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Archives for November 2017

Books I Read in November

November 30, 2017 By Talya Tate Boerner

Books I Read in November

Books I Read in November? Not many. Why? Because it took me all the live long month to read The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt.

All
The
Live
Long
Month.

(More on this later.) My four November reads took me back to the delightfully old-fashioned world of Anne Shirley, into the suspenseful and isolated life of the Blackwood sisters, along the streets of New York to a quirky “almost” wedding, and into the dark underworld of grief and life and art.

If we judge my month by the books I read, November was filled with color and heat: crimson sunsets above a boneyard ten feet deep, an explosion, the bone-jar slam of it, the unpretentious bouquet of early-blooming parentheses (((()))).

Without further ado.Continue Reading

Chihuly in the Forest

November 26, 2017 By Talya Tate Boerner

Chihuly in the Forest

On Black Friday, my son and I visited Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. He wanted to see the Stuart Davis exhibit and while I was a bit under the weather, I wanted to spend time with him. Plus, I’d not yet seen Chihuly in the Forest. So off we went.

Tomorrow (November 27) is the last day for Chihuly in the Forest. Thanks to Tate, I saw it. (A few years ago, John and I visited Chihuly Garden and Glass in Seattle. Go, if you get the chance. It is an incredible experience.) Go to Crystal Bridges today or tonight or tomorrow, if you can. If you can’t, take a look at these pictures and pretend you’re there.

As if the Ozark forest isn’t stunning enough, add Chihuly glass and the forest becomes downright magical.Continue Reading

Cold Morning

November 19, 2017 By Talya Tate Boerner

Cold Morning: an acrostic from this morning’s writing practice.

Cold Morning

Crystals cover slanted rooftops. A cold night
Offers a glittery morning.
Leaves, already brilliant with fall, still sleep, muted and
Dreamy with frost. The whole world

Magically rests beyond windows fogged with breath.
On this Sunday before Thanksgiving Day, I
Remember the holiday meals of my childhood at
Nana’s house on the home place.
I relive cozy afternoons with her,
Near to me, she still feels all these years later.
Gentle and generous even in death.

Nana

Happy Sunday, on this cold morning. I’m counting down to Thanksgiving. Time to make that grocery list and check it twice! Four sleeps, y’all…

Grace Grits and Gardening
Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

[tweetthis]Cold Morning – writing practice this morning #SundayMorning #amwriting [/tweetthis]

Musical Pairing:
Bing Crosby, I’ve Got Plenty to be Thankful For

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Hi! I'm Talya Tate Boerner. 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 (2022)

THE THIRD ACT OF THEO GRUENE (coming 2025)

Recent Ramblings:

  • Sunday Letter: 11.23.25
  • Maggie and Miss Ladybug: My New Children’s Nature Book
  • Sunday Letter: November 9, 2025
  • Sunday Letter: Oct 26, 2025
  • Sunday Letter: Oct 5, 2025

Novels:

Coloring Books:

Fiction-Themed Coloring Books

Backyard Phenology:

Children’s Nature Book:

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