Nature & Seasons - grace grits and gardening

Blue and the Bluebonnets

March 12, 2016 By Talya Tate Boerner

Meet Blue. Blue belongs to my daughter, Kelsey, and she belongs to him, and they live in Austin where the bluebonnets are in full bloom. It’s a great relationship except for the fact that she broke her ankle and he’s a puppy with tons of energy and they live in an upstairs apartment and she’s in law school and I’m sure you can understand why I might be in Austin for a few days. While there’s never a good time to have a broken ankle, it worked out well for me considering the bluebonnets.

So Blue and I go for walks in the bluebonnets.

U.S. News and World Report named Austin, Texas the #2 place to live just ahead of #3 Fayetteville, Arkansas (where I live). I’m pretty sure the bluebonnets pushed Austin ahead of Northwest Arkansas. Bluebonnets and Tex-Mex food, no doubt. And, of course, all of South Congress.Continue Reading

Dear March,

March 1, 2016 By Talya Tate Boerner

Dear March,

If I individually track the next thirty-one days, each is likely to feel different. Drizzle. Thunderstorms. Warm sunshine. Days of dreary cold and maybe even snow, weather to remind us we aren’t out of the winter woods yet. And your howling wind! Are you announcing yourself?

Or maybe the biting wind should be blamed on Ole Man Winter who won’t go without a fight.

Charles Dickens perfectly described you, March, as summer in the light, and winter in the shade.

So true.

Dear March, I know you mark the beginning of spring. I begin to dream of flower beds and lake days and fresh vegetables from farmer’s market, even though I never got a single bowl of snow cream.

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

[tweetthis]Dear March, you are summer in the light and winter in the shade #CharlesDickens #welcomespring[/tweetthis]

Musical Pairing:
Fiona Apple, Everyday

I started writing monthly letters to each month last July. Did you miss any of them? Here they are…

Dear JULY

Dear AUGUST

Dear SEPTEMBER

Dear OCTOBER

Dear NOVEMBER

Dear DECEMBER

Dear JANUARY

Annabelle saw her reflection…

February 3, 2016 By Talya Tate Boerner

I hate to tell you this. Yesterday, Annabelle Boerner saw her reflection in the window of the neighborhood skating rink and this morning it feels like winter again. So much for Punxsutawney Phil and his prediction of an early spring.

Here in Northwest Arkansas, the last few springlike days have made me itch to work in the yard. I picked up a few limbs Sunday afternoon and dragged all my plants into the sun for a good soaking (the ones I’m overwintering in the garage). I worked on my compost a bit, too.

Only 46 days until Spring!

What’s the weather like in your neck of the woods?

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

[tweetthis]Annabelle saw her reflection on Groundhog’s Day![/tweetthis]

Musical Pairing:
David Benoit, Waiting for Spring