grace grits and gardening

ramblings from an arkansas farm girl

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

December, carry me home.

December 1, 2014 By Talya Tate Boerner

Yesterday was November. The warm, humid weather and gusty winds announced sure signs of change. I thought about dragging my Christmas decorations from the garage but didn’t. I’ve spent so much time packing and unpacking boxes, the whole idea of digging through more stuff is about as appealing as the leftover brussel sprouts morphing into a science experiment in the back of my fridge.

I have a hard time finding the Christmas spirit on a balmy November day.

So, I found other things to do. Like removing fall from the house. That counts.

I tossed well-seasoned pumpkins into the garbage. I removed my orange toile table runner and replaced it with one more reflective of the holidays. I did manage one smidgen of decorating only because I stumbled upon a length of garland while putting away my tissue paper turkey.

See?

my only Christmas decoration so far. Goodbye November...

And I relocated my silver pear candle (which is on display somewhere in my house year-round) front and center atop a stack of old books. Somehow it now looks more Christmas-y.

holiday pear

That’s it.

So far that’s all I’ve managed.

I like the simplicity.

Today is December. I woke to a glittery coating of ice on rooftops. Spitting snow greeted my morning walk with the dogs. Today feels like a Christmas decorating day, good and right and full of possibilities. Carry me home, December.

Grace Grits and Gardening

Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

[tweetthis]Today feels like a #Christmas #decorating day. [/tweetthis]

Musical Pairing:

December – Norah Jones

“How did it get so late so soon?”
― Dr. Seuss

Playing the Air Trumpet instead of Writing

November 29, 2014 By Talya Tate Boerner

 

trumpet

morgueFile

 

Last night I dreamed I was back in high school with my best friends—Becky and Anita and Norma and Judy—and we sat crammed together on a bus traveling somewhere to march with the band in a Christmas parade. The bus was cold. We wore matching red and gray uniforms, our school colors, and tall white plumes extended from the tops of our headpieces. The bus noise level made talking difficult so mostly we just laughed. Laughing was easy and normal and what we did best. But the whole time I thought you don’t play an instrument. Why are you pretending to be in the band?

Thankfully I awoke before faking my way down a parade route playing the air trumpet.

Whew.

Tired from that dream.

But now I’m analyzing each piece of the dream because it’s a game I play and something I find interesting.

The first part is easy.

At the Razorback basketball game last night, I kept one eye on the band. They jazzed up Bud Walton Arena and looked to be having a blast.

Inserting myself into the high school “dream” band is more complicated since my only musical training has faded to Chopsticks on the piano. I believe this dream was a pathetic reflection on how I feel right now about myself. As a writer. Attempting to be part of a group that I’m not confident I belong in.

I know this sounds woe-is-me. And I realize this feeling is only temporary and probably attributed to a particular chapter in my manuscript that I’ve been struggling to edit combined with too much Thanksgiving food.

Doesn’t everyone feels this way from time to time?

Say yes.

 

Grace Grits and Gardening

Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

[tweetthis]Yes. Everyone has “woe is me” days. [/tweetthis]

 

Musical Pairing:

Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock playing Chopsticks

 

Farm Art Friday: duck pit

November 28, 2014 By Talya Tate Boerner

Farm Art Friday: Duck Pit

Hidden beneath flat rice fields, duck pits are difficult to spot from the road. I climbed down into this one buried on our farm in Mississippi County. From inside, the view is quite different, the small space like a secret.

Happy Friday and good luck to all those participating in the world championship duck calling contest today in Stuttgart!

And to you Black Friday shoppers…have mercy. I’ll be watching football and maybe hanging Christmas lights.

Grace Grits and Gardening

Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

Musical Pairing:

World Championship Duck Calling Contest 2013

« Previous Page
Next Page »


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~ 05.17.26
  • Sunday Letter: 03.29.26
  • Sunday Letter: February 22, 2026
  • Our Garden Mission Statement
  • Goodbye, 2025. Hello, 2026.

Novels:

Coloring Books:

Fiction-Themed Coloring Books

Backyard Phenology:

Children’s Nature Book:

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 © 2026 · Web Hosting By StrataByte