Okay, THAT was stupid

So let me lay down the background to today's adventure.....

Ten years or so ago, the nursery used to encompass 50 acres. It has a couple of ponds and there were trails that ran all through it. I lived in the house that used to be there and was a caretaker for the greenhouses. I was comfortable there and never felt unsafe walking through the back 40 day or night. (Though at night I usually had Big dog with me.)

I had to move for political reasons, and the back 40 was sold to the township government with the intent they would make it a park. However, the 10 million the township needs to do such is not forthcoming anytime soon, so the old nursery has become overgrown and kinda creepy.

Forward to present.....
The next floral display is going to have a "water" theme, with ponds and bogs and muck. This is the first time we have tried anything like this, so it's a learning experience. The duckweed we ordered from the supplier was mostly dead,stinky and unusable. I remembered the old ponds used to be covered with it in the summer, so after lunch I took a hike through the old nursery.
( I should mention here that it was very hot today and I decided I would wear shorts to work. I rarely, if ever wear shorts to work,but I did today)
I had no trouble getting back to the ponds, and happily discovered the smaller one covered with the duckweed I needed. Carefully picking my way through the poison ivy covered bank, I crept down towards the water between a small group of shrubs. I was examining the aforementioned aquatic flora, when I heard a noise. I looked up and saw a very creepy looking 17-18 year guy riding through on his bike. Luckily he didn't see me.
I don't know why, but something inside me screamed "danger,hide-sneak back to the nursery stay off the old road" I think because the back 40 isn't really the best route for someone riding a bike to get from point A to point B and the fact that he was creepy looking.
Anyhoo- like I said, I used to live there and knew all the side paths that cut through the old tree plots. I felt I could make it back to the greenhouses without being seen. I knew it would probably be a bit hard to weave through the poison ivy, but I weighed the consequence of ending up itching versus ending up mugged or worse. The ivy won, and I started trekking.
The damn township hasn't cut any grass in the back field for years. When the city had it the neighbor's would call and complain if it got above a foot, but now that it's their taxes paying to mow it, they've kinda shut up, and it has grown chest high.
As I plodded along, burrs stuck to my socks. But the worst was the blackberry brambles that haven't really taken hold yet, but are high enough to reach my bared thighs.
I got back to the greenhouses safely. Luckily I keep a spare set of clothes in my locker, so I washed down with TechNu and put on my poison ivyless clothes. About an hour later I looked down at my legs to discover they are covered in scratches and stinging nettle rash.

The show opens in a few days,and I still need to get duckweed. But next time I'm taking my dogs with me......and wearing jeans.