Adventure!

[Marthe48]

I went outside to cut back ivy on the side of my house. I was in Cleveland for 10 days, and while I was gone, the ivy had enthusiastically over the door I use for entry. It was also growing over the wire feeding wifi/cable into my house! We can't have any threats to Internet access.

I took my tools of choice out to do battle: a hand clipper, a scraper and and a flat head screwdriver. There are two kinds of ivy to deal with, English and Virginia creeper. The English ivy is stubbornly ensconced, even though I cut it out every year. The Virginia creeper is migrating from the front of the house. I don't want to use weed killers, because I have a lily bed beside the door.

Anyway, I went out and was doing a good job of clearing the wall and the bed of the unwanted plants. The English ivy had runners a half inch thick, even though I cut it out last year. The Virginia creeper has finer tendrils and was easy to clip out. I was using the clippers on one of the English ivy runners, and pinched my finger on the hinge. I know these clippers aren't safe. I injured my left hand the year I got them and i try to avoid the hinge. I'm left-handed, but can use both. This time, I injured my right index finger. I have a port wine birthmark on the palm of that hand, so lots of blood close to the surface. Lots of blood. I thought I could keep going, but wow. I don't think I've ever gotten a cut on the birthmark. I surely would've remembered that. I actually left a trail of drops into the house! I used direct pressure to stop the bleeding, and I guess I'm done for the day. At least it doesn't hurt. I have leftovers, the dishes are done and I can pity myself