Al’s Nemesis is Back

 

Blairsville, GA (high 78, low 65)

 

A few days after we got here, there was a lost beagle running around the park.  Several people were caring for him and looking for his owner.  His owner was finally found and he returned home, some 12 miles away.  I wasn’t so sure they deserved to have him back, since he was not neutered, but it wasn’t my decision.   Before he left, he visited Al in the golf cart and left him a nice present of poison ivy.   We have discovered that dogs seem to carry poison ivy from running through it in the edge of the woods or rubbing against other dogs who do. They have enough oil on them to share with Al.  Al is very, very sensitive to it.

So……  Al got his first batch of PI of the season.  He did all the usual things and thought he was getting better, when he started getting a rash all over his body, which kind of came and went from one area to the other.  

It took us a few days to realize that this newest rash was from his recently acquired allergy to regular laundry detergent.  We had changed to the hypo allergenic laundry detergents, but when we got here, I was so happy to have my big washer and dryer back, that I went to the store and got some of the Tide pods that I had used and liked last year (before we realized that was the problem).   I felt so bad that I had caused poor Al to suffer even more.    I have since washed everything again with a hypo allergenic detergent and he is slowly getting better.  He’s had to take Benadryl, which makes him extremely sleepy.  He had a few days of mostly sleeping, but yesterday we did get out and go up to one of our favorite spots.

 

Here are some pictures from Brasstown Bald mountain, which is the highest peak in Georgia at 4784 feet.  

It was nice and cool mid afternoon.

The dying vegetation in the forests below cause a haze.  Some days it’s hazier than others and yesterday was one of those hazy days.  We always like it up there and have even gone up on rainy cloudy days.   Sometimes you can even see Atlanta which is 90 miles away.

It’s always pretty.

 

 

Here is a picture I borrowed from the internet.  I thought it was spectacular.

Today is farmers market today, so if we can get motivated, we’ll be going into town for some nice fresh produce.