Enjoying my short little nature trail. It's so beautiful back here with all the oaks, manzanitas, madrone, and... F^ck me!!! F^ckin poison oak! Son-of-b*tch! I hate poison oak ever since I weed whacked a field of it about a decade ago. That sh*t nearly killed me. I was exposed to so much it poisoned my blood and went systemic. I would have random breakouts all over my body for the next few months. It was hellish.
I thought we didn't have any on this property until just an hour ago when I caught sight of some red leaves among the black berries and oak suckers.
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This time of year you can spot it from the red leaves. It turns red earlier than the real oak suckers so it stands out.
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It is the chameleon of the forest. Often near impossible to distinguish from the blackberries and oak suckers. It always has sets of three leaves like the blackberries and they are usually shaped like oak leaves, but thinner, less waxy, and more papery. The ones that got me almost looked like ferns. You'd figure a poisonous plant would want to stand out, not blend in with other plants. It definitely is an odd duck.
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These little suckers are a few feet from the back of my 5th wheel.
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I'm not really complaining. This is more of a public service message to help people identify it that aren't used to dealing with poison oak.