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    What the....

    Well... I don't have any "Tyler" stories to tell, as he is with his mother this week. I also don't want to neglect the blog. So, time for some ramblings. Delilah is my boxer-mix pup (she's actually a dog, but to me she'll always be a puppy). She is pictured here with a very strange face. Click the picture to view it larger. Also, click this one.. it's also funny.

    So, I've got a long back-yard. Between my back yard and my neighbor's back yard are a line of bushes that are about 8 foot tall. Sarah and I would like to put up a privacy fence so that we can let the dogs run free back there. Currently, we have to tie them up so they can't leave our yard. After getting a property survey done ($400), we now know that the bushes belong to us. Looks like I'll be the one chopping them down.

    I didn't realize how much work this would be. I borrowed some branch cutters from my father-in-law. When I started cutting, I realized that this was really going to take some time to complete. I got through about 5 foot the first day, but I really only spent about 30 minutes out there.

    I wasn't very careful when I did this, and I didn't realize that the bushes were INFESTED with poison ivy. In hindsight, a tanktop and shorts were not a great idea. My left arm is covered in rash and a few spots on my face are as well. I can't even begin to explain how much this itches, so I won't even try.

    But it REALLY friggin itches.

    Yesterday, I went out for another go-around with the bushes. This time, I wore pants, shoes, long sleeve shirt, a hat, and gloves. After about 2 hours, I started stumbling and couldn't keep my balance. That was when it occurred to me that I should probably get out of the sun right away! My forehead felt like it was on fire when I put my hand on it. I wasn't sure if I was allowed to take a cold shower, or if that would shock the system, so I just stood in the kitchen for about a half hour before hopping under the cool water.

    Today, it wasn't as hot, so I didn't get those strange feelings, and I was able to knock out another 15 foot of bushes. I'm way over half done now and am pretty pleased with the progress. I haven't noticed any new rashes yet either *fingers crossed*.

    I've got 2 problems now....
    1. I need to get rid of the chopped bushes. I can't burn them because there's a TON of poison ivy in there.
    2. I still need to figure out how to get the roots out. When I cut the bushes, I left about 6 inches at the bottom, because that was about as low as I could get. I tried prying them up with a shovel, and promptly snapped the handle. yay
    I'm hoping to have all the bushes down by Friday, but the roots will probably still be there.

    And lastly... I consider myself to be a... uhh.... well, a nerd. Or a geek, I use the two interchangeably. I found this site online, cubeecraft, that has papercraft layouts. I made a few of them, frankly, because I could. I printed them on photo paper to get the best look.... so... here you go... Indiana Jones, a Storm Trooper, and the Companion Cube. Now I just need to figure out where to put them.

    4 comments:

    Joanna said...

    Sounds like you're having tons of fun with your poison ivy!

    Irrational Dad said...

    Care to join me? I'll be attacking it again Friday evening, and probably sometime on Saturday.

    Joanna said...

    As fun as that sounds... I'm gonna have to pass :-) Your cube guys remind me of The Cubes, btw. Here's my favorite set: http://www.perpetualkid.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1731

    Joanna said...

    And here's that url tiny so you can actually see it:

    http://tinyurl.com/57t6ya

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