Well, I must say, I do feel very relaxed and happy today (which is rare and even more surprising than usual as it's MONDAY). I think it's due in large part to the fact I had a wonderful weekend, which, though we did have some errand-running to do, largely consisted of watching movies (including an old favorite: My Best Friend's Wedding), starting (and restarting for a total of five times) to knit a scarf for the fall, walks around the neighbourhood with my poochie, and spending a few long, glorious hours in the backyard with him in the sunshine, while I cleaned out my garden area (bundling sticks and bagging weeds). I even managed to paint his doghouse (a nice shade of blue) which I'm hoping to finish off with a white trim, and made a sign (picture to follow) for the door of his run, which I decorated with gawdy plastic fall flowers courtesy of the Dollar Store. (He loves it, I'm sure.. ;) )

Anyway, for the most part, things were great, that is until I was chatting casually on the phone to my Dad, who was recounting moments of his youth (which consisted mainly of whipping various types of berries at his siblings :) ). This led to me eating a berry off my tree (which at the time I still didn't know the species of). Then a continued conversation with my mother, where we discussed the 'wild grapes' growing along the fence, where I again 'tasted' a berry, before deciding that 'these grapes must be the wine type because they taste horrible'... Yes, horrible indeed. It would appear that I ingested poisonous Elderberry (which is only edible if cooked), and even more poisonous Virginia Creeper berry (which is so stupid as I KNOW what virginia creeper looks like, it's just the first time I've seen it grow such nice plump blue berries like that!)Shortly after tasting the VC berry, my tongue and lips began to sting, at first just mildly, like I had perhaps eaten a thistle (or like if you get the fuzz from a kiwi in your mouth). It progressed quickly into more of a burning sensation, like hot sauce, but without the taste to it. Gradually, a headache started, which, after I had gone to sleep, developed into a WICKED, head-pounding, face/neck/jaw pain type of headache, like none I've ever had before (I had to replace my normal pillow which is 'firm' with a really fluffy one because my head was so sore), and then finally tapering off with a milder headache and some light nausea (didn't throw up though) at around 5:00 am. Sooo, without further ado, if you're ever so inclined to eat the weeds in your backyard, think again. I had always known that many plants we have in our house and yard are poisonous, but after researching it, I realized that MOST plants we have around are poisonous (though some can become edible once cooked), and it doesn't take much more than tasting the juice from a berry to bring on a very uncomfortable evening. Had I eaten a handful, I'd be in the ER right now as VC berries in particular can cause death. Even things like rhubarb leaves (deadly), and potato flowers/berries (didn't know they produced berries but apparently they do), can cause death... If you're curious about what's in your yard, google 'poisonous plants and berries' and check out the many sites available. It's good to know (especially if you have kids!) as some don't even have symptoms and will quite suddenly lead to death (freaky).
In my yard: (And this is by far not all of them):

1. The vine on the fence is Virginia Creeper (which I knew but disregarded at the time) - the leaves are thin, jagged edged leaves (in groups of five) that are turn red in the Fall). The berries (which resemble small clusters of dark blue grapes) have been known to cause death, if eaten in mass quantities, and can irritate (cause vomiting, and/or irritated bowel, rashes and skin irritation (which I think was the stinging on my lips and tongue) and a variety of other symptoms, including headache, which I suffered from). Luckily, I didn’t eat the berries, I just split one open and licked the syrup stuff coming out of it… THAT was enough to make my mouth sting for about an hour and give me a partly sleepless night…

2. The vines that grow purple flowers with red berries that I transplanted from our apartment (and that grow all over Aylmer, including all along the fence in the backyard) may actually be the plant ‘Deadly Nightshade’, whose berries are EXTREMELY poisonous (especially when they're still green)… I’ll have to check to see if the berries on mine are turning black or not, as DN's berries go from green to red to black – it may not be the same thing – but I’ve photographed it numerous times in the woods – now at least I know what it is!.


3. The tree by the deck, which again has serrated edged leaves, and grows white flowers all throughout the spring and into summer, that are replaced by purply-red (appetizing looking) berries is an Elderberry. I took one berry, chewed it, then spit it out. Again, all parts of the tree, including the berries are poisonous, causing nausea and digestive upset. However, if you cook the berries, they’re apparently very popular for medicinal purposes, and make a good jam, pie and/or wine.

Yeh me… ;)
While I'm on the topic of poisoning oneself, another thing to mention is the recent discovery that both grapes and raisins are highly toxic to your canine friends... (Which is scary considering how many times I shared a grape or two (or three or four) with Shadow...) Apparently, up until recently, people used raisins as rewards in training, if you're one of them, give that habit up immediately!!!