Charlie, I remember that all too well. It wasn't just yours and Bens idea, It was Uncle Pete's. I seem to remember that there was a salary envolved, like .10 an hour or something like that. I helped him drag it to a burn pile and you boys were up in the tree. It never did and never has, knock on wood, effected me. You two spent the better part of the week in bed and I remember the Doctor coming to the house to check on you several times. Ben got it worse.
That pile of poison ivy was burned. It's a wonder we lived through it. I learned later in life that one should never, ever burn poison ivy because the caustic oils enter your lungs and cause the same kinds of lesions inside as you suffered from outside. People die....DIE...from the pneumonia caused by breathing poison ivy smoke.
Now you would think it would be easy to stay away from that smoke, but what happens if a neighbor 2 miles away is burning it and you are down wind?
Think of the poor Rangers who fight forest fires and spend days in smoke from burning poison ivy, poison oak and Lord only knows what other kinds of caustic fumes caused by the fire.
Scary, isn't it?
I was always told poison oak had 5 leaves. They told us in Boy Scouts and R.A.'s and many other organizations I was concerned with that had first aid classes.
Now, I find on the web that both poison ivy and poison oak have 3 leaves (leaflets). Was I wrong all these years? I guess it was better to be safe than sorry. Also I don't ever remember being instructed in Poison sumac other than to be told it was not to be taken internally. Now I find it has the same oils as the other two.
Glad I looked that up !
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