Talya Tate Boerner's Blog, page 20
June 21, 2020
Goodbye for now, Lucy Boerner
One of the happiest days is the day you adopt a pet. The saddest is when that pet dies. We lost our sweet Lucy early this morning. We kept watch over her most of the night, her faint heartbeat and her still body, until she slipped away.
This morning, there is fog. The backyard is eerily still and gray in the early dawn. The birds continue to chirp, but they sound like someone else’s birds, singing from someone else’s trees, a yard or two over.
This morning, Lucy’s food bowl is untouched. Her bl...
June 18, 2020
THIS TREE. The most beautiful thing I saw all week.
THIS TREE. I’m not kidding. This was the most incredible thing I saw last week.
THIS TREE lives on our block. I’ve probably walked underneath it at least two thousand times since I moved to Fayetteville. And I notice it nearly every single time I walk underneath it because there’s a perfectly round hole about ten feet up the trunk. The hole is more like a woodpecker hole than a Boo Radley hole. There’s a distinct difference, you know.
THIS TREE is an old maple that continues to grow no matter w...
June 14, 2020
Sunday Letter: 06.14.2020
Good morning Sunday Letter friends,
It has been another blur of a week. I’ve been working on my next writing project and doing a little gardening. Unfortunately, the Japanese beetles are out in full force eating away on our knockout roses. Every morning and every evening just before sunset, I pick off as many as I can, drowning them in a bucket of soapy water.
I seriously think we will take out our roses this winter and plant a less disease prone variety, or something native. Our roses look abs...
June 7, 2020
Sunday Letter: 06.07.2020
Dear Sunday Letter friends,
This has been a sad couple of weeks. I try not to get political on social media, but for me, what’s going on in our country has moved beyond the political to the human. Between the pandemic and the tragedy of George Floyd’s death, I’ve been at a loss over what to say. Saying nothing seems wrong. Continuing on with my typical posts about what’s growing in my garden and cooking on my stove rings hollow and insignificant.
I hate how divided our country has become. I’ve ...
May 28, 2020
The Little Pipevine That Could
Two days ago, the best thing happened! The Little Pipevine That Could arrived on our doorstep.
Let me explain…
I’d been looking EVERYWHERE to purchase a pipevine plant. Pipevine is the host plant for the Pipevine Swallowtail, and I want to add it to our butterfly garden. Unfortunately, pipevine plants are difficult to locate. This spring, they quickly sold out at all the regular garden places I visit (if they were there to begin with). The Botanical Garden of the Ozarks offered a few starters a...
May 24, 2020
Happy Memorial Day Weekend!
Happy Memorial Day weekend! If I could, I would give you a bouquet of red poppies…
This Memorial Day likely won’t look the same as Memorial Days of the past. (Well, it shouldn’t, in my opinion.) While the corona-craziness has changed the scope of our gatherings, (well, it should, in my opinion), the meaning behind Memorial Day hasn’t changed. And that’s what’s important.
On Memorial Day, we commemorate those who died in service to our country.
Poppy Symbol
Did you know the red poppy is the symb...
May 17, 2020
Sunday Letter: 05.17.2020
Hello Sunday Letter friends,
I have figured something out about coronavirus. Not only does a world with coronavirus make time pass at lightning speedI mean, its already the middle of MAYbut it also makes my arms flabby.
Has anyone else experienced this?
Truly, Im not making light of COVID-19; this is me trying to make it down the road. The gravel washed-out, pot-holed road.
This past week was another rollercoaster for me. There were several days when I felt as though I might come out of my...
May 16, 2020
Tomato-Growing Tips from Gene
Im not a tomato-growing expert by any stretch of the imagination, so you may doubt my tomato-growing tips. But just like passalong plants, I can passalong gardening tips with ease.
I did successfully grow a few tomatoes once upon a time when I had a community garden plot in East Dallas. Here in Fayetteville, weve dedicated our small garden to herbs and pollinator plants, buying tomatoes at Farmers Market or Ozark Natural Foods.
My in-laws, Pauline and Gene Boerner, were known for their...
May 10, 2020
Sunday Letter: 05.10.2020
Dear Sunday Letter friends,
Today Im send you a quick Mothers Day message with greetings from Lake Norfork!
Im at the lake with my mother and sister and niece for a few days. After 56 days of semi-lockdown (and much discussion), we decided to quarantine in a different place for a few days. A cabin in the woods only a 2.5 hours from Fayetteville can magically feel like a world away.
We are being careful and taking precautions. We didnt stop on the way, and we brought all of our groceries (and...
May 3, 2020
Sunday Letter: 05.03.2020
Sunday Letter Time Dear Sunday Letter friends,
I cant believe we are into May already. What a strange year so far. Yesterday was our #StayHome day 50! It has been 50 days since we ate at a restaurant or went anywhere that didnt involve (essential to us) errands.
I read an article yesterday that explained why time feels so warped right now. For me, time is flying by. Because my world has narrowed and every day looks and feels the same, there is nothing all that significant happening to mark...
