Moving the Whoops-a-Daisy from the Bully Plants

When the Whoops-a-Daisy arrived, I planted it according to two basic rules - 1) Plenty of sun; 2) A place I could watch daily. Sure enough, it produced daisies before the Shastas from the previous year.

But the bully plants - Joe Pye and Bee Balm - absorbed all the sunlight. Yesterday I decided to move it before moss took over.

The soil was dry already, even though we had inches of rain not long ago. I found a wild rose and evicted it from its spot, sunny but on the western side with the new Crepe Myrtles and Chaste Tree.

I filled around the daisy with Peat Humus, perfect for our clay soil. Those who sneer at clay, as I once did, should know it is the most mineral rich soil, super at the ion level. The Peat Humus will soften the clay, get mixed by the soil creatures, and feed the daisy. I put wood mulch over that layer, to keep moisture in and add to the organic supplements. Wood is great in the long run.

I soon had a few more chores. Ranger Bob decided that a front yard bird bath would be good, and the concrete one in the backyard was being overwhelmed by Poke Weed. Call me crazy - I don't have enough money to be eccentric. But I thought it would be fun to mulch a Poke Weed and see how well it would do with extra care, watering, and no competition.

I like Joe Pye because it creates its own shade, starving the grassy weeds. However, the new plants were being surrounded by grass, Triple Crown Blackberries, Poke, and an alien weed of impressive girth. I used the big loppers to chop down the major weeds mentioned and put collars around the Joe Pye.

Joe Pye is decorated with bees, butterflies, and pollinators.

Live by the Clever Nickname - Laugh with It Too!

 The Razorback Hogs - "Woo Pig Sooie!" - Calling the hogs.
My uncle did that on his hog farm.

The Highland Oncology Group uses its acronym on signs - H.O.G. - which honors the University of Arkansas nickname and cheer - Woo, Pig, Souie! The nurses at the door insisted on asking me all the Wuhan Flu questions again, even though I am often there, with or without Mrs. Ichabod.

"Where are you going next?" the nurses asked.

"The H.O.G. Pharm," I said.

"Hog farm?" they asked.

"Yes, the pharmacy for H - O - G."

They burst into laughter. "We never heard that before."

I told the senior pharmacist about their delight and added, "It is a concise and easy to remember name." On the way out, I told the nurses, "The pharmacist loves the name." I even got his assistant to smile about the name, once.

Overall, the staff is remarkably friendly, cheerful, and full of humor. They keep track of everyone because of multiple appointments, places to go, and the confusion that entails. Once I came back and asked where Mrs. I was. The lady at the desk said, "For $50 I will tell you." I said, "I will give $100 not to." The staff behind the desks erupted in laughter.

Their cheerfulness is a clue about their patient care. They are very efficient and helpful. Sometimes there is a glitch about meds or appointments, but they fix it immediately. They are completing a high-rise for another new office in Springdale, a few miles closer to our house. I said to the main oncologist, "I saw Highland on the sign. They are getting a little more sophisticated." The doctor, an Arkansas alumnus, said, "Yes. It's about time."

I told him about the Asian couple who could not understand why they were directed to another site with a big HOG sign on the outside.

The University of Arkansas was founded in 1871 on the site of a hilltop farm that overlooked the Ozark Mountains, giving it the nickname "The Hill".^[17]

The university was established under the Morrill Land-Grant Colleges Act of 1862. The university's founding also satisfied the provision in the Arkansas Constitution of 1868 that the General Assembly was to "establish and maintain a State University."