spring - grace grits and gardening

Going on a Snake Hunt.

June 15, 2014 By Talya Tate Boerner

While home on the farm one of my favorite things to do is to walk around the rice field. My sister and I spent many a summer day at the back of our field messing with tadpoles in the ditch. Tadpoles were fun.

Saturday my goal was to find a snake. Now, just to be crystal clear, I am not a parcel mouth. I am no fan of the snake.

Not.At.All.

But, several of my Northeast Arkansas Facebook friends have recently posted snake photos. Lots of snake photos. Clearly, this is the year of the snake. As a writer, I try to be observant—listening, smelling, tasting, feeling so that my writing is believable. If I were truly observant, I would see a snake on my walk, right?

So off I went on my first snake hunt.

Right off I found “farm glass”, which I like to compare to beach glass.

The killdeer were downright noisy. “Kill-deer, kill-deer, kill-deer!” they chanted.

“Shhhh! You’ll scare the snakes,” I said. Their track patterns were as wild as the jabbering overhead.

Vibrant wildflowers filled the edge of a shallow ditch.

But no snake.

I stopped in the far corner at my favorite spot and waited. Watched. Listened. Could the sky be any more clear?

Then finally, there he was. Sunning. At least three feet long. My snake.

I leaned in close and snapped a picture. He slithered down the ditch bank. A successful farm walk. And yes, I had the heebie-jeebies until I made it safely back to the house.

Grace Grits and Gardening

Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

“Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.”

― Ralph Waldo Emerson

Musical Pairing:

Heebie Jeebies, Ladies in Tune

Simple Spring Decor

April 22, 2014 By Talya Tate Boerner

Raise your hand if you thought spring would never arrive! I know, me too. In Dallas I’ve learned to really appreciate spring because summer brings challenges I’d rather not think about like trying to keep plants alive in blistering days of drought. But right now I’m celebrating cool nights and perfect days, days of front porches, a good book and a glass of white wine.

Okay I’m rambling, but I do have a point, and that point is how simple spring decorating can be. With only a few dollars (or zero dollars) you can transform your home from dull and uninspired to fresh and inviting using items around your house and plants growing in your garden.

Take a look at the centerpiece (below) I arranged for my dining room table. For five dollars, I purchased a bouquet of white gerber daisies at Trader Joe’s and created this natural look using Fostoria goblets (handed down from John’s Godmother) centered inside an antique picture frame layered over a plaid runner that covers my table almost year-round.

The next arrangement is so basic I almost didn’t include it—a crystal vase filled with budding branches. Take advantage of the many trees and shrubs in full bloom now. Forsythia, Redbud, Dogwood, Spirea, Azalea… Snip a few buds or branches from your own yard, alley or roadside. Or maybe your neighbor will share? Ask first of course.

The vintage glass basket (candy dish?) which belonged to my mother-in-law makes a sweet and aromatic arrangement of herbs and flowers from the garden. Only a few snips and it is filled. Keep it nearby in the kitchen, and you won’t forget to use your herbs when cooking supper.