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Grow with OLLI at University of Arkansas

August 12, 2015 By Talya Tate Boerner

We all know how important it is to never stop learning. The older we get, the easier it becomes to get stuck in the same old routine thinking the same old thoughts and becoming stale stale STALE. My mantra is to try and do something creative everyday.  I seek out ways to keep learning and to stimulate my creative juices. I’ve recently found a new wellspring of inspiration through Olli at University of Arkansas.

Grow with Olli at U of A

Olli?

I don’t know about you, but the word “olli” immediately makes me think of the non-sensical saying at the end of Hide-and-Go-Seek. Something like olli olli outs in free? Or oxen free. Or maybe it’s “all ye, all ye” but we (every kid I ever knew) always said “olli olli” because let’s face it, as farm kids from the Mississippi Delta, we sort of had our own language.Continue Reading

Rainy Graduation Fun!

May 11, 2015 By Talya Tate Boerner

It was a rainy graduation, one filled with family and fun, as our youngest graduated from the University of Arkansas. Time. That was the theme running through my head. What time is everyone getting into town? What time do we need to leave for Barnhill Arena? How long will it take to graduate 500 business students?

University of Arkansas - Class of 2015 Walton College of Business

How exactly did time fast forward? My son graduated kindergarten five minutes ago. And five minutes before that, he was born.

Tate - Razorback fan from way back

Future #Waltongrad

 

Graduation is one of those occasions that makes me stop and reflect in a life-flashing-by-sort-of-way. The music gets to me. The caps and gowns and formality of it all. I remember my high school graduation. Waiting to hear my name called. Waiting to move that tassel from one side of the cap to the other. Waiting for my time. Stepping across the stage to the beginning of something new and exciting.

And then thirty-five years later, my baby has graduated from college. I’m thankful for every second it took to get to this point. I’m grateful for my own parents who instilled an educational mindset in me. We are blessed to live where we live, to have choices, and the means to succeed. So many don’t.

And hard work. Hard work is key.

Tate with friends

Happy Graduation to all those walking the big walk this month!

rainy graduation day

Daughter Kelsey (University of Texas School of Law J.D. Candidate Class of 2016) & Niece Taylor (Future Razorback Class of 2022)

 

Today the sun is shining, and the future is bright.

Grace Grits and Gardening

Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

[tweetthis]I’m thinking back on our rainy #graduation weekend. #Thankful. So very thankful. #Waltongrad #UARK15 @UArkansas[/tweetthis]

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who’ll decide where to go…” ― Dr. Seuss, Oh, The Places You’ll Go!

Musical Pairing:

Seals & Crofts – We May Never Pass this Way Again (My graduation song in 1980…)

 

College Boy

May 13, 2013 By Talya Tate Boerner

My son is home from college

just in time for Mother’s Day.

Only for a week,

but still his sounds comfort me.

Piles of dirty laundry

spill from the utility room.

The washer and dryer work overtime

spinning and churning

as he takes command of my space.

Downstairs I hear the rattle

of plates and silverware

as he prepares a snack,

reloading, re-energizing

after another semester,

another week of finals.

He eats every three hours,

just as he did when he was a baby,

when I was the center of his life,

when the world was new and not so large.

This is his birthday week.

Twenty years old…

The world is vast

and his for the taking.

Happy Birthday Tate!

tate’s mom

“How did it get so late so soon? It’s night before it’s afternoon. December is here before it’s June. My goodness how the time has flewn. How did it get so late so soon?” – Dr. Seuss

Musical Pairing:
The Beatles, Birthday Song

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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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