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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

Our House at Halloween

October 26, 2017 By Talya Tate Boerner

I realized something this week. Decorating for Halloween is rather easy when I typically surround myself with antique, tattered, old things. Our house at Halloween is, well, not a far stretch from normal.

I’m not sure what that says about John and me.

Yes, we’re having a party on Saturday. I thought I’d give you a sneak peek inside our house at Halloween. I like to mix specific decorations I’ve picked up through the years with my usual decor. This plays right along into the spooky theme when “usual decor” includes vintage curiosities and antique furniture.

Entryway:

Halloween entry

I already had Nancy Drew books under this glass cloche in the entryway. I substituted a few to add Poe and Faulkner to the mix. A vintage postcard and a raven perched on a rusty bedspring adds to the overall moody vignette.Continue Reading

the Halloween Garden

October 10, 2017 By Talya Tate Boerner

The Halloween Garden

Halloween is one of my favorite times of year. I love the nostalgia of it and dressing in a costume. Halloween provides the perfect excuse to eat a handful of sugary candy I don’t otherwise eat. My silver service on the sideboard looks appropriately dark and moody in its currently tarnished state. Even the yard gets in on the spirit of the season, which brings me to the Halloween garden. Maybe it’s simply my perspective come October, but flowers and plants take on a heavy, sleepy, Halloween-ish air to me. And it all happens naturally. Without the gardener doing anything.

Other than noticing.

I snapped a few pictures to show you the raw beauty of the Halloween garden.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: 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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THANKS FOR READING!

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