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the story of my Rescue Tree

November 14, 2018 By Talya Tate Boerner

my rescue tree

This is the story of my rescue tree.

Four Years Ago

When we first moved to our home in Fayetteville, we had the trees professionally trimmed. We also hired a crew to build a fence around the back yard. Both the tree and the fence folks wanted to take out a particular tree—a sapling really—that grew along the proposed fence line beneath the canopy of taller, more mature trees.

That little tree wasn’t hurting anyone. She was barely taking up any space. She was a youngster, a bit spindly and slightly misshapen, but I knew she was a volunteer sugar maple planted by a red robin or a spring wind or one of the many squirrels constantly digging for his supper.

I insisted.

So the tree stayed.Continue Reading

Sunday Letter: 10.28.18

October 28, 2018 By Talya Tate Boerner

Dear Sunday Letter friends,

I’m baaaack. Sorry I missed writing my letter last week. It was a crazy week (part of which is detailed below). This week brings the Great Pumpkin and Halloween and Milk Duds that I’ve already begun sneaking from the trick-or-treat stash. You know what all this means?

?

Santa Claus will come to town in fifty-eight days…

Yikes, y’all. Somewhere in the sock drawer of my mind it still seems like mid-summer to me.Continue Reading

my Fall Essentials

October 10, 2018 By Talya Tate Boerner

my Fall Essentials

This is the time of year I wish I could lasso the sun and slowwww time. These precious few autumn days speed by much too quickly, don’t they? Technically each season comes with the same amount of days—about ninety—but fall always gets squeezed on the front-end by a summer who overstays her welcome and on the back-end by the first hard freeze that finishes off the leaves and whatever blooms still hang on the vine.

Before winter comes, let’s talk about fall essentials. Those fall things that make us cozy inside. We probably have a few different things on our lists, but I bet lots of our fall essentials overlap.

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 (2025)

Recent Ramblings:

  • Sunday Letter: September 6, 2026
  • Why a Rainy Day Is the Best Time to Visit a Botanical Garden
  • Happy Birthday, Theo Gruene!
  • Sunday Letter~ 05.17.26
  • Sunday Letter: 03.29.26

Novels:

Coloring Books:

Fiction-Themed Coloring Books

Backyard Phenology:

Children’s Nature Book:

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THANKS FOR READING!

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