Filed under: Family time, Food, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Love, music, Sunday Reflections, Waterfalls | Tags: Biscuits and Gravy, Breakfast, Breakfast Tomatoes, Bring Your Friends, Eggs, Family Breakfast, Family Dinner, Family time, Fried Rice, Friends and Family, Friendship, Good Friends, Good Times, I Love My Family, Japanese Art, Koi = Love, Love and Meaning, Love Thy Neighbor, Love Thy Neighbor As Thyself, Old Friends, Sake, Sunday Breakfast, Sunday Inspiration, Sunday Mornings, Sunday Reflections, Sunday with Family, Sundays, Sushi, Time, Time flies, Time in a bottle
I got a late start on my blog this morning… We ate out with great friends last night and we were up fairly late ⏰ But to my defense I did do several things outside this morning and I fixed breakfast for everyone. Last night we dined in Japan with sushi 🍣, Sake , edamame and rice 🍚
But this morning I went old school with Coffee Sliced tomatoes, eggs, and biscuits w/gravy. Like my grandma used to fix 😊 A world away from Japan 🇯🇵
It sure is nice catching up with good friends! Eating and visiting with friends is one of the great pleasures in life! 🙏🏻 And it’s always a blessing to have breakfast with my family on Sunday morning 🌞
“Eat at a local restaurant tonight. Get the cream sauce. Have a cold pint at 4 o’clock in a mostly empty bar. Go somewhere you’ve never been. Listen to someone you think may have nothing in common with you. Order the steak rare. Eat an oyster. Have a negroni. Have two. Be open to a world where you may not understand or agree with the person next to you, but have a drink with them anyways. Eat slowly. Tip your server. Check in on your friends. Check in on yourself. Enjoy the ride.”
~ Anthony Bourdain
Have a wonderful Sunday! 🙏🏻
~ Mark C.
Filed under: Boutique, Family time, Food, Fountains, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Love, music, Outdoor Lifestyles, Sunrises, Sunsets, Waterfalls | Tags: Be My Valentine, Best Wife Award, Flowers, Koi = Love, Love, Love and Meaning, Poems, Present, Quality Time, Special Day, Special Gift, Special Night, Valentines Day
Have a wonderful day, and don’t forget to tell the one you Love how you feel! I try to do this every day, not just on Valentines Day 😊 But today, its a must…
Guys, my advice – keep it simple… Take her out to lunch or dinner. Get her flowers 💐 or even a simple card. The biggest thing in my book is just let her know shes your special Valentine 💘
“If I had a flower for every time I thought of you… I could walk through my garden forever.
~ Alfred Tennyson
Happy Valentines Day! 💘
Mark C.
Filed under: Family time, Food, Fountains, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Koi, Koi Ponds, Lake and Pond, Landscaping & Gardening, Love, music, Nursery, Outdoor Lifestyles, Pondless Waterfalls, Sunrises, Sunsets, water garden, Waterfalls | Tags: 2020, 2020 Events List, 2020 is Flying By, 24 Hour Enjoyment, Enjoy a Sunset, Enjoy The Day, Enjoy The Evening, Enjoy The Morning, Every 28 Years, Extra Saturday, I Love Koi, I Love My Family, I Love My Mother, Koi = Love, Leap Year, Love Thy Neighbor, Love Your Pets, Saturday Ain’t Cheap, Saturday Fun, Saturdays Are Special
With all the bad news out there bringing you down, let’s focus on something that’s good! We are in a Leap Year… You know, every 4 years we make up for the slight time difference by adding an extra day to our calendar year – Hello February 29th! 😊 Well this year that extra day just happens to be a Saturday!💥
PS: We only get the extra Saturday once every 28 years! Plus a few other things have lined up nicely for 2020 👇🏻
Things to look forward to in 2020! An extra Saturday is a biggie!
Pretty sweet huh?! So cheer up and get out there and enjoy the extra Saturday! Just think, it could have been another Monday😮
Have a Great Saturday!
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, Fountains, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Koi, Koi Ponds, Lake and Pond, Love, Nursery, Outdoor Lifestyles, water garden, Waterfalls | Tags: Ghost Koi, Healthy Koi, Hump Day, Hump Day Koi Fix, Hump Day Koi Story, I ❤️ Koi, I Love Koi, Koi, Koi = Love, Koi Facts, Koi for sale, Koi History, Koi info, Koi Names, Koi Pond, Koi Shack, Koi Story, Koi Terminology, Koi Whisperer, Mirror Carp, Ogon, Ogon Koi
It’s October kids, and we are quickly approaching Halloween 🎃 What a perfect time to discuss the scariest of all fish – The Ghost Koi!
The Ghost koi has gained some popularity in the last few years, but many “Koi people” still do not recognize them as a true koi! – they are refereed to as a Ghost carp instead.
The “Ghost Koi” is a product of breeding a mirror carp with a metallic Ogon Koi. For this reason many Koi purists don’t consider them a true “Koi”…
They are a very hardy fish and much less susceptible to diseases than most. They also grow extremely fast! Both of these traits make them a great first Koi!
Ghost Koi don’t have a lot of markings like other Koi so their beauty comes from their shining metallic scales! Their colors can vary from dark to cream to silver and even golden. The head is generally creamy and the body colors will widely vary, depending greatly on the parents color.
I guess what I’m saying is, even though they have a scary name, & the fact that it is almost Halloween – Don’t be wary of the Ghost Koi! They are really pretty cool 😎
Enjoy your Koi! AND Have a –
‘HAPPY HALLOWEEN’!
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Filed under: Family time, Fountains, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Koi, Koi Ponds, Lake and Pond, Landscaping & Gardening, Love, music, Nursery, Outdoor Lifestyles, Pondless Waterfalls, water garden, Waterfalls | Tags: Best Luau Attire, Best Luau Look, Charity Pond Tour, Forever Home, Fun, Fund raiser, Garden Party, Garden Tour, God Bless America, Have Fun, Hump Day, Hump Day Koi Fix, Hump Day Koi Story, I ❤️ Koi, Jackson Animal Care Center, Koi = Love, Luau Etiquette, Moonlight Luau, Parade of People, Parade of ponds, Pond Tour, Pond Tour Tickets, Rescue Puppy, Saturday Fun, Summer Pond Tour
This weekend is our annual Summer Pond Tour and I am excited! 💥 Guess who else is ready for a Pond Tour? Our KOI! They LOVE the attention! In fact, from a Koi’s perspective, Saturday is the “Parade of People”!
My Koi LOVE the Parade Of People! They have LOTS of visitors & get hand fed all day 😊
Don’t miss our Annual “Parade of People”. Saturday, June 22nd is the day!!Tickets are only $20 & 100% of the money goes to the Jackson Animal Care Center. Boom! 💥 Win-Win!
The Koi are ready for visitors. They are so active and friendly on days when lots of friends stop by. | Carters Nursery, Pond & Patio | Jackson, Tennessee.
The Jackson Animal Care Centers started goal is to find forever homes for the stray and abandoned dogs and cats of Jackson, TN. When you buy a Summer Pond Tour Ticket, you are helping achieve that goal! It’s a Win-Win folks!
Scout was a rescued puppy & now lives the Pond Lifestyle! You’ll probably see her around the Nursery during the Pond Tour.
The Koi said they are ready! See y’all Saturday 🌺😊
Happy Hump 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, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Koi, Koi Ponds, Landscaping & Gardening, Love, Nursery, Outdoor Lifestyles, water garden, Waterfalls | Tags: Dad, Dad's Day, Fathers Day, Great Dad, Hump Day, Hump Day Koi Fix, Hump Day Koi Story, Koi = Love, Koi sale
Fathers Day is this Sunday. My Father has been a guiding influence for me my entire life! As I imagine yours has. But, dad gets a bad wrap… Father’s Day comes and goes almost unnoticed… No big ‘Hupla’, no special commercials or promotions, etc… BUT, not this year!
Bring your Dad by the Nursery & Save BIG on KOI! 30% off for Fathers Day the rest of the week! | Carters Nursery, Pond & Patio | Jackson, TN
I was a toddler in this picture. Around 1 year old. This one was at Station #2 down on Westwood. GREAT memories of that place and the time we spent there.
That’s me with my dad & my first dog Heidi – He let me pick out my very 1st. dog on my own 😊 I’m wearing his uniform hat and his coat… of course. He was & still is the BEST dad in the world! He taught me how to be a man! Don’t forget YOUR Dad on Father’s Day!
If Koi isn’t your Dads thing, that’s ok, I hope you will spend some quality time with your Dad this week in honor of all that Dads do.
Happy Father’s 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: General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Koi, Koi Ponds, Love, Nursery, Outdoor Lifestyles, water garden, Waterfalls | Tags: Blue Heron, Healthy Koi, Hump Day, Hump Day Koi Fix, Hump Day Koi Story, I ❤️ Koi, Koi, Koi = Love, Koi Fix, Koi info, Koi Story, Koi Whisperer, Love Your Pets, Pond Predators
Hump Day Koi Story | Could My Koi Be Lonesome? | Carters Nursery, Pond & Patio | Jackson, Tennessee
I was thinking about a lady who came in a few weeks ago to look at some Koi. She has been here several times over the years and has became a regular customer during the season. She told us that over the winter she was visited by a Blue Heron… And you guessed it, it ate all her Koi – all but One! Her lone Koi has started to eat again now, but not like he used to… She described him as lethargic & almost disinterested in eating or swimming around and exploring. She said she was thinking about getting him some friends because she thinks he is lonely 😞 Then she asked me, “Can Koi get lonesome”?
Koi are definitely social creatures in my opinion. They seem to get along well and I’m almost certain they benefit from the company of other fish | Hump Day Koi Story | Could My Koi Be Lonesome? | Carters Nursery, Pond & Patio | Jackson,
Tennessee
I really enjoyed talking with her about this as we picked out 5 additional Koi to introduce to her Water Garden.
The rest of the story! – We spoke a few days later when she stopped by to grab a couple of bags of Koi Food. Her report was Awesome! The new fish acclimated well and started eating immediately! Her original Koi had warmed right up to the new guys and started eating like he was hungry again! To me that’s proof enough that Koi benefit from companionship. So do we 😊 Now she too, has several more new friends ❤️ Koi = Love!
Happy Pondering 🤔
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Filed under: Family time, Fountains, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Koi, Koi Ponds, Lake and Pond, Landscaping & Gardening, Love, Nursery, Outdoor Lifestyles, water garden, Waterfalls | Tags: 50 Degree Rule, 60 degree Rule, Cold Blooded, Cool Season Koi Food, Cool Temp Koi Food, Fish Feeding, Hand Feeding Koi, Hump Day Koi Fix, Hump Day Koi Story, I ❤️ Koi, I ❤️ Spring!, I Love Koi, Koi = Love, Koi Fix, Koi Health, Koi Shack, Koi Story, Koi Supplies, Pond Thermometer, The Rule of 50
I’ve been hawking my Pond Thermometer these last few weeks! The temperature of the water has been steadily rising as the days get longer and we approach Spring. As usual, I will start the season with Cool Temp Koi Food when the water temp has stabilized over 50 + degrees. The “rule of 50” I like to call it 😉
It’s about time to start feeding our Koi “Cool Temp. Fish Food” & even some fresh fruits and veggies like peas, oranges, grapefruit & softened carrots again! YES!!! I ❤️ Spring! Just remember to read the thermometer 🌡 & follow the “Rule of 50”! Carters Nursery, Pond & Patio | Jackson, TN
This is my favorite season of the year! Everything is waking up! Including my KOI! They have been VERY active lately! And literally begging for food 😊 It’s so hard to wait… But, it’s part of the process & it’s so important for our finned friends health and well being.
Keep your Koi happy and healthy as we transition into Spring. Use quality Cool Temperature Koi Food from Carters Nursery Pond & Patio | Jackson, Tennessee | I ❤️ Koi!
So, to wrap it up…
The Rule of 50 = Let the water temp stabilize for at least a week at 50+ degrees Fahrenheit before you start to feed your koi in the Spring. AND, when you do start back to feeding, use a quality, Cool Season Koi Food! And don’t over feed! Happier days are here again 😊
Happy Pondering 🤔
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Filed under: Fountains, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Koi, Koi Ponds, Landscaping & Gardening, Love, Nursery, Outdoor Lifestyles, water garden, Waterfalls | Tags: I ❤️ Koi, I ❤️ My Job!, I ❤️ Ponds, I ❤️ Waterfalls, I Love ❤️ My Job!, Kanji, Koi, Koi = Love, Koi Ponds, Outdoor Lifestyle Area, Outdoor Living, Ponds, Water Gardens, Yard Ponds
If you don’t have a Water Garden & keep Koi, you don’t understand how attached you get to your Pond & Fish! You just don’t understand how going out and interacting with your fish and hearing that waterfall literally takes you to another place… Almost instantly, you calm down… Your blood pressure goes down… Your breathing smooths out… It’s like… Magic! I Love My Pond & I LOVE my Koi!
Love your Koi & keep your Koi happy and healthy as we transition into Spring by feeding them quality Cool Temperature Koi Food | Carters Nursery Pond & Patio | Jackson, Tennessee | I ❤️ Koi!
As you know Koi are huge in the culture of Japan. I love learning more about Japan & about Koi. I’ve been blogging about Koi every Wednesday for the last year & have learned a lot of things in the process. I have also tried to pass along some good information to you through my BLOG. One thing I have had fun learning more about is their language & about Kanji – what is kanji you ask?
I wanted to share a similarity that I thought was Awesome! The word Koi in English means decorative carp of course. But in Japanese it has more than 1 meaning, and it makes complete & total sense to me 😊
This Kanji means Koi. It’s also the Kanji for Love ❤️ Makes sense to me 😊
恋は盲目
Koi wa moumoku / Love is Blind!
恋に師匠なし
Koi ni shishou nashi / Love needs no teaching
Both have the common Kanji
Koi &/or Love…
Isn’t that cool?! 😎 Going to the Koi pond is truly going out for a dose of LOVE! Bam! 💥 Write this down! – “KOI = LOVE”!
Happy Pondering! 🤔
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Filed under: General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Koi, Koi Ponds, Landscaping & Gardening, Love, water garden | Tags: Amur Carp, Carp, Cyprinus rubrofuscus, Elite Koi, Gosanke, Gosanke Koi, Hump Day Koi Fix, I ❤️ Koi, I Love Koi, Kohaku Koi, Koi, Koi = Love, Koi Crazy, Koi Health, Koi History, Koi Ponds, Koi Terminology, Quality Koi, Showa Sanshoku Koi, Taisho Sanke Koi
I had a conversation with a young man yesterday that has been bitten by the Koi bug! 😊 I told him about my blog and he said he was going to look it up. So, here’s a repost from a Blog from last year – it’s all about the history of our modern day Koi. Enjoy 😉
– We have been looking at LOTS of different variants of Koi. Today I want to look at some of the bascic history behind our modern day Koi. Where did they come from? How long have they been around? Etc…
The modern day “Koi” fish has been traced to the species – Cyprinus rubrofuscus –
The word ‘Koi’ comes from The Japanese word for carp.
Basically a ‘Koi’, aka: nishikigoi are colorful varieties of the Amur Carp (Cyprinus rubrofuscus). Carp are native to central Europe and Asia. They were bred as a food fish for many, many years (at least as far back as the fifth century BC in China). They are very hardy and survive in many/most climates and thrive even in poor water quality conditions. Natural color variances & mutations were noted and inspired selective breeding for color over a thousand years ago in China.
The Amur carp were first bred for color in Japan in the early 1800’s (just a little over 200 years ago) in Niigata Prefecture.
The Koi that were developed there weren’t shared with the rest of the world until 1914 in Tokyo Japan at an open exhibition. From there the love of Koi in Japan went viral! Now it’s the world over! I’m personally “KOI CRAZY” 🙂
Today the most popular Koi are the Gosanke ( Kohaku, Sanke & Showa).
The Kohaku is #1! Kohaku is a variety of ornamental koi. The Kohaku has a white body, with red markings, or ‘hi’, across the body. The Kohaku is one of the gosanke; the ‘Big Three’, consisting of Kohaku, Sanke, and Showa.
Cool Fact – In Japanese the word Koi is a homophone for another word that means affection and love… Koi are literally symbols of love and friendship! 🙂
So there’s a little history on our favorite ‘Finned Friend” the KOI! Enjoy your day and enjoy your Koi! 🙂
Happy Pondering…
Mark Carter
Carter’s Nursery, Pond & Patio
2846 Old Medina Rd.
Jackson, Tn. 38305
Ph# 731-424-2206
http://www.cartercountry.com
Carter's Water Garden 