To be honest, you have to really know your audience when teaching girls this song because there is a dirty version floating around out there.  With girls getting exposed to more adult themes more and more these days, you have to be careful that they won’t try to sing the dirty version and teach the other girls the dirty version.  When I worked at Camp Deer Lake in Silver Springs, CA we had girls coming from all over the San Francisco Bay Area and some thought it was funny to sing the dirty lyrics instead, so be warned of the possibility.

Do your ears hang low?
Do they wobble to and fro?
Can you tie them in a knot?
Can you tie them in a bow?
Can you throw them o’er your shoulder like a Continental soldier?
Do your ears hang low?

Buy ‘Do Your Ears Hang Low’ on iTunes!

This is a handy way to avoid most poisonous plants when camping and hiking.  And remember that poison oak and poison ivy are located even in some relatively urban areas, like this patch I found along a trail in Hayward, CA near the Girl Scout cabin in Memorial Park.

According to the American Academy of Dermatology, the saying “leaves of three, beware of me” can help identify poison ivy and oak, a more accurate saying is “leaflets of three, beware of me.” Each leaf on poison ivy and poison oak has three smaller leaflets. The middle leaflet has a longer stalk than the two on the sides.

Contact with a poisonous plant can lead to a nasty, itchy rash.  The best way to limit the spread to fellow campers is to isolate the clothing you were wearing at the time in a garbage bag and shower immediately.  A bath will just move the oils that cause the rash around and spread it to other parts of your body, so a shower is preferred. This won’t prevent a rash if you’ve had significant contact, but will help prevent the spread to others.

Treatment of a mild case can be solved with a cool shower and some over-the-counter medicine like Tecnu, Caldryl Clear or other itch relief lotion.  An oatmeal bath can also sooth the itch.  More advanced cases can require a trip to a doctor and a prescription medication to reduce the itching and swelling.

Being in Northern California myself, I’m surprised that I didn’t find this sooner.

http://www.girlscoutsnorcal.org/pages/product_sales/booth_finder.html

Just type in your address, specify a date and time if you wish, and BOOM – easiest way to find a local booth sale if you don’t already know a girl scout you’d prefer to support.  I found a booth sale this weekend right outside a local Starbucks… talk about a win-win!

If you’re not in Northern California, you can go to GirlScoutCookies.org to find your local council.