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99 Problems and Blake Shelton ain’t one of them.

November 13, 2015 By Talya Tate Boerner

99 Problems and Blake Shelton ain't one of them

Y’all. Right off the top of my head I can list 99 problems and Blake Shelton ain’t one of them. Real world problems. Things worthy of stewing over. Problems in my own backyard that need attention.

Confession: I got a little caught up in the whole Blake minus Miranda plus Gwen thing. Yes, I’m a fan of country music, and I mourned over Blake and Miranda’s breakup. I even blogged about it. But Wednesday night when my Twitter feed blew up and I read a bunch of hateful and utterly ridiculous stuff, I had to call a time out. After three days in a row of The Voice, (so much talent-Yay Barrett Baber!), I realized lots of people had plunged off the edge of reality. I was headed there myself.

I even found myself accusing Gwen of wearing her hair like Tammy Wynette to look a little more country than rock ‘n roll. Geez Louise. Just stop.Continue Reading

Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert Divorce. I’m in mourning.

July 22, 2015 By Talya Tate Boerner

I’m in mourning over the Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert divorce. More upset than I probably should be for a couple I didn’t know. Based on the social media explosion, I’m not the only one.

Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert

photo attribution: (Flickr) Larry Darling under Creative Commons 2.0 license (no changes to photo)

 

Once again, we are reminded that no matter how perfect life appears, things aren’t always as they seem.

Perfection belongs to fairy tales and movie endings and romance novels. Real life is just that—real. The stuff of country songs.

Here’s the thing. We needed to believe in the love affair of Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert. Even though they are both gorgeous and charming and make more money in a month than most earn in a lifetime, they seemed normal. And real. Like best friends from high school or the boyfriend that got away.Continue Reading

Birds and Blake Shelton and Home

April 21, 2015 By Talya Tate Boerner

I’m a little obsessed with birds and Blake Shelton. On Sunday, I spent the day at home, trying to write, but mostly I watched the birds eating from the feeders outside our kitchen window. How many photos of birds can one take? Tons. Unfortunately, none of them are very good. I don’t have a fancy camera (only my iPhone), and if I get too close, they fly away. Even so, you can see the bright red cardinal. He’s a regular, and he’s gorgeous. I call him Blake. There’s a female too (not pictured). I call her…

wait for it……………Miranda.

cardinal in the backyard

I also spent lots of time watching a robin build a nest in the bend of the gutter downspout. (I call her Robin.) I wanted to say oh honey, that spot doesn’t look very safe. But what could I do? We don’t know each other very well yet. She flew back and forth from the boulder in our yard picking out bits of moss growing on it and carrying it to her nest. As she dropped each bit inside her new home, she wiggled her little tail feathers around to get everything just right, then returned for more. I’d never known a bird to use moss in nest-building. She knows what she wants, and that’s a soft cushion for her egg-laying business.

robin in nest

Later, while attempting to clean the front porch of pollen (pointless), I noticed a second bird nest made of twigs. Although I didn’t see the owner of this particular home, I believed it to be new construction.

Location, location, location! Prime spot in my opinion.

nest above our front porch column

Just before sunset, a storm blew in. Swift and strong. The sky turned eerily sepia-colored, the way I imagine the Martian sky to look. The wind blew like that of West Texas. It was a short-lived event, and I managed to watch the CMAs Blake Shelton (the real Blake Shelton) without interruption. I’m not much of an awards show sort of girl, but I couldn’t miss the CMAs with Blake Shelton hosting. I heart him from afar. Okay, not that far…he and Miranda (I-hate-to-admit-it-but-I-have-a-girl-crush) live in Oklahoma, you know.

The next morning, the sky reappeared blue and bright, clear and clean. The noisy, hungry birds returned to the feeders, but the robin didn’t fare so well. Her nest lay on the ground, mushed and flattened by the wind and rain.

Seeing that nest on the ground started my day on a sad note. One little bird. All that hard work. I was glad I spent part of my Sunday with her.

Now, I’m not trying to get all preachy here, but the two nests reminded me of the Wise Man / Foolish Man Bible Story. You know, the wise man built his house upon the rock and the foolish man built his on the sand… (The porch nest survived the storm.) I was also reminded of Winnie the Pooh. And the rain, rain, rain, came down, down, down… I don’t think the hardworking robin was foolish. I think she was doing the best she could. Since the storm, I haven’t seen her again. I hope she’s busy rebuilding her home in a better spot. Live and learn. That’s what we do.

Grace Grits and Gardening

Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

[tweetthis]Blake Shelton, Birds and Home. My 3 current obsessions. @BlakeShelton #notastalkerthough [/tweetthis]

Musical Pairing:

Blake Shelton & Miranda Lambert – Home

 

 


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: May 25, 2025
  • Sunday Letter: May 4, 2025
  • Sunday Letter: Rainy Day Edition
  • Spiderwort: my love-hate relationship
  • Sunday Letter: March 23, 2025

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