Poison Oak, Poison Ivy, and Sumac: Leaves of Three!

It is very important for those of us who take our children out into the woods for nature study to be able to recognize poison oak, poison ivy, and poison sumac.



Where we live we have an abundance of poison oak and this time of the year it is actually very pretty and easy to identify. I know in other parts of the country there is poison ivy and sumac as well.

Here is a very informative link for you to click through:
http://walking.about.com/od/medfirstaid/ss/poisonoakivy.htm




This video does a great job of explaining everything you should know before you take a walk in the woods and potentially come into contact with poison oak, poison ivy, or sumac. Knowledge is always a good thing.


My husband says that in his job as a wildland firefighter, they use Tecnu after any exposure. We are going to get some and have it on hand for those times we think we may have come into contact with poison oak.

If you have any questions, please leave a comment and I will try to find answers for you as best I can. I would hate for you to unknowingly expose anyone to something potentially dangerous. On the other hand, don't get too worried either. Just remember the "leaves of three, let it be" rule and you should do a good job of avoiding contact. We have had our share of poison oak rashes in our family and I think most of our exposure comes from our family pets. Don't miss that part of the video.

We have quite a few new participants in the Outdoor Hour Challenges so I want to give a big welcome to everyone....hope to see your nature study entries soon.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Shooting Stars, Miner's Lettuce, and Hound's Tongue

Sierra shooting star

My husband and I took a walk today to see if we could find any more wildflowers blooming early. We were not disappointed. It was a cool morning and the trail was damp but the sun was bright as we walked down the hill. Not far past the place where we parked the car, we found several beauties waiting for us. Please make sure to click on the photos to make them larger.


Pacific Hound's Tongue flower


Here is the leaf on the Pacific hound's tongue that gives it its name. The Maidu tribe used this for stomachaches and burns.

Miner's lettuce


Unidentified flower. I think it may be a wild carrot but I'm not sure.



This pretty little leaf is poison oak.....it was everywhere around the trail we were on. We didn't notice it until this time down the trail so we will have to be more watchful climbing up and off the trail from now on. :)

I am learning the value of going on a particular trail more than once to see the differences from time to time. We are getting to know this little hill and every time we hike down it we find something new and interesting.

We stood quietly listening a few times. We were rewarded with the sound of a distant woodpecker knocking on his tree trunk. We heard some California quail with their little unique sounding bird call. If you want to hear what it sounds like, here is a link:
What Bird.com for California Quail if you scroll down the page a bit, on the left side, there is a button to click to hear the quail call.

It was a refreshing hour out in the air and sunshine.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom