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Summer Essentials (according to me)

June 21, 2018 By Talya Tate Boerner

Summer Essentials according to me

I woke early, drank my coffee on the porch, and watched the sun begin to glide over the trees. I ate a handful of blueberries and wrote nonsense in my journal. Nonsense with a common theme—summer essentials. Things essential to my summer, either by necessity or joy.

Today is the first day of summer, y’all. So it’s the perfect time to discuss.

Whatyouwannabet many of our summer necessities overlap?

At the top of my list, I wrote a few days at the Lake. Arkansas is blessed with stunning lakes. I claim Lake Norfork, and it claims me. I’ve been coming here since I was a baby.

Something I realized while sitting on the porch and drinking my coffee and writing nonsense…When I’m able to enjoy a few days of lake time, all my other summer essentials magically fall into place.Continue Reading

Sunday Letter: 06.17.18

June 17, 2018 By Talya Tate Boerner

Sunday Letter

Dear Sunday Letter friends,

Summer begins this week! Spring? I hardly knew you. Spring flew by fast as lightning. Don’t you agree? I’m a summer girl, born in July. I love the goodness summertime brings.

Continue Reading

welcome to JURASSIC GARDEN

June 13, 2018 By Talya Tate Boerner

welcome to Jurassic gardener

You know what happens when a spring rain comes nearly every afternoon? Jurassic Garden. That’s what. Plants grow before your eyes, doubling and tripling in size. It seems like a fantastic thing. But come August, things could look primeval.

I’ve already cut back some of my flowers to give them a chance later in the summer.

Papa Creecy, who was a farmer, always said too much rain is better than watching dry crops burn in the field. That was before irrigation wells and pivots. If he were alive today, he might have a different opinion. I don’t know.

I would ask a farmer but I imagine they are too busy, too irritated, too busy, too tired, too busy to weigh in. Continue Reading

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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: 03.29.26
  • Sunday Letter: February 22, 2026
  • Our Garden Mission Statement
  • Goodbye, 2025. Hello, 2026.
  • Sunday Letter: 11.23.25

Novels:

Coloring Books:

Fiction-Themed Coloring Books

Backyard Phenology:

Children’s Nature Book:

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