Travel - grace grits and gardening

Top six favorites: Moss Mountain Farm

June 21, 2014 By Talya Tate Boerner

I was fortunate enough to snag an invite to Moss Mountain Farm last week. P. Allen Smith and Arkansas Grown hosted Farm2Home14 at his extraordinary farm on the banks of the Arkansas River. Nothing I can write will possibly do justice to my Moss Mountain Farm experience. No way.

I have managed to narrow down my top six favorite things about the day in no particular order because that’s expecting too much.

1. Poultry. P. Allen Smith raises heritage breeds and has made it his mission to create interest in poultry farming among Arkansas children. His Poultry Palace is the Ritz-Carlton of chicken coops. Impressive!

Poultry Palace

2. Porches. When you are blessed with a sweeping view of the Arkansas River, you must create a spectacular porch, right? The entire back of P. Allen Smith’s home is devoted to porches, a downstairs dining and sitting porch and an upstairs sleeping porch complete with copper bathtub.

Downstairs Dining Porch

Most Perfect Sleeping Porch Ever

3. Farmers. Meeting and talking with local Arkansas farmers was a highlight for me. These farmers are passionate, committed, hard-working and dedicated to educating the people of Arkansas about the benefits of growing and eating local.

Scott Heritage Farms – fashionable farmer:)

Take a look at the beautiful baked goods from Ethan’s Heirloom Gardens. Ethan’s Heirloom Gardens is a natural/sustainable grower of both heirloom plants and produce. Even their recipes are heirloom, many dating back to the 1800s. If you live in Central Arkansas, be sure to check them out.

4. Gardens. The flower gardens were as gorgeous as any botanical garden I’ve visited.

Gigantic Lilies…

And the vegetable garden? I could only dream of growing such a bounty. The air smelled fresh and green. It was all I could do not to drop to my knees and begin working in the dirt. Or cry. I almost cried several times. It was one of those experiences. I picked warm berries fresh from the vine.

Vegetable Garden at Moss Mountain Farm

5. Food. The food provided was enough for an entire weekend. Maybe a week! It goes without saying that everything was fresh and local and make-your-eyes-roll-back delicious. Lunch included US Foods 2013 Next Top Product Winner—the black bean burger created by Chef Jerrmy of Greenhouse Grille in Fayetteville. Love.That.Restaurant. Don’t you? (Chef Jerrmy and his family sat at my table for lunch. I tried to finagle the Greenhouse Grille quinoa recipe from him… I’m still hopeful.)

Black Bean Burger created by Chef Jerrmy, Greenhouse Grille

Award winning Black Bean Burger on Greek Yogurt Bun with Citrus Slaw, Pepper Jack and Avocado Aioli.

Following a huge lunch which included the incredible dessert you see below, local farmers brought tasty samples of their goodies (salsa, bread, wine, beer, ice cream, fruit, veggies, cookies, fried pies, everything). And if that wasn’t enough grazing, the day ended with appetizers, cocktails, and live music beneath a 300-year-old Post Oak. Heaven in Arkansas, people.

6. Friends. I loved hanging out with all my Arkansas Women Blogger friends and new friends from Moss Mountain Farm and Arkansas Grown. Such fun! How did I get so lucky?

Grace Grits and Gardening

Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

Musical Pairing:

Song of Arkansas Official Music Video

my twist on Twist Arkansas

June 19, 2014 By Talya Tate Boerner

While visiting the Southern Tenant Museum in Tyronza, I heard about a restored dog-trot house in Twist, Arkansas. I added the dog-trot house to my list of things to see. But first of all, I had to find Twist. I’d never had reason to visit.

There were more grain bins than people in Twist. And most of the barns and buildings had been swallowed in vines. But around every bend in the Delta, there is deep southern history. Twist was no different. B. B. King played in a Twist nightclub in the 1950’s. During one of his performances, two guys began fighting over a woman named Lucille, knocked over a kerosene heater and burned down the building. King’s guitar narrowly escaped. After that, he named all his guitars “Lucille”.

photo courtesy of www.weeklygrist.wordpress.com

Very cool.

But I was on a mission to find the dog-trot house. It was easy to spot in the middle of nowhere. Fully restored, the house is a historical monument to another time when cooking and dining occurred on one side of the structure, sleeping on the other. The center “dog-trot” breezeway provided a cooler place to sit when life did not include air-conditioning.

As I snapped pictures, I became intrigued by a lone tree standing in the field beyond the dog-trot passageway. Perfectly framed, it turned out to be an old family cemetery.

Richards Cemetery, Crittenden County, Arkansas

More exploring for me.

A few feet away, a fallen monument, partially hidden in the weeds. I wondered about the people who worked this land and were laid to rest on this property.

William Richards, Crittenden County, Ar, Richards Cemetery

William Richards. Born January 186x, Died 1900

Spending time in this small, nearly forgotten cemetery seemed right. It was Father’s Day. I was feeling reflective. Homesick for Dallas yet sad to be leaving the Delta again. This little adventure provided another reminder of my fleeting time and the importance of those who came before me.

Grace Grits and Gardening

Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

“Funny when you’re dead how people start listenin’…” – The Band Perry

Musical Pairings:

If I Die Young, The Band Perry

Lucille, B. B. King

Luci and Ian Family Garden

May 22, 2014 By Talya Tate Boerner

(I was provided free admission to the Luci and Ian Family Garden. No other compensation was received. All opinions are my own, but you knew that, right?.)

A few weeks ago I was invited to the grand opening of the Luci and Ian Family Garden, the only Central Texas native plant garden devoted to families and children. Located within the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Southwest Austin, the garden is interactive and educational, one of those places where kids soak up new things while playing.

Yep, they won’t realize they are learning about water conservation and patterns in nature.

I considered snagging a couple of neighbor kids for the trip to Austin, but took my husband instead. And really, we are both like big kids when it comes to exploring a garden. Having grown up in the 1970s, we were those kids who played outside all summer, rain or shine, mosquitoes or not. With only three television channels and no video games, we read books (printed on paper) and used our imaginations to escape into a virtual world.

I know. I sound old. But the Luci and Ian Family Garden provides nature play for today’s children who likely don’t spend as much time exploring and creating. And that’s a much needed thing.

Check out these ginormous bird nests.

Giant Bird Nests - Luci and Ian Family Garden, Austin

Wow!

Climb this impressive tower for a bird’s-eye view of the entire garden. (No worries—there’s a spiral staircase not visible in this picture.)

Rapunzel?

Binoculars are provided to make sure you don’t miss a leaf or critter.

One of the most popular places in the Family Garden is the grotto. Play a game of hide and seek behind the waterfall. Feel free to splash and cool off too, it’s allowed and expected.

Young guests have their own Little House—a special place for reading, crafting, and digging in the dirt. Other hands-on garden activities include a maze, dinosaur creek, hopscotch, wildlife blind, stumps and sticks for building and playing.

There’s an expansive lawn for kite flying. Remember lying on the grass naming the shape of clouds? You can do that in the garden too.

Be sure to put the Luci and Ian Family Garden on your summer list of places to visit. Not only will your children enjoy the activities and sites, you’ll remember what it was like to be a kid again.