Filed under: Family time, Food, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Lake and Pond, Landscaping & Gardening, Love, music, Outdoor Lifestyles, Sunrises, Sunsets, Waterfalls | Tags: camping, Changing Seasons, Cookout, Early Summer, Fishing, Freedom, Freedom isn’t Free, God Bless, God Bless America, Memorial Day, Memorial Weekend, Pontoon Boat, River Life, Seasonal changes, Summer Season, Summer Time
Yes its finally here! Memorial weekend is always the weekend that kicks off the Summer Season! Camping, Hiking, Cookouts, Vacations, Boating, etc…!

But, we can never forget who and why we are celebrating! Memorial Day is not a day to thank soldiers or saliors for their service – Thats Veterans Day!
Memorial Day honors and mourns our brave men and women who gave their lives in service to our country! Its our duty to remember that all this happiness and freedom that we enjoy comes from the blood and sacrifice of soldiers who fought and died for all our freedoms! And its our duty to teach this to our children and grandchildren… Freedom isn’t Free!

“By the rude bridge that arched the flood,
Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled,
Here once the embattled farmers stood
And fired the shot heard round the world.
The foe long since in silence slept;
Alike the conqueror silent sleeps;
And Time the ruined bridge has swept
Down the dark stream which seaward creeps.
On this green bank, by this soft stream,
We set today a votive stone;
That memory may their deed redeem,
When, like our sires, our sons are gone.
Spirit, that made those heroes dare
To die, and leave their children free,
Bid Time and Nature gently spare
The shaft we raise to them and thee”
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
God Bless America 🇺🇸
Mark C.
Filed under: Family time, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Herbs, Lake and Pond, Landscaping & Gardening, Love, Nursery, Outdoor Lifestyles, Pond Tips, water garden, Waterfalls | Tags: Best Local Nursery and Garden Center, Carters Nursery Pond and Patio, Changing Seasons, Cover Plants, Crazy Weather, Feeding the Soul, Frosty Morning, Gardening, If You Don’t Like The Weather, Life is Good, Love, Love and Meaning, Moment of Zen, Morning Zen, outdoor lifestyles, Outdoor Living, Place of Zen, Predicting Weather, Quality Of Life, Robert Frost, Seasonal changes, Seasonal Interest, Seasonal Water Garden, Spring, Spring Gardening, Tennessee Weather, Weather Signs, Zen, Zen state of mind, Zen Waterfall
If you are like many Gardeners and live by the ”Last Frost Date” given in the Almanac or in your local paper, you may be very disappointed this morning… I’m getting ready to go out and uncover the hundreds of plants that I have under blankets, sheets and in a big cold frame greenhouse.

Why does it ’sneak up’ on us so often?
With me its all about staying in tune with the particular season. Spring here in West TN fluctuates from sweaty 80’s weather to 60 mile an hour winds with frost and snow ❄️ BUT, that relationship you form with the seasons and the changes is where the Zen lies…
But, its tough to wait! As soon as the forsythia and the daffodil 🌼 blooms I’m already setting up my planters and pots 🪴 And, I try to be ready for people coming in to my Nursery early, which means we spend a month or more moving plants in and out of the greenhouse… 😊

Finding balance and Zen within ourselves is found within our own Gardens…
PS: The good news is, I think we are past Frost now for real!
“The first day of spring is one thing, and the first spring day is another. The difference between them is sometimes as great as a month.”
~ Henry Van Dyke
Have a great Tuesday!
Mark Carter
Carter’s Nursery, Pond & Patio
2846 Old Medina Rd.
Jackson, Tn. 38305
Ph.# 731-424-2206
http://www.cartercountry.com
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Filed under: Fountains, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Koi, Koi Ponds, Lake and Pond, Landscaping & Gardening, Nursery, Outdoor Lifestyles, Pond Tips, Pondless Waterfalls, water garden, Waterfalls | Tags: Autumn, Autumn Color, Autumn Leaves Falling on Water, Bulk Leaf Netting, Changing Seasons, Cut To Fit Leaf Netting, Fall maintenance, Fall Pond Netting, Fall Pond Tips, Fall Water Garden Maintenance, Healthy Koi, Koi Health Tip, Koi Health Tips, Leaf Netting, Leaves, Maintenance Tips, Pond Maintenance, Pond Maintenance Class, Pond Maintenance Tips, Pond Netting, Pond Netting Frame, Pond Supplies, Pond Tip, Pond Tip Tuesday, Pond Tips, Predator Control, Seasonal Water Garden, Stay ahead of the coming Lead fall, Tips, Tuesday, Water Garden Maintenance, Water garden supplies, Weekly Pond Tip, Winter Pond Tips
We have topped the peak of Fall Color and are flying down the slope over the hill… Leaves are comjng down now in earnest. I know I know, Ive said it before and Im not trying to be a bother, but a Leaf Net sure would save you a LOT of work!

Keeping the leaves and other fall debris out of your Pond is a good thing! Leaf debris is unsightly, it also quickly starts to decompose releasing many compounds that are bad for your fish. In turn algae is fed by the decomposing leaf matter and oxygen is depleted. ALL of these things combined can be catastrophic for the health of your finned friends, in heavy leaf fall areas, it can even kill them.
ALSO – in the Fall and Winter most of the aquatic plants are asleep, leaving very little cover for your Koi… Pond Predators, like Blue Herons strike most often in the Fall and Winter… BUT, Blue Herons can’t get your treasured Koi through the Pond Netting! So that’s another big plus for having a Pond Net!

Pond Tip Tuesday is all about helping YOU with your Pond Maintenance. Once you get a handle on it, you will enjoy your Pond and Waterfalls so much more!
Have a great day!
Mark Carter
Carter’s Nursery, Pond & Patio
2846 Old Medina Rd.
Jackson, Tn. 38305
Ph.# 731-424-2206
http://www.cartercountry.com
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Filed under: Family time, Food, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Lake and Pond, Love, music, Outdoor Lifestyles, Sunday Reflections, Sunrises, Sunsets, Waterfalls | Tags: Autumn, Autumn Color, Autumn Poem, Changing Seasons, John Keats, Love, Outdoor Living, River, River Life, Rivers, Seasonal changes, Seasonal Interest, Sunday, Sunday Breakfast, Sunday in the Garden, Sunday Inspiration, Sunday Mornings, Sunday Naps, Sunday on the River, Sunday Poem, Sunday Quote, Sunday Reflections, Sunday Sunrises, Sunday Sunset, Sunday with Family, Sundays, Tennessee River, The Seasons
Today has been like the rest of this entire week… Long and Beautiful! 🌞 Fall came in with cool temps and blue skies. We got out on the lake today to enjoy a little time off and to officially welcome in Fall.




Although I hate the Summer being behind us, Fall is always a beautiful, welcome season… Here’s to Fall!🍁🔥🏈
“Where are the songs of Spring? Ay, where are they?
Think not of them, thou hast thy music too, –
While barred clouds bloom the soft-dying day
And touch the stubble-plains with rosy hue;
Then in a wailful choir the small gnats mourn
Among the river sallows, borne aloft
Or sinking as the light wind lives or dies;
And full-grown lambs loud bleat from hilly bourn;
Hedge-crickets sing, and now with treble soft
The redbreast whistles from a garden-croft;
And gathering swallows twitter in the skies.”
~ John Keats
Mark C
Filed under: Family time, Food, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Landscaping & Gardening, Love, Nursery, Outdoor Lifestyles, Waterfalls | Tags: #throwbackthursday, #waterfallthursday, Changing Seasons, Fall Gardening, Fall maintenance, Family Fun, Family time, Family Traditions, Jack-o-Lantern, Pumpkin Carving, Pumpkins, Seasonal changes, Seasonal Interest, The Seasons, Throwback Thursday, Waterfall Thursday
Summer is still in glorious season, but when you run a business you have to stay ahead of the changes… Which are coming quickly. In fact, Fall is just around the corner. When I think of Fall, I think of several things, but Pumpkins 🎃 Maybe #1! This throwback pic from several years ago brings back nothing but good memories… And a peak into our not to distant future 😊

This picture of my son and I is repeated every Fall and I’m looking forward to it 😊
Y’all have a great #Throwbackthursday evening!
Mark Carter
Carter’s Nursery, Pond & Patio
2846 Old Medina Rd.
Jackson, Tn. 38305
Ph# 731-424-2206
http://www.cartercountry.com
Filed under: Family time, Food, Fountains, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Herbs, Hummingbirds, Lake and Pond, Landscaping & Gardening, Love, music, Nursery, Outdoor Lifestyles, Pondless Waterfalls, Sunday Reflections, Sunrises, Sunsets, water garden, Waterfalls | Tags: A Day In The Life Of, Changing Seasons, Flowers, Greenhouse, Greenhouse Report, Hanging Baskets, Healthy Lifestyle, I ❤️ Sunsets, Life is Good, Living the Life Abundant, office, Outdoor Living, Planting, Poems, Pottery, Quality Of Life, Seasonal Interest, Spring Cleaning, Spring Gardening, Spring Planting, Stuff of Life, Sunday, Sunday Breakfast, Sunday Brunch, Sunday Gardening, Sunday in the Garden, Sunday Inspiration, Sunday Morning Coming Down, Sunday Mornings, Sunday Naps, Sunday on the River, Sunday Poem, Sunday Quote, Sunday Reflections, Sunday Songs, Sunday Sunrises, Sunday with Family, Sundays, Sunrises
Does the changing of the seasons change your entire world? If it does, you may be in a seasonal business… Or, you may just be a gardener 🪴

What a beautiful Sunday morning! A dense fog burned off into a gorgeous Sunny day! I for one won’t be wasting time inside watching TV 📺


My “Seasonal Sunday Office” is feeling pretty good 😌


“An altered look about the hills;
A Tyrian light the village fills;
A wider sunrise in the dawn;
A deeper twilight on the lawn;
A print of a vermilion foot;
A purple finger on the slope;
A flippant fly upon the pane;
A spider at his trade again;
An added strut in chanticleer;
A flower expected everywhere …”
~ Emily Dickinson, Nature : April
Have a happy day!
Mark C.
Filed under: Family time, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Love, music, Sunrises, Sunsets, Waterfalls | Tags: ‘Tis The Season, Changing Seasons, Christmas Love, Christmas Music, Christmas Songs, Christmas with Family, Friends and Family, I ❤️ my Family, I ❤️ My Friends!, Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas Y'all, music, Santa Claus, Top 10 Christmas Songs, Traditions
I was Just talking with friends about their favorite Christmas songs. Not surprising to me that many of the songs we compiled were not the old standards we all have come to expect. So, here’s a cool ‘Top 10 Christmas songs’ to enjoy…
Top 10 List –
1- Christmas in Paradise by Mary Gauthier
2- Christmas in Prison by John Prine
3- The Troublemaker by Willie Nelson
4- 25th December by Everything but the girl
5- Jesus and Elvis by Hayes Carll
6- Christmas Island by Jimmy Buffett
7- River by Joni Mitchell
8- Merry Christmas from the Family by Robert Earl Keen
9- Santa Clause is Watching You by Ray Stevens
10- Run Rudolph Run by Chuck Berry
If this list doesn’t get you tapping, singing along, smiling and crying, I don’t know what to tell ya’ ❤️
Merry Christmas y’all!
Mark Carter
Carter’s Nursery, Pond & Patio
2846 Old Medina Rd.
Jackson, Tn. 38305
Ph.# 731-424-2206
http://www.cartercountry.com
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Filed under: Family time, Food, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Herbs, Lake and Pond, Landscaping & Gardening, Love, music, Nursery, Outdoor Lifestyles, Sunday Reflections, Sunrises, Sunsets, Waterfalls | Tags: Autumn, Autumn Leaves Falling on Water, Autumn Poem, Beautiful Day, Changing Seasons, Colorful Foliage, Enjoy The Day, Fall, Fall Beauty, Fall Color, Get Outside, Halloween, Leaves, Native Trees, Natural Beauty, Nature, Nature Photo's, Seasonal Interest, Sunday, Sunday in the Garden, Sunday Inspiration, Sunday Mornings, Sunday Reflections, Sunday with Family, Sundays, The Seasons, Time flies
The color is really changing in the landscape now. The Maples and Dogwoods are at peak. I try to keep my eye on the changing colors every Fall. It’s such a beautiful time of the year 🍁 But, blink and you’ll miss something. You just gotta get out there to enjoy it 😊
”In the garden, Autumn is, indeed the crowning glory of the year, bringing us the fruition of months of thought and care and toil. And at no season, safe perhaps in Daffodil time, do we get such superb colour effects as from August to November.”
~ Rose G. Kingsley
Have a Happy Day!
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Filed under: Family time, Food, Fountains, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Love, music, Outdoor Lifestyles, Sunday Reflections, Sunrises, Sunsets, Waterfalls | Tags: Autumn Color, Changing Seasons, Enjoy The Day, Enjoy The Morning, Fall, Fall Color, Fall Morning, Family time, Leaves, Morning Coffee, Sunday, Sunday in the Garden, Sunday Inspiration, Sunday Mornings, Sunday Naps, Sunday Poem, Sunday Reflections, Sunday with Family, Sundays, Sunrises, Sunsets, Time flies
I was sipping my coffee waiting and watching the sun come up 🌞 when I thought ‘tomorrow is the last day of September’… Wow! I don’t know if it’s just me, but this entire year has just flown by! And it always seems to speed up more when we get to the holidays!

The Fall Color is Coming! 🍁 Taking a ride or walk to enjoy the Fall is one of the joys of the season.
I always try to really enjoy each season as they come, I just feel like there’s a need to slow this train down a bit 😊 I am ready for the color show that is to come 🍁 And looking around the last couple days, it’s already started… I’m gonna go for a ride in the country today for a prequel and take note of what’s happening. Fall is such a beautiful season!
“Spring comes with flowers, autumn with the moon, summer with the breeze, winter with snow. When idle concerns don’t fill your thoughts, that’s your best season.”
~ Wu-Men
Have a great Sunday,
~ Mark C.
Filed under: Food, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Landscaping & Gardening, Love, Outdoor Lifestyles, Sunday Reflections, Waterfalls | Tags: August, Changing Seasons, Fall is Coming, Hot Weather, I ❤️ Summer, Sunday in the Garden, Sunday Inspiration, Sunday Mornings, Sunday Naps, Sunday Poem, Sunday Reflections, Sunday with Family, Sundays
This week alone I have heard several people say they are ready for Fall weather… I too love the Fall, but I’m still enjoying the Summer… I used to find myself mourning the seasons as they pass, No more! I endeavor to enjoy them as they come. And right now, good old hot, sticky August is on the table 😊

One of the things I love most about Summer, is my shady porch swing😊 I just Love my tree ferns & flowers 🌺 But like the man says, Fall is Coming’!
“Whilst August yet wears her golden crown,
Ripening fields lush- bright with promise;
Summer waxes long, then wanes, quietly passing
Her fading green glory on to riotous Autumn.”
~ Michelle L. Thieme, August’s Crown
Have a great Sunday 🙏🏻
Mark C.