grace grits and gardening

ramblings from an arkansas farm girl

  • Home
  • Bio
  • Backyard Phenology
  • Publishing
  • SHOP!
  • Garden
  • Reading & Books
  • Sunday Letter

Do you feel what I feel?

December 24, 2013 By Talya Tate Boerner

★
On
a
cold
winter’s 
night,I feel
the weary world
rejoicing.❅ O
night divine!
Christmas is here
bringing good cheer.
❅Sweet silver bells
ring high above
glistening treetops
and city sidewalks.
❅ The thrill of hope wrapped
in silver and gold. ❅ Born
on that silent night so
no more may die.✞  Merry
merry, merry, merry 
Christmas. ❅ Do you hear what
I hear? Do you see what I see?
Joy.



Merry Christmas!

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




This poem is in the style of cento—work composed from lines or passages from other sources arranged in a new form or order, in this case Christmas carols. This is also an example of a concrete poem – the visual appearance matches the topic, in this case a Christmas tree…

To read another cento I wrote using lyrics from Pink Floyd, Elvis, Sinatra, Creedence Clearwater and others, click HERE. 

And HERE’s a concrete poem I wrote about Lake Norfork in the shape of a bikini:)

T.


Promise of Peace Community Garden: Parent’s Night Out

December 23, 2013 By Talya Tate Boerner

Promise of Peace Community Garden
Promise of Peace Community Garden, December 2013

I had a fun-filled Saturday night hanging out with a group of cool kids (and adult volunteers!) at Promise of Peace Community Garden. Grace Grits and Gardening & Great Days Farms partnered with Promise of Peace to sponsor its first Parent’s Night Out event at the Imagine Garden located at 1435 San Saba in East Dallas.

Elizabeth Dry, the tireless program coordinator, packed an impressive amount of fun and education into three hours. Before sunset, an excursion into the garden provided time to romp and run. The children sampled broccoli straight from the plant and begged for more…

How often does that happen?

Promise of Peace Community Garden
The kiddos made several garden-themed craft projects including sombreros from newspapers and birdseed feeders from bread and egg. My kind of fun!

Promise of Peace Community Garden

This hands-on evening was filled with purple glitter, snow glue and hot cocoa—what’s not to love?

Promise of Peace Community Garden

The kids learned about garden-to-table principles while enjoying a warming pot of soup for dinner made with kale from the garden. Yum!

Promise of Peace Community Garden

The night wrapped up with story about the importance of doing small acts of kindness for others.

Promise of Peace will hold this Parent’s Night Out event on the second Saturday of each month. To sign up or obtain additional information about Promise of Peace program(s), click HERE. And be sure to “like” the garden on Facebook and follow on Twitter @PromiseofPeace.

kale and white bean soup -Promise of Peace Community Garden

 

Promise of Peace
MISSION STATEMENT

Promise of Peace is a non profit seeking simple solutions for stagnate circumstances in our urban communities. Our presence helps to increase healthy life styles, school success, as well as positive engagement while transforming perspectives.
By providing access to horticultural and environmental education, our participants gain sense of place and respect for their community. Our new initiative, “Plant IT Forward,” a gardens path- will create gardens across Dallas, and beyond!
talya
Grace Grits and Gardening + Great Day Farms
Farm. Food. Garden. Life.
“Everything is mended by the soil.” 
― Andrew Crofts

cold rain at Christmas

December 21, 2013 By Talya Tate Boerner

simple christmas tree

Cold rain

falls in sheets

coating

city sidewalks.

Everyone

sleeps late—

kids, husband.

Even the dogs

nestle

beside me.

Four days

til Christmas.

talya

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

“Go to sleep till the summer comes again.” 
― Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass

« Previous Page
Next Page »


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: 03.29.26
  • Sunday Letter: February 22, 2026
  • Our Garden Mission Statement
  • Goodbye, 2025. Hello, 2026.
  • Sunday Letter: 11.23.25

Novels:

Coloring Books:

Fiction-Themed Coloring Books

Backyard Phenology:

Children’s Nature Book:

Never miss a blog post! Subscribe via email:

Looking for something?

Categories

All the Things!

A to Z April Blog Challenge Autumn BAT Book Reviews childhood Christmas creative writing prompt Dallas Desserts Fall Fayetteville Food Gracie Lee Halloween Hemingway-Pfeiffer holiday recipes home humor Johnson Family Keiser Lake Norfork Lucy and Annabelle Mississippi County Mississippi Delta Monarch butterflies Munger Place Nana nature Northeast Arkansas Northwest Arkansas Osceola poem Reading Schnauzer simple living simple things spring spring gardening Summer Talya Tate Boerner novel Thanksgiving The Accidental Salvation of Gracie Lee Thomas Tate Winter Wordless Wednesday

Food. Farm. Garden. Life.

THANKS FOR READING!

All content and photos Copyright Grace, Grits and Gardening © 2026 · Web Hosting By StrataByte