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Sunday Letter: 05.17.2020

May 17, 2020 By Talya Tate Boerner

Sunday Letter

Hello Sunday Letter friends,

I have figured something out about coronavirus. Not only does a world with coronavirus make time pass at lightning speed—I mean, it’s already the middle of MAY—but it also makes my arms flabby.

Has anyone else experienced this?

Truly, I’m not making light of COVID-19; this is me trying to make it down the road. The gravel washed-out, pot-holed road.

This past week was another rollercoaster for me. There were several days when I felt as though I might come out of my skin. And then other times, all was well and I was content to sit and write for hours. Continue Reading

Dear May,

May 1, 2020 By Talya Tate Boerner

Dear May

Dear May,

I breathe in your pea green freshness. I crawl on my hands and knees looking for every tiny change in each plant pushing through the soil.

May is for feeling alive. (This May, in particular, we need you.)

I think of May Day and may poles and while I don’t know the history behind it all, I like the idea. Girls dressed in floaty, flouncy dresses wrapping Easter-colored ribbons around and around and under and over. Hair woven with flowers—clover and daisies and baby’s breath.

May Pole

Everything is good and light on this May Day morning. The sky is new, silvery blue and full of easy.

May feeds me.
Fuels me.
Fills with now with words to use later.

Happy May, friends!

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

Musical Pairing:
The Beatles – I Want to Hold Your Hand

Things I’ve Learned During this Time of Coronavirus

April 19, 2020 By Talya Tate Boerner

As I started to write my next Sunday Letter, I realized the Sunday Letter well had run bone dry. Instead, I decided to write about the things I’ve learned during this time of coronavirus.

First, a reminder…

We’ve not been able to eat in a restaurant for thirty-seven days now! I believe now is as good a time as any to say this—we need to be kinder to ourselves. We need to cut ourselves some slack. If you’re like me, you feel pressure to stick to a schedule, to clean drawers and grow peppers and write a sonnet a day (okay, not really about the sonnet). One of the things I’ve learned during this time of coronavirus is it’s okay if we don’t do all the things.

Sleep late. Take a nap. Wear the stretchy pants all day. Eat the dessert. Do nothing at all.

This is an unprecedented time.

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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