Honestly. I just wanted a nice metal watering can. A couple gallon capacity or so. I wanted to be able to walk around the yard and water things. Unencumbered by a long, stubborn, obstinate tangled up hose. Unencumbered by a leaky hose nozzle that sprays as much water on me as it does on whatever I’m trying to water. A $25 watering can. Yeah, I know. All you miserly scrimpers and savers out there (you know who you are) are hollering, “$25!!!!! For a watering can?!??!!” A few grandparents are turning in their graves. My own personal miserly scrimper and saver dredged an old metal watering can out of the Houghton Lake garage and brought it home, just to save the $25. It was broken. What did you think? Is it fixed? What do you think? I finally said something like, “Yaknow? I am earning enough money to be able to buy a blasted $25 watering can!” For once, he couldn’t think of anything else to say. I mean, it’s not like I was threatening to buy a new vee-hickle (actually I am but that’s a whole nother story). But why are we sparring about this? Anyway, I am now happily carrying water around the yard and sprinkling it on stuff with my new watering can. The $25 one, don’tcha know?

And, in so doing, I found… Drum roll… Poison ivy! You’re surprised? I do not go near that stuff. I think it is the one thing in the universe that I am allergic too to. And boy, am I allergic!! You do not wanna know. So the watering can purchase initiated our 2nd Annual Urushiol Oil Eradication day. The process involves Kayak Woman screeching, “No, that one’s okay, that’s got four leaves. Here’s a three-leafer! Get this one!” And the GG pulls them up, roots and all. He does not seem to be allergic. And since poison ivy grows rampantly in the woods adjacent to my house, he spent most of his time over behind the chain-link fence. Despite the fact that I stayed as far away from the PI as I could, I do have one little pustule or whatever it is. Just one. Knock on wood. And a mosquito bite. I know it’s a mosquito bite because I slapped the blasted mosquito as it bit me. So there.

It wasn’t all bad. I made us take an urban hike this morning. We went to Gallup Park, not my first choice. It’s across town and we have to drive across town to get there. It’s got a wide paved path and lots of carefully groomed lawn and most of the wild stuff is within three to six feet of the river. On a hot day the sun would be relentless. But it was early and still cool and not a whole lot of the exercise crowd was out yet. I got some decent pictures and saw a good swan fight up close and personal (but didn’t get a pic or video) and ran into an old friend. And!! Combined with my morning and afternoon walks, I got 8-10 miles in today and therefore feel, well, I dunno if euphoric is exactly the right word but I *do* seem to need a lot of exercise. And today I got it! Yay! So click here or on the pic for more.

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