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searching for a Boo Radley tree

February 10, 2015 By Talya Tate Boerner 6 Comments

I’ve been searching for the perfect Boo Radley tree. Know what I mean? A tree with a knothole in it, just the right height and size to leave trinkets inside. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Boo Radley hid treasures in a tree knothole for Scout and Jem.


I know you love the book as much as I, and if you don’t, well, what can I say? You might want to do some deep soul searching.

In case you need a refresher, here’s a list of the gifts left in the tree:

2 pieces of chewing gum (Wrigley’s Double Mint)

2 scrubbed and polished pennies (1906 and 1900 Indian-heads)

1 ball of gray twine

2 almost perfect miniatures of two children (Scout and Jem)

1 whole package of chewing gum

1 tarnished medal (Spelling Bee medal)

1 pocket watch that wouldn’t run, on a chain with an aluminum knife

With all the trees in our neighborhood, there must be a perfect Boo Radley tree. And I have plenty of opportunity to search. I walk Lucy and Annabelle several times a day so that at night they do this…

Annabelle & Lucy

It works rather well. They pull on their leashes in different directions, bark at squirrels and people on bikes and mothers pushing baby strollers while I look at trees. I notice the bark more during the winter. Nature’s patterns are stunning, especially when there’s no hiding behind spring blossoms or autumn foliage.

tree bark - diamond pattern

Red berries truly pop.

the beauty of winter

Knotholes are noticeable. Boo Radley holes. I found a few contenders.

This one’s a little small. (Hard to tell in the picture.)

Looking for a Boo Radley Tree

This is my favorite so far.

Looking for a Boo Radley Tree

Now, what to put inside there?

Grace Grits and Gardening

Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

P.S. How happy are we about Harper Lee’s “lost novel”? 

“People generally see what they look for, and hear what they listen for.”

― Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird

[tweetthis]Searching for the perfect Boo Radley tree. #ToKillAMockingbird[/tweetthis]

Musical Pairing:

Horst Jankowski – A Walk in the Black Forest

Filed Under: Nature & Seasons, Reading & Books, Simple Pleasures Tagged With: Knotholes, To Kill a Mockingbird, trees

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Comments

  1. Gina says

    February 10, 2015 at 8:41 am

    Love the idea of another book but a bit sad that it may be not what the author ever wanted. I SO hope she is not being taken advantage of.

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      February 10, 2015 at 11:56 am

      Yes, me too Gina, but I hope that’s not the case.

      Reply
  2. Lyn Fenwick says

    February 10, 2015 at 8:49 am

    Gina, I share your mixed feelings about how the novel came to be locked away and how it has now come to be published. Reading it may answer some of our concerns, and I will definitely read it. I have three completed novel manuscripts that no one has seen but me, and one that only my agent (who declined to pursue marketing it) has seen, and many authors have unseen manuscripts, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that Harper Lee has the manuscript. The issue is why? Why forgotten? Why now? Mine aren’t hidden, just too busy to pursue marketing… In a way, they are forgotten. Maybe that is what happened with Ms. Lee.

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      February 10, 2015 at 11:59 am

      Lyn – I have two unpublishable manuscripts that I hope no one EVER publishes. Both co-written in junior high with friends. Both hilariously horrible. One is purely silly stuff. The other, we really thought we were good. I should shred both, but I can’t:)

      Reply
  3. Colene says

    February 10, 2015 at 3:25 pm

    Lovely music to listen to while reading your lovely blog.

    Reply
  4. Dorothy Johnson says

    February 10, 2015 at 7:01 pm

    Great post. I love that book and look forward to reading the next one. Love the Bo Radley tree.

    Reply

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Talya Tate Boerner


Hi! I'm Talya. Writer, Reader, Arkansas Master Naturalist / Master Gardener, Author of

THE ACCIDENTAL SALVATION OF GRACIE LEE (2016)

GENE, EVERYWHERE: a life-changing visit from my father-in-law (2020)

BERNICE RUNS AWAY (Now Available!)

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Talya Tate Boerner books
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