For a couple of days, starting a few weeks ago, I would arrive home, step out of the car and suddenly feel like I had been stung by a bee on my feet or on my toes, as I was wearing sandals to school. One morning, as I got into the car I also got stung...so my foot was itchy and burning all the way to school....45 minutes of discomfort and itchiness was not fun. I thought it strange that I would be stung by a bee first thing in the morning... and perhaps I was stepping into some kind of ants nest... that day I was determined to seek out the culprit.
Upon arrival home I finally observed a perfectly innocent looking weed growing in the parking area for the car... on the upside the leaves look perfectly green and smooth...underneath, on the stalks of these leaves, one will observe tiny, teeny hairs...although I have since come to learn that even these are not the extent of the problem...this plant secreets some kind of oil, that when absorbed into the skin will cause a dreadful itch and numbing sensation. If one steps anywhere near these weedy plants one is "stung." Honestly, they may have served as an early anesthetic of ancient medicine...they can pack a numbing wallop.
Since I am not yet a perfect parker in the car spot, more often than not I am parked closer to these litte annoyances than I would like to be, and when I exit the car I have to step into them, or carefully step between the plants to avoid getting stung. My neighbor informs me that if you leave a teeny bit of root from these plants in the ground they will just grow and grow... now I know they are my nemesis and I will be seeking to destroy them! Mosquitoes? forget about them... the battle of the Nettles has begun!
www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/stinging_nettle
Upon arrival home I finally observed a perfectly innocent looking weed growing in the parking area for the car... on the upside the leaves look perfectly green and smooth...underneath, on the stalks of these leaves, one will observe tiny, teeny hairs...although I have since come to learn that even these are not the extent of the problem...this plant secreets some kind of oil, that when absorbed into the skin will cause a dreadful itch and numbing sensation. If one steps anywhere near these weedy plants one is "stung." Honestly, they may have served as an early anesthetic of ancient medicine...they can pack a numbing wallop.
Since I am not yet a perfect parker in the car spot, more often than not I am parked closer to these litte annoyances than I would like to be, and when I exit the car I have to step into them, or carefully step between the plants to avoid getting stung. My neighbor informs me that if you leave a teeny bit of root from these plants in the ground they will just grow and grow... now I know they are my nemesis and I will be seeking to destroy them! Mosquitoes? forget about them... the battle of the Nettles has begun!
www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/stinging_nettle
If/ when you get stung, seek out a Doc leaf (they're large and grow near nettles, crush it in your hand and rub it on the sting. It'll make it all better :)
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