Talya Tate Boerner's Blog, page 31
March 14, 2019
How to Make an Insect Hotel (and why you should)
I’ve been wanting to make an insect hotel since I discovered several of them at the Denver Botanic Gardens last year. Not only do insect hotels provide a bit of garden whimsey, but they attract solitary native bees, wasps, and other beneficial insects desperately needed for pollination.
D*e*s*p*e*r*a*t*e*l*y.
Pollinators are on the decline for various reasons—mostly due to habitat loss. Without pollinators, we may as well call it a day. Pollinators are essential to the creation and mainten...
March 10, 2019
Sunday Letter: 03.10.19
Good morning Sunday Letter friends!
Did you remember to spring forward? Yay for MacBooks and iPhones and iPads that automatically adjust. Remember not that very long ago when that wasn’t the case? I don’t know about you, but before the cell phone became an extension of the hand, we had clocks all over the house. And we had to manually adjust each one either before we went to bed or throughout the next day.
What a process. The clock on the VCR was the trickiest!
When I was a sleep-deprived si...
March 4, 2019
7-Word Book Reviews: February 2019
February is done which means it’s time for my 7-Word Book Reviews. If you’re looking for a good March read, maybe you’ll be interested in adding these to your ever-growing stack of books on the nightstand.
What’s on my list?
To whet your appetite—a book of short stories from one of my favorite authors, a Vietnamese refugee story with an Arkansas tie, a male coming-of-age tale, a novel turned Oscar-nominated movie, and a nature story to remind us of our connection to the wider world.
Yes, the...
February 24, 2019
Sunday Letter: 02.24.19
Dear Sunday Letter friends,
The week went by fast! We even had two or three days without rain. It was nice while it lasted, and I even found enough dry time to cut back my rosebushes.
Now, pardon me while I preach for a moment…
Zero GarbageLast week, I attended a class at Ozark Natural Foods called Zero Garbage. Before I explain the concept, let me back up… Ten minutes before I drove to the class, I wheeled our City of Fayetteville garbage container to the curb because the next morning was...
February 20, 2019
Why I Garden
Three little words arranged into one short question opens up a world of memory for me. Why I garden? As I think about my love for digging in the soil, I realize even dream-like and fleeting experiences have become deeply imprinted on my mind. People, places, aromas, songs, the way our family lived as part of the land—if I dissect my memories, these glimpses of my life add up to a love of nature and gardening.
Why I garden?Because one of my earliest memories is of the apple or...
February 17, 2019
Sunday Letter: 02.17.19
Dear Sunday Letter friends,
Do you ever have one of those weeks when you feel like you accomplished very little? When you felt out of sync with everything? That’s how last week was for me. I have nothing to whine about, not by a long shot, but let this serve as a reminder that some days (weeks) aren’t filled with rosebuds and optimism no matter what our Instagram feed would have us believe. Some days are quite the opposite.
And that’s okay.
Cabin FeverLast week brought a smorgasbord of (mos...
February 13, 2019
He loves me, he loves me not…
He loves me,
He loves me not.
He loves me,
He loves me not.
He loves me…
When I was a young girl, my friends and I often plucked the petals of daisy-like flowers, hoping the final petal coincided with he loves me.
But… what if the last petal announced the wrong outcome? We plucked another flower and started over, of course.
It’s funny to think back on it. Especially since as fifth graders flitting and skipping around during recess, we had no idea who “he” was. Certainly...
February 10, 2019
Sunday Letter: 02.10.19
Dear Sunday Letter friends,
This time of year I spend time looking for the first blooms in our flower beds. Our daffodils are taking their sweet time which is probably a good thing since an arctic blast brought bone-chilling cold on Thursday with icy snow flurries that lasted all day. Those of a certain age will probably remember the Chiffon margarine commercial that ended with the reminder—it’s not nice to fool Mother Nature.
Remember?
Well, you can’t rush her either.
Like a Boss
You have...
February 5, 2019
7 Word Reviews: January 2019
7-Word Reviews If you’ve been waiting for my January 2019 book reviews, here they are. If you’ve not been waiting, well, here they are. 
January 31, 2019
Potluck & Poison Ivy (plus a little Accidental Salvation)
Last week, I was fortunate enough to help kick off the 2019 season of Potluck & Poison Ivy. For those of you who aren’t familiar with this event, Potluck & Poison Ivy is a live dinner theater located at The Joint in the Argenta Arts District of North Little Rock. Bring your story to the table—that’s the tagline for the evening. A $35 ticket will get you dinner, southern storytelling, and live music.
What a deal.
Arkansas friends, do you remember the Starving Artist Cafe?...
