Poison Ivy Plants Potent Year Around

[Henry]

I didn't know that, but was just talking with a friend of mine down in Colchester.  He tells me that somebody knocked his mailbox down, so he had to replace it.  When he picked the whole thing up, apparently there were some poison ivy plants attached to it.  He had on a short sleeved t-shirt and it got on his arms - He tells me that poison ivy plants are effective year around - I am assuming that the leaves do not stay green in the winter, but this is how they look in the summer:

Poison Ivy in the fall still very potent so be cautious:

[Henry]

Received the following note from one of the guest readers of the forum:

"Hi Henry,
One of my sons is allergic to poison ivy. He has come in contact with it several times, without realizing.  Once, it was decided that it was in lawn clippings blown by a lawn mower.

Once he got it during the dead of winter. The doctor decided that the ivy had been harvested with the hay crop. When the cows were fed the hay, and drank from their waterbowls, it  wetted and reactivated the poison ivy. Pretty potent stuff."

Makes one wonder why the cows don't get poison ivy when they eat it accidently - Maybe cows are immune to poison ivy???

[Henry]

I received another personal note on Poison Ivy Allergy:

"Hi Henry,
  I have been allergic to poison ivy my whole life. I had it so bad I spent 2 weeks in a burn unit getting skin graphs. I was also blind in both eyes. Fingers that healed together then cut apart. I have heard that if you feed it to a goat then regularly drink its milk you will get immune to it. I never tried it. I just stay miles away from it."