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Sunday Letter: 06.02.19

June 2, 2019 By Talya Tate Boerner 10 Comments

Sunday Letter

Dear Sunday Letter friends,

As we float into June, I think about the year we’ve had so far. And I worry about friends and family and folks I don’t know affected by floodwaters in Arkansas and Oklahoma. And farmers who can’t get crops in. Let’s hope and pray for a calm, productive June, shall we?

I’m happy to report we survived the Garden Tour yesterday. I am absolutely exhausted to the middle of my bone marrow. I plan to recap everything in a future blog post, but for now I’ll blame the Garden Tour for anything that may sound nonsensical in this letter. ☺

Momma Cardinal

Just before Memorial Day weekend, a cardinal began to build her nest in our viburnum just outside the kitchen window. This is the third year in a row she has made her nest in these bushes. We literally have a window into her world. And I love that most about our kitchen.

Nest just beginning to take shape:

Cardinal Nest in process

She doesn’t seem to care that I watch her as she works.

She rimmed the very edge of her nest with a twig of rosemary. How cool is that? I imagine she has the best smelling home in the treetops. So diligent she was as she flew away toward the “Back Forty” and came back each time with another beak filled with twigs.

Back from the lake, I noticed her nest looked to be completed. But I didn’t see her until the next morning. There she was sitting patiently in the home she had built, watching me unload the dishwasher and my brew coffee, probably wondering what strange things I do inside my nest.

See the tip of her red beak?

cardinal

Yesterday she sat in her nest all day while hundreds of people strolled through our backyard, oblivious to her. I’m sure she wondered what was going on in her normally peaceful world.

The Book Club

I’d like to thank The Book Club in Fayetteville for a wonderful evening! I’ve been invited to so many book clubs—around forty-five I think!—and each one is unique, fun, engaging. The truth is I’m a book club junkie. I want to join all of them.

This one was no exception. In fact, I’m planning to attend next month’s meeting (as a reader), and I’m already reading the book (Less by Andrew Sean Greer).

What a fun group. The conversation, the food—everything was fabulous.

The Book Club

Yay for new friends and new Gracie Lee fans!

Oh, Baby!

You may have already heard about the baby deer my sister and I found one morning while walking in the woods at the lake because I posted pictures on Facebook and tweeted about her. But look how cute!

newborn deer

Actually the fawn found us. She came wobbling through the brush and down the hill onto the trail, all tiny legs and knobby knees, running right up to us as though surprised to be there, alive in this world, happy to find two other beings (strange as we looked).

She was precious, inquisitive, friendly—the true definition of doe-eyed.

fawn

I thought of the Dr. Seuss book Are You My Mother?

First, she stopped to ask me. Then Staci. I believe we could have scooped her up into our arms and carried her back to our cabin. But I knew (hoped) her Momma would return. Plus, I had visions of her future self eating my hostas…

She nuzzled beneath branches and bedded down next to a tree, instantly blending into her Ozark habitat so well I’m not sure we would have noticed the tiny creature had she already been there when we walked by.

fawn

Later, we heard (via a wildlife officer) that after a mother drops the fawn, she disappears for 24 hours. Although the fawn is born scent-less, this is a protective instinct to keep predators away. She returns when the fawn is hungry.

So I’m assuming by now the mother and baby have been reunited. And I feel honored she greeted us at all.

Coffee Pot Woes

It seems I can’t keep a coffee pot. In the 4.5 years we’ve lived here, three (maybe four) coffee pots have quit on me. Really, nothing I did or didn’t do led to their demise as far as I know. They just broke. I swear.

I had an old-fashioned percolator. It was my favorite. Coffee perking? That’s a great morning sound. But the lid broke, rendering it unusable.

I had a Keurig, too. I have to admit I wasn’t too sad when it stopped working. I hated buying those k-cups and wish I’d never added them to the landfill.

On Thursday, my Mr. Coffee said goodbye as he brewed his last half pot and promptly began smoking from every crevice, the smell of burned plastic filling my kitchen.

Seriously? How can I be expected to write anything without coffee???

coffee makes you happy

I’m searching for recommendations. What ya got?

What Momma Said

I can’t drive the boat left-handed. I have to keep that hand free for food. Chips and stuff.

***

See you later Sunday Readers,

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

 

 

 

Filed Under: Sunday Letter Tagged With: book club, garden tour, miracle of nature, sunday letter

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Comments

  1. Cathy Voight says

    June 2, 2019 at 7:48 am

    My coffee makers break so often, I keep a new one in the pantry! I also keep a spare hair dryer as well!
    We so enjoyed the garden tour yesterday.

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      June 2, 2019 at 8:58 am

      It was good to see you. A spare coffee maker is a great idea!

      Reply
  2. Jenny Young says

    June 2, 2019 at 8:10 am

    I cannot get through the morning without my coffee either. Here is what I use. https://www.amazon.com/Godmorn-Stovetop-Espresso-Maker-Coffee/dp/B07K2ZVJC7/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?keywords=italian+stovetop+espresso+maker&qid=1559480646&s=gateway&sr=8-2-spons&psc=1

    I absolutely love it! I go through much less coffee because it just doesn’t take as much to make a strong cup. Plus no filters, mine is dishwasher safe. It’s at least 15 yrs old, Laroma brand so not very exspensive. Just do a search on Italian stove top espresso maker to read up on them. I sometimes just drink straight coffee with cream but most days I make a homemade latte…steaming the milk by frothing with an immersion blender then nuking it for 1 minute. Heaven.

    Thank you for allowing us to enjoy your garden haven for a short while. I think your garden was my favorite on the tour. We walked your neighborhood a bit as well….so many beautiful plantings we just kept going.

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      June 2, 2019 at 8:59 am

      Thank you so much for your comment about our garden and your coffee maker. I will check it out. Yes, our whole neighborhood could be on the tour!

      Reply
  3. Colene says

    June 2, 2019 at 8:54 am

    Another enjoyable letter! I have the least expensive Mr Coffee and it has served me well but for $16 or so it wouldn’t hurt to have a backup in the pantry. I’m with Cathy on a spare hairdryer too.

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      June 2, 2019 at 8:59 am

      I’ll be on the hunt today!

      Reply
  4. Debby says

    June 2, 2019 at 9:48 am

    I made the mistake of buying a fancy coffee maker and realized it didn’t have a timer to turn it on before I get to the kitchen, deal breaker! I use a Keurig with guilt each morning and as soon as it breaks, no more! You know this one will last for years!

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      June 2, 2019 at 3:50 pm

      Probably so LOL!

      Reply
  5. Angel says

    June 2, 2019 at 3:36 pm

    French press or pour over are great. I also did some cold brew in a mason jar (the key is right ratio of coffee to water–4 ounces coarse grind + water to fill a quart jar. Let sit in the fridge for 12 hours (minimum). We just had ours at 36 hours or so this morning after a run. I also love my stop top espresso pot, and as Jenny said, the lack of filter or moving parts makes it great (but you get the same advantages with French press or this type of pour over https://www.amazon.com/KCH-06066-Incred-Brew-Direct-Immersion-Brewing/dp/B00935GWRS/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=pour+over+zevro&qid=1559507541&s=gateway&sr=8-4 ). We have both a Zevro and a Bonavita (which does use filters). We have way too many coffee and tea preparation things (we use these every day–the Chemex, Turkish pot, the espresso, French press, the percolator–those are used less regularly. I also have one of those insulated things that dispenses boiling water whenever I want it (so no dealing with a kettle in the morning).

    That’s more than you bargained for, I’m sure, but we take coffee and tea pretty darn seriously over here.

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      June 2, 2019 at 3:52 pm

      I’m too impatient in the morning for a French Press on an everyday basis. I may get another percolator. It was my favorite I think. Thanks for all the info!

      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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