Ha! Lin, I was the same way with no shoes all summer - I used to say in the spring "It's time to get my summer feet on", meaning toughening up the soles so I could walk on gravel. My husband won't even walk around the house without his shoes on.
I do wear gloves most of the time while gardening, however. Otherwise my hands dry out and crack, fingernails break, and cuticles split. I remember when we first moved to this valley years ago and went to the farmer's market one Saturday. My husband remarked "Wow, all the women around here are workers! Did you see their hands?"
I used to be able to push the lawnmower through the poison ivy to make a path down to the river with no ill effects. I must have hit a breaking point somewhere along the line - now if I touch the stuff, I'm on steroids for a couple weeks.
