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I met the most gorgeous Bald Cypress…

November 30, 2021 By Talya Tate Boerner

bald cypress

Well, Hello There!

I met the most gorgeous bald cypress while at Rockvale Writers’ Colony in Tennessee. The tree was impossible to ignore, so brilliantly clothed for autumn. And her place on the property—just outside the cabin where I stayed the weekend—invited my attention each time I walked to the main house for meals and writing sessions, each time I sat at my desk in the loft and stared out the window trying to dream up something to write.

Really, I believe the tree would draw anyone’s attention from anywhere nearby.

She was the only one of her kind I noticed during my drive through middle Tennessee.Continue Reading

Sunday Letter: 11.28.21

November 28, 2021 By Talya Tate Boerner

Good morning, Sunday Letter friends—

I hope everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving (or at least survived it).

Today is the first Sunday of Advent. I love this time of year as we begin to anticipate the Christmas season and the birth of Jesus. The word Advent is derived from the Latin word “Adventus” which means coming in Latin.

My house is still decorated for Thanksgiving but over the next few days, I will put away the turkey decor and bring on the holly-jolly.

But first…

Continue Reading

Sunday Letter: 11.21.21 ~ Gobble Gobble!

November 21, 2021 By Talya Tate Boerner

Sunday Letter

Dear Sunday Letter friends,

This morning my heart is full of gratefulness, and I want to share it with you.

I just returned from a weekend nature-writing retreat at Rockvale Writers’ Colony in middle Tennessee. What a fabulous three days! I’ll probably write more about my experiences there, but for now I’ll just say I came home with a big dose of Vitamin N (Vitamin Nature). The owner of the colony referred to the experience as soul-keeping, and that’s exactly what it was, taking a little time to tend to myself, to immerse myself in nature, to just be.

You know, we go to the doctor to get our bodies tuned up. We try to eat right and get a little physical exercise, but how often do we do those things that really soothe our minds and souls?

Well, I intend to do a better job of it.

Now, as we approach Thanksgiving, I am ever-so-thankful for the way fall came on slowly this year, so slowly I worried we wouldn’t see fall color at all. And, as the leaves began to turn, they kept turning and turning until the landscape around our house truly became glorious. The color may even hang on until Thanksgiving.

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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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