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Summertime, and the livin’ is joyful.

June 21, 2017 By Talya Tate Boerner

Summertime!

With the turn of the calendar page, summertime is here! And I’m dropping in with the happiest of greetings.

“Today’s the morning you’re gonna rise up singing. Spread your wings and take to the sky.” Yes, I’m taking liberty with the lyrics of George Gershwin’s jazz standard composed in 1934 for Porgy and Bess. It’s the perfect song to kick off the official start of summer. Don’t you agree?

Tell me, what are some of the things you LOVE about summertime? Traditions, foods, memories you hold tight. Simple things that fill you with the ease of summertime living.

As for me, I plan to do a series of posts highlighting my summer favorites. (I’m sure they will be sporadic because I’m trying to keep my head down and finish a solid draft of Book Two. But hang with me and they will come, I promise.)

Cheers to the first official full day of summer. Do something that makes you joyful!

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

Musical Pairing:
Summertime, Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong

Pictured: chasing after summer

September 10, 2015 By Talya Tate Boerner

P I C T U R E D: chasing after summer 

Chasing after summerWith only twelve days left until the official start of fall, I find myself chasing after summer. Hanging on. Thinking back. Wondering if I did everything I planned. (Of course I didn’t.)

As much as I look forward to cooler weather and pumpkins on my front porch, I feel a bit sad about saying goodbye to the ease that comes with slow, warm days. Maybe it’s because each summer zips by faster than the one before. Or because I’ve been missing my kids and feeling like, these days, families are simply too spread out.Continue Reading

Pictured: Sunny Side of the Street

August 13, 2015 By Talya Tate Boerner

P I C T U R E D:  Sunny Side of the Street

I’m most certainly an amateur when it comes to photography, but I love taking pictures and snap lots of photos everyday. Although these pictures were taken at different times in different parts of Arkansas, the bright sunshine ties them together. From woods to battlefield to our front porch, the sunshine adds a glow to each, softening the composition of even a sad, collapsed church building.

Don’t forget to listen to the musical pairing at the end. It’s one of my favorites.

Can’t you hear the pitter-pat
And that happy tune is your step
Life can be complete
On the sunny side of the street

Eureka Springs, on the sunny side of the street

Eureka Springs

 

On the sunny side of the street - Old First Baptist Church

Osceola

 

Helena, on a sunny day

Helena

 

cabin at the lake

Gamaliel

 

our front porch in the sun

Fayetteville (our front porch)

1. Expert stonemasonry.

2. Abandoned.

3. Earthen fort.

4. Welcome to the lake.

5. Leave your worries on the doorstep. 

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

[tweetthis]Pictured: Sunny side of the street. @artourism #Arkansas [/tweetthis]

Musical Pairing:

Willie Nelson, Sunny Side of the Street

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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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