grace grits and gardening

ramblings from an arkansas farm girl

  • Home
  • Bio
  • Publishing
  • SHOP!
  • Garden
  • Food
  • Reading & Books
  • Sunday Letter

Lake Girls. Lake Time.

May 24, 2019 By Talya Tate Boerner

Lake Girl, Lake Time

Lake Girls. Lake Trip.

This weekend marks our first lake trip of the year. Our first official trip of summer, not that summer is here yet (but you know what I mean). Now that Momma and Staci are both living in Fayetteville, we are much closer to Lake Norfork. And we can go for long weekends. That was practically impossible to do when we lived in Texas.

So we’ll kick off lake season the way we did when we were all living together on the farm, when Staci and I were kids, before college and marriage and family and careers. We’ll spend the weekend doing many of those same things we always do when we go to the lake. Lake girls are like that.

Norfork Lake

  • Early morning will mean coffee on the porch as the mist lifts from the cove. We will do lots of reading. Memorial Day weekend is the official kickoff of summer reading. Of course, it will be difficult to concentrate at first, with the lake calling, the mourning doves cooing, a boat trolling along the shore. All these things compete with words on the page, no matter how compelling the story.
  • We will pack the cooler with sandwiches and fruit and carrot sticks and cucumber slices and water and other beverages. There will be a sack or two of chips, too. Salt and sun go together quite nicely.
  • We’ll load up High Cotton and drive over to Cranfield Marina to get our first bag of ice, our first tank of gas. Even though she’s a newish boat, we will all say a silent prayer to the lake gods that her motor will turn over every single time because that’s how we are conditioned. How many times have we been stranded on the lake with boat trouble from our old boat? Of course, there’s no other place we’d rather be stranded than on the lake.
  • We will ride over to the cliffs and to “our” cove where Nana and Papa once owned a house and dock. We’ll go to Sand Island even though it’s underwater. See the dam. Swim in all our favorite places.
  • One night, we’ll eat at Fred’s Fish House. Maybe we’ll grill burgers. For sure we’ll cut a watermelon into chunks and feast on it all weekend. There will be marshmallows roasted over a fire. Is it too soon for lightning bugs? I’ll let you know.
  • After more reading, lots of laughter, maybe a bottle of wine enjoyed while the sun burns low, sleep will be sound and deep. As it should be.
  • When we leave, our hearts will slump a little as we to say farewell until next time. And I can help but wonder how many next times we have together. Because that’s how life works.

Cranfield

Lake DNA

I believe lake water runs through our veins.

Lake DNA. Is that a thing?

Regardless, Lake Norfork, I’ve loved you for a long, long time.

Check out these old lake pictures I found when I was home on the farm a few weeks ago. Farm and Lake. These are my places and the places of my people.

Nana and Papa Creecy at Lake Norfork.

Nana and Papa Creecy.

 

Norfork Dam and Bridge

Norfork Dam and Bridge

 

Lake throwback.

Daddy standing. Note the names of the boat is Miss Talya. ❤

 

Daddy and Me

Daddy and Me.

 

Bathing Beauty

I don’t know who this bathing beauty is, but what a classic picture!

 

Bull Shoals

Bull Shoals.

 

Swim at your own risk.

Swim at your own risk.

 

Sand Island 1971

Lake Girls On Sand Island. (Staci & Me with Barbara McMinn Thompson)

Slowing Down

I appreciate the familiarity of the lake. Consistency. Routine. Quiet. These are precious commodities we easily take for granted during our everyday busyness. This year, what do you say we concentrate on slowing down and carrying lake time with us all through the summer?

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

 

Filed Under: Life, Memories, Simple Pleasures, Travel Tagged With: family traditions, Lake Norfork, Memorial Day, Norfork Lake, Roadtrip

Wanna receive posts via email? Sign up here!

Comments

  1. Julie says

    May 24, 2019 at 8:05 am

    Even though we are fairly new to actually LIVING ON A LAKE IN ARKANSAS!! we share the “will the boat engine turn over and yes we have been stranded many times” syndrome with our older, inherited boat! But your posting made me look at it as a fun adventure (maybe) and source of memories. This morning was my first standup paddle boarding trip around our cove for this summer and it all came back to me what a gift it is to be where we are. Thanks for always reminding your readers of the pleasures of enjoying where you are planted!

    • Grace Grits and Gardening says

      May 28, 2019 at 1:25 pm

      Oh, if you live within paddle-boarding distance of an Arkansas lake cove, you are in receipt of a gift! Enjoy your summer!

  2. Cathy Voight says

    May 24, 2019 at 8:41 am

    Wow, those photos are priceless. Have a great time! We are headed to Pawhuska for a quick overnight.

    • Grace Grits and Gardening says

      May 28, 2019 at 1:25 pm

      I hope you enjoyed your trip!

  3. Ginger says

    May 24, 2019 at 2:04 pm

    I saw my first lightning bug a couple of weeks ago here in the Mountain Home area. So early this year!!

    Enjoy your time at the lake!

    • Grace Grits and Gardening says

      May 28, 2019 at 1:26 pm

      I haven’t seen any yet. Soon, I’m sure!

  4. Christopher Mitchell says

    May 26, 2019 at 7:34 am

    Slowing down is so importat.

    • Grace Grits and Gardening says

      May 28, 2019 at 1:27 pm

      Yes sir!


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: May 25, 2025
  • Sunday Letter: May 4, 2025
  • Sunday Letter: Rainy Day Edition
  • Spiderwort: my love-hate relationship
  • Sunday Letter: March 23, 2025

Never miss a blog post! Subscribe via email:

Looking for something?

Categories

All the Things!

A to Z April Blog Challenge Autumn BAT Book Reviews childhood Christmas creative writing prompt Dallas Desserts Fall Fayetteville Food Gracie Lee Halloween Hemingway-Pfeiffer holiday recipes home humor Johnson Family Keiser Lake Norfork Lucy and Annabelle Mississippi County Mississippi Delta Monarch butterflies Munger Place Nana nature Northeast Arkansas Northwest Arkansas Osceola poem Reading Schnauzer simple living simple things spring spring gardening Summer Talya Tate Boerner novel Thanksgiving The Accidental Salvation of Gracie Lee Thomas Tate Winter Wordless Wednesday

Food. Farm. Garden. Life.

THANKS FOR READING!

All content and photos Copyright Grace, Grits and Gardening © 2025 · Web Hosting By StrataByte