Filed under: Family time, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Love, Sunrises, Sunsets | Tags: Easter, Easter Sunday, Easter Weekend, Good Friday, Jesus, Love, Love and Meaning, Love Thy Neighbor, Love Thy Neighbor As Thyself
He said “It is finished”, we didn’t understand that It had just begun. Be thankful for His sacrifice on this, Good Friday.

Our Lord has written the promise of the resurrection, not in books alone but in every leaf in springtime. ~ Martin Luther
Peace & Love,
Mark Carter
Filed under: Family time, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Landscaping & Gardening, Love, Nursery, Outdoor Lifestyles, Waterfalls | Tags: #throwbackthursday, Family, Family History, Gorgeous Blooms, Great Dad, Harbinger of Spring, Love and Meaning, Magnolia X soulangeana, SaucerMagnolia, Spring is Coming, Throwback Thursday, Trees, Uncle Doug
I LOVE #throwbackthursday! It’s a wonderful opportunity for meaningful memories. Like this one today.

My dads friend George grew all kinds of trees up in McMinnville, TN. When dad saw these blooming, he knew he wanted one. He brought one home from a visit years ago for me to plant. We waited until the proper time and my Uncle Doug and me planted it here. It’s always a dependable bloomer and a harbinger of Spring.
This throwback is also special because we just recently lost Uncle Doug to Covid. Seeing this picture today, really gave me a special memory. Thanks Shannon 😊
Have a great #throwbackthursday ❤️
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, Love, music, Nursery, Outdoor Lifestyles, Pondless Waterfalls, Videos, water garden, Waterfalls | Tags: Backyard Paradise, Backyard Waterfalls, Breathe, Deep Thoughts, Feeling Good, Gentle Sounds, Grandma’s Pond, I ❤️ Waterfalls, Love and Meaning, Mindful, Moment of Zen, Monday, Monday Morning, Monday Morning Moment of Zen, Monday’s, Morning Zen, moss, Mossy Boulders, Mossy Waterfall, Naturalistic Waterfall, Relax, Relaxing, Soothing Sounds, Sound Therapy, There’s No Place Like Home, Waterfall, waterfall design, Waterfall Video, Waterfalls, Waterfalls in YOUR Life, Zen, Zen Feeling, Zen state of mind, Zen Stream, Zen Video, Zen Waterfall
I don’t know about you, but I could use a little Zen today. I sat by this Pond over the weekend to think about what’s been going on over the last few days. This was my Grandma’s Pond and Waterfall and it really speaks to me when I need a little piece of mind. I hope in this little snippet you will see and hear what I’m talking about.
Within a matter of minutes the sound of the Waterfall and the swimming Koi just melt the tension away. I can feel my heart rate slow and my mind relax. A Waterfall is a Magical thing…
Have a great week!
Mark Carter
Filed under: Fountains, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Koi Ponds, Lake and Pond, Landscaping & Gardening, Love, music, Outdoor Lifestyles, Pondless Waterfalls, Waterfalls | Tags: Artistic Waterfalls, Blog, Blogging, Calling it in, Daily Blog, Designing Waterfalls, I ❤️ Waterfalls, Love, Love and Meaning, Monday, Monday’s, Natural Waterfalls, Peace ✌🏻Love ❤️ & Waterfalls, Poem, Poems, Waterfall, Waterfall Poem, Waterfalls, Waterfalls in YOUR Life, Zen Waterfall
I’ve been up since early, but never found time for my BLOG today… I normally try to share a Waterfall on Mondays, so instead, how about one of my favorite poems about a special waterfall 😊

“Whenever I plunge my arm, like this,
In a basin of water, I never miss
The sweet sharp sense of a fugitive day
Fetched back from the thickening shroud of grey.
Hence the only prime
And real love-rhyme
That I know by heart
And that leaves no smart,
Is the purl of a little valley fall
About three spans wide and two spans tall
Over a table of solid rock
And into a scoop of the self-same block;
The purl of a runlet that never ceases
In stir of kingdoms, in wars, in peaces;
With a hollow, boiling voice it speaks
And has spoken since hills were turfless peaks.”
“And why gives this the only prime
Idea to you of a real love-rhyme?
And why does plunging your arm in a bowl
Full of spring water, bring throbs to your soul?”
“Well, under the fall, in a crease of the stone,
Though where precisely none ever has known,
Jammed darkly, nothing to show how prized,
And by now with its smoothness opalised,
Is a drinking-glass:
For, down that pass,
My love and I
Walked under a sky
Of blue with a leaf-wove awning of green,
In the burn of August, to paint the scene,
And we placed our basket of fruit and wine
By the runlet’s rim, where we sat to dine;
And when we had drunk from the glass together,
Arched by the oak-copse from the weather,
I held the vessel to rinse in the fall,
Where it slipped, and sank, and was past recall,
Though we stooped and plumbed the little abyss
With long bared arms. There the glass still is.
And, as said, if I thrust my arm below
Cold water in basin or bowl, a throe
From the past awakens a sense of that time,
And the glass we used, and the cascade’s rhyme.
The basin seems the pool, and its edge
The hard smooth face of the brook-side ledge,
And the leafy pattern of china-ware
The hanging plants that were bathing there.
“By night, by day, when it shines or lours,
There lies intact that chalice of ours,
And its presence adds to the rhyme of love
Persistently sung by the fall above.
No lip has touched it since his and mine
In turn therefrom sipped lovers’ wine.”
~ Thomas Hardy
See y’all tomorrow 😊
Mark C.
Filed under: Family time, Food, Fountains, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Herbs, Landscaping & Gardening, Love, music, Outdoor Lifestyles, Sunday Reflections, Sunrises, Sunsets, Waterfalls | Tags: 2021, Do your best, Family time, Family Traditions, Feel Better, Happy New Year!, I Love ❤️ My Job!, I Love My Family, I Love Waterfalls, I Work Hard For My Koi, Love, Love and Meaning, Love Thy Neighbor, Love Thy Neighbor As Thyself, Love Your Pets, New Years Resolutions, Sunday, Sunday Breakfast, Sunday Brunch, Sunday in the Garden, Sunday Inspiration, Sunday Morning Coming Down, Sunday Mornings, Sunday Naps, Sunday Poem, Sunday Quote, Sunday Reflections, Sunday Songs, Sunday Sunrises, Sunday with Family, Sundays
All the holidays have gone by and tomorrow we go back to work and do it all over again… Many with a list of resolutions that will change their lives… Workout, save, loose weight, build, change, etc. and they work a little at it, but also, they wait for the ‘magic’ of the new year to happen. I’ve been sipping coffee thinking 🤔 about this for a little while this morning.

I guess this thought is really about me and my struggles… But I hope it rings true to others as well. To have continued success and to grow, I Must keep showing up and doing great work! Which also means I MUST keep believing in and caring about and Loving what I do!
THAT is my 2021 Resolution! And the only one I need to focus on.
Happy New Year! 💥❤️🙏🏻
‘You’re waiting for something magical to happen in the New Year so that your dreams will come true! But the greatest and the most real magic is working and striving hard to achieve the goal!’
~ Mehmet Murat Ildan
Mark C.
Filed under: Family time, Food, Fountains, General Blog Entry's, Love, music, Outdoor Lifestyles, Sunrises, Sunsets, Waterfalls | Tags: 2020, 2021, Christmas Love, Christmas Magic, Christmas Songs, Christmas Spirit, Christmas with Family, Family, Family Dinner, Family Pictures, Family Traditions, Fun From Home, Hindsight is 2020, Hindsight’s 2020, I Love Animals, I Love Cats, I Love Dogs, I Love My Family, Love, Love and Meaning, Love Thy Neighbor, Love Thy Neighbor As Thyself, Love Your Pets, Merry Christmas From The Family, New Years is Coming!, Presents for Pets, What is Christmas All About, You are missed
We had such a relaxing, pleasant Christmas Day! We watched movies with our parents, opened a few presents, ate Lunch with mom & dad & then, took a YUGE nap 😴

I think the pets had more fun than anyone! They all received a present 🎁 of their own and literally tore them up by supper 🎅🏻😂

Even the kitty came by for Christmas 🎄 She’s really an outdoor cat 🐈 and only comes in when she wants too. Usually, she only asks to come in on special occasions when there’s more than usual activity, or if it’s really cold. Even then, she hides around the edges or up high somewhere 😊

I am so thankful for the blessing of Christmas!

Now, Christmas is behind us and it’s on to the New Year! In less than a week, it’s gonna be 2021! 😳 They say ‘Hindsight is 2020’ …. I think we are all ready to put 2020 in the rear view mirror 🪞
I hope you enjoy the rest of your Christmas weekend! 🙏🏻❤️🎄
Mark Carter
Filed under: Family time, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Love, music, Outdoor Lifestyles, Sunsets | Tags: Christmas Love, Christmas Magic, Christmas Music, Christmas Songs, Christmas Spirit, Christmas Star, Christmas with Family, Family Traditions, I Love My Family, Love and Meaning, Night Sky, Sky Watching, Spirit, Star of Bethlehem, What is Christmas All About, Winter Solstice
Did you go outside last night to see the Star ⭐️ They say the alignment of these two heavenly bodies this closely hasn’t happened like last nights occurrence in around 800 years! WOW! Jo, Jacob and I all jumped in the truck right before sunset and drove down the road a ways to a clearing to get a good look 👀

I didn’t get great pictures, mainly because of the camera I was using (iPhone) But it was pretty neat seeing what many think happened on the night of Christ’s birth so long ago.

Peace 🙏🏻 And Merry Christmas 🎄
Mark Carter
Filed under: Family time, Food, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Hummingbirds, Lake and Pond, Love, music, Outdoor Lifestyles, Sunday Reflections, Sunrises, Sunsets, water garden, Waterfalls | Tags: Fog, Foggy Morning, Love and Meaning, Sunday, Sunday Breakfast, Sunday Inspiration, Sunday Mornings, Sunday on the River, Sunday Poem, Sunday Reflections, Sunday with Family
It has rained on and off all week… I’m not complaining, just stating a fact. We were committed to getting out in the boat regardless last evening. And guess what, we did and it was Beautiful! Mist and fog on the water and coming down out of the hills, and not another soul in sight… Total silence… We had an amazing evening.

It was a foggy, misty evening on the river, but we had the whole thing to ourselves, so it was pretty special 😊
This morning was a solid fog bank so we stayed in for breakfast 🍳 But the sun is already breaking it up! It’s gonna be a beautiful day 🌞
“Slowly I walked out into the grey
As the dark of night gave way to day
Feeling encased in a world of my own
Yet knowing that I was never alone
The ghostly mist rolled down the hill
While all around was silent and still
No sound from the sheep as I went by
Not a single movement caught my eye
The grass prostrate, weighted with dew
As I enjoyed my solitude with you
Even the birds were still at rest
Yet to stir on the new days quest
How like us all, was this early morn
Each wrapped in our own misty dawn
Seldom thinking beyond our comfort zone
Like the rest of the world is still unknown
Strolling on, I watch the day unfold
Soft golden rays break through, behold
The birds sing out their songs of praise
He gives us sweet late summer days
Beyond the cloud is a bright blue sky
And beyond the blue is Our Lord on High
The mists will clear when you believe
And inner peace you can achieve“
~ Sheila
Mark C.
Filed under: Family time, Food, Fountains, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Lake and Pond, Love, music, Outdoor Lifestyles, Sunrises, Sunsets, Waterfalls | Tags: 27th. Anniversary, Best Friend, Best Wife Award, Blessed, Blessings, Count Your Blessings, Family, Family time, Family Traditions, Friday From The Road, God Bless, God Bless America, Happy Anniversary, I ❤️ my Family, Love, Love and Meaning, Marriage, On the road again, Road Song, Road Trip, Thankful, The Open Road, The Road Not Taken
Happy Anniversary! ❤️🍾💥 I am a blessed man! I’m fortunate enough to have a job that I love, a great family & Im married to a virtuous woman 👩🏻 Again – blessed! 27 years of marriage today… In the blink of an eye! It doesn’t seem possible that this much time has passed… It literally seems like yesterday that we walked up that isle…
We have taken a few days off to celebrate and wind down. Nothing fancy, just some time together.

Jo’s grandfather walked her down the isle that day. I found this picture of him and it did my heart good. He was a very special person in Jo’s life. And our life together. ❤️
Thanks for all the calls and texts wishing us a happy day! And here’s to another 27 years together!
Cheers 🥂
Mark C.
Filed under: Butterfly House, Family time, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Herbs, Hummingbirds, Landscaping & Gardening, Love, Nursery, Outdoor Lifestyles, water garden, Waterfalls | Tags: #throwbackthursday, A picture is worth a thousand words, Butterfly Plant, Carters Nursery, Carters Nursery Pond & Patio, Carters Nursery Pond and Patio, Cone Flower, Family Pictures, Flowers, I Love My Family, Love, Love and Meaning, Old Pictures, Peace ✌🏻Love ❤️ & Herbs 🌿, Perennials, Pictures, Stop and smell the Roses, Throwback Thursday
Here’s a #throwbackthursday picture that’s near and dear to my heart ❤️ My son (also my youngest uniformed employee 😊). He Loved flowers as a child! And he still does… We got this picture of him in a large grouping of Coneflowers. They are still one of his favorites.

My boy taught me a LOT about “Stopping to smell the roses”… Cone flowers in this case 😊 I came across this one and had to use it for today’s Throwback Thursday Picture ❤️
Throwback Thursday is always a good day! I hope you enjoy yours!
#Throwbackthursday
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