door!