A few weeks ago I had been wandering around they side of the road on the windswept side of the lake taking pictures of willow tree buds. Of course I was looking up at the tree now down at my feet. All of sudden I had this sharp pain in my shins and I looked down to see what I thought was about a dozen huge green burns stuck to my jeans and even into the leather of my shoes. I didn't want to touch them so I shook my legs and used my camera strap to get them off and then headed home. By the time I got home by shins and feet where burning. I told my husband about my encounter and he assured me there was no such thing as poisonous burrs.
So the other day we were both out for a drive and I pointed out the area where we had been and he said no wonder the pokes stung me that it was likely cactus and not burrs. I had heard we had cactus here in the Okanagan but I had never seen any, not that I had been looking. So this weekend I drove back to the same spot to look again, at the ground this time not the tree and sure enough...cactus. I photographed the willow tree again as well but I was very careful where I stepped.
