Quality Time | Carter's Garden Blog

Sunday Reflections…

July 26, 2020, 7:55 am
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: 27th. Anniversary, Best Wife Award, Family time, Floating, Quality Time, River Life, Sunday Breakfast, Sunday Inspiration, Sunday on the River, Sunday Poem, Sunday Reflections, Sunday with Family, Tennessee River, Time flies, Time in a bottle, Time Off

Most travel plans have been put on hold, as I’m sure you are well aware… So for our Anniversary trip, we decided to do it by Boat 🚣‍♀️ Talk about social distancing! Tanning, reading, jamming music, taking photos, and just cruising the boat. Only stopping to take dip or refuel at an available marina.

What a wonderful way to celebrate an anniversary!

We taken many a road trip as well, but there’s nothing like just floating around on the river for a few days!

“Dark brown is the river.
Golden is the sand.
It flows along for ever,
With trees on either hand.

Green leaves a-floating,
Castles of the foam,
Boats of mine a-boating—
Where will all come home?

On goes the river
And out past the mill,
Away down the valley,
Away down the hill.

Away down the river,
A hundred miles or more,
Other little children
Shall bring my boats ashore.”

~ Robert Louis Stevenson

Mark C.

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Callin’ It in …

July 23, 2020, 11:41 am
Filed under: Family time, Food, Fountains, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Lake and Pond, Love, music, Outdoor Lifestyles, Sunrises, Sunsets, Waterfalls | Tags: Best Wife Award, Family time, Love, Marriage, On the road again, Quality Time, Relaxing, Road Song, Road song playlist, Road Trip, The Open Road, The Road Not Taken, Time flies, Time in a bottle, Time Off

I just had to amend my Blog today… it was on deck to publish… and I forgot to pull the trigger 😳

This was last years Anniversary photo… a 26 year comparison shot. Not to shabby 😊

I, WE are taking a few day’s off to celebrate and to try and slow it down a little… Jo and I always try to plan some time around our Anniversary & we both look forward to time together. The years are literally flying by… But, I’ve apparently been having fun, because I haven’t really noticed 😊

So, we are gonna take a break for a few days and try to relax. I will share some pics from the road over the next few days.

Thanks 🙏🏻 Have a great weekend!

Mark C.

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Pond Tip Tuesday | Carters Nursery, Pond & Patio | Jackson, Tennessee

So many people come to the nursery and just Love to feed the Koi!😍 They will swim right up and take the food from your hand 🖐🏻 So many people say “I can’t get my Koi to eat from my hand… What can I do”? So, I thought I would point everyone in the right direction on ‘How to get your Koi to eat from your hand”! 💥

Koi actually love to interact and eat from your hand. You just have to work with them a little bit… | Carters Nursery, Pond & Patio | Jackson, Tennessee

The easiest way to explain how to train a koi to eat from your hand is to go Pavlovian on them… ie; Conditioned Response! Pavlov used a bell 🔔 or buzzer in his work. He would make the sound & then give the dog food… Eventually just making the sound would make the dog slobber with anticipation. It kinda works the same way with Koi!

Consistency and repetition are key to train your Koi. Oh, and watermelon 🍉

#1 – Feed at the same time EVERY day! Be it morning or evening, be Consistent!
#2 – Repetition! At first, feed at the same time, in the same place and with the same food! Make a little splash sound with your fingertips, then throw a little food out. not to much at first. Doing it this way doesn’t really take that long. You just have to be committed to the process!
#3 Only feed for a given time. 5 minutes at first. Once they catch on, you can improvise with snacks and fruit 🍉 🍊 🥬

Once you break the ice, you can move closer and closer during feeding time, until your right on the edge with them and they will be literally eating from your hand!

So there you have it. Be consistent, be repetitive and ❤️ Your Koi!

Mark Carter
Carter’s Nursery, Pond & Patio
2846 Old Medina Rd.
Jackson, Tn. 38305
Ph.# 731-424-2206
http://www.cartercountry.com

YouTube pg. –
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6dPkQiE04jcr385SOL0gkw

Facebook pg. – https://www.facebook.com/mark.carter.775

Pinterest pg. – https://www.pinterest.com/cartersnursery

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Sunday Reflections…

April 19, 2020, 8:53 am
Filed under: Family time, Food, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Love, music, Outdoor Lifestyles, Sunday Reflections, Sunrises, Sunsets, Waterfalls | Tags: Breakfast, Family time, Morning Coffee, Quality Time, Quiet Time, Rainy Morning, Sunday Breakfast, Sunday Brunch, Sunday Inspiration, Sunday Morning Coming Down, Sunday Quote, Sunday Reflections, Sunday with Family, Time flies

A cool, light rain was falling this morning so I grabbed a hot cup of coffee and set outside for a little while. Time always goes by pretty quick for me, but it seems like lately, It literally Flies by! It seems I’ve blinked my eyes and were over half way through April! I’m not complaining, I just want to make sure that I am spending it wisely! Not wasting it! Because I know you can never get it back…
I guess I’m trying to savor it, like this hot coffee on a cold morning.

“Time is passing : not leaden stepping
But sprinting on winged feet,
Quick silver slipping by.”
~ Richard L. Ratliff

Time flies by us… We have to learn to savor every moment.

Have a great Sunday morning!

Mark C.

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Sunday Reflections…

January 19, 2020, 8:54 am
Filed under: Family time, Food, Fountains, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Love, music, Outdoor Lifestyles, Sunday Reflections, Sunrises, Sunsets, Waterfalls | Tags: 18th. Birthday, Birthdays Are Special, Family Fun, Family time, Football Time In Tennessee, Good Times, Great Son, Happy Birthday, I ❤️ my Family, IF, My Son, Quality Time, Rudyard Kipling, Sunday with Family, Time, Time flies, Time in a bottle, Voting Age

My son Jacob turns 18 today. 18 years in the blink of an eye 👁 Many of you know him personally & appreciate the man he has become. I’m about to fix his favorite breakfast and spend the day with my boy… I can still call him that, even though he is 6’ 3” and weighs about 220… 😎 I’m a Very proud papa!!!

A collage of pictures of our Birthday boy through the years. From the poster boy for the outdoor classroom movement to putting on butterfly programs, hanging out with his favorite performers & to the man he is today. What a great young man he has become ❤️

Happy Birthday Jacob! I Love you son!

“If you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,

But make allowance for their doubting too;

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,

Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,

And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;

If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

And treat those two impostors just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken

Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,

And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings

And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginnings

And never breathe a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

To serve your turn long after they are gone,

And so hold on when there is nothing in you

Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,

Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,

If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,

Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,

And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!”

~ Rudyard Kipling

Mark C.

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Hump Day Koi Fix | Carters Nursery, Pond & Patio | Jackson, Tennessee

This time of year I get to really missing feeding time! The weather has been warm & the Koi very active, but it’s just not time… So I thought I would post a nice little video of the Koi swimming and the aquatic plants flourishing as a memory/dream of the coming season 😊

Hump Day Dreaming 😎

I LOVE feeding time as much as they do! And I can’t wait until it’s time again! | Carters Nursery, Pond & Patio | Jackson, Tennessee

Keep calm, Spring is Coming!

Mark Carter
Carter’s Nursery, Pond & Patio
2846 Old Medina Rd.
Jackson, Tn. 38305
Ph.# 731-424-2206
http://www.cartercountry.com

YouTube pg. –
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6dPkQiE04jcr385SOL0gkw

Facebook pg. – https://www.facebook.com/mark.carter.775

Pinterest pg. – https://www.pinterest.com/cartersnursery/

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Sunday Reflections…

December 29, 2019, 9:34 am
Filed under: Family time, Food, Fountains, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Love, music, Outdoor Lifestyles, Sunday Reflections, Sunrises, Sunsets, Waterfalls | Tags: 2020 Is Coming, Day Off, Family time, Friends and Family, Goals, Good Times, Happy New Year!, I ❤️ my Family, I ❤️ My Friends!, Last Sunday Of The Decade, New Years is Coming!, New Years Resolutions, Old Friends, Quality Time, Rainy Days, Rainy Morning, Sunday Inspiration, Sunday Naps, Sunday Reflections, Sunday with Family, Time flies, Time in a bottle

Rainy night followed by a rainy morning. I’ve been sipping coffee since early, thinking about the holidays and all the family we got to see and all the stuff we did. We are having one more late holiday get together with some out of town family and then it’s all about New Years!

Only a few days left in this decade! What will I do with them…

Today is the last Sunday of the year! Last Sunday of the decade to be exact! It’s been a good year! Fast but good. I have started a list of goals for 2020. #1 in the list, spend more quality time with family and friends. The more I think about it, that’s a goal worth striving for.

Have a great Sunday with family and friends!

New Years is Coming!

Mark C.

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The Last Friday Report Of 2019

December 27, 2019, 12:44 pm
Filed under: Family time, Food, Fountains, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Herbs, Hummingbirds, Koi, Koi Ponds, Lake and Pond, Landscaping & Gardening, Love, music, Nursery, Outdoor Lifestyles, Pondless Waterfalls, Sunrises, Sunsets, water garden, Waterfalls | Tags: 2019, 2020, 2020 Events List, Carters Nursery, Carters Nursery Pond and Patio, Family time, Goals, Happy New Year!, New Years is Coming!, New Years Resolutions, New Years Traditions, Quality Time, Quiet Time, Tempus Fugit, Time, Time flies, Time in a bottle

The New Year is Coming! Fast! In fact this is the last Friday of 2019! Pretty crazy that it has gone by so quickly… But, it’s true that “time flies”!

2019 is on the way out! What does 2020 hold for YOU???

A good friend once told me the older you get the faster the time flies. It took me a while to understand that, but now I think I do. In a simple way, the older we get, the less time we have in our future… The demand is still there, but the supply is dwindling. So time becomes more and more valuable! That makes sense in my mind.
So along those lines, 2020 is coming fast & I want to make the very best I can of every moment! 😊

Im already working on my 2020 Events Calendar for Carters Nursery (I’m very excited for next year!).

What do you want in 2020? Do you set goals? Do you make “Resolutions”?

I don’t normally do New Years “Resolutions” but I’m considering a couple this year… IF I do, I will post them for all to see 😊 It may help my accountability to any resolution I make? We will see…

Good luck! & Heres to a GREAT 2020!

– See y’all next year!

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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Sunday Reflections…

I’ve been drinking coffee since early, thinking about all the family and friends that will be getting together over the next couple weeks. And how Christmas Day is only 10 days away! Wow! It’s just flying by… We are all into the 12 Days of Christmas countdown!

“On the first day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
A Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the second day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Two Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the third day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Three French Hens
Two Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the fourth day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Four Calling Birds
Three French Hens
Two Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the fifth day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Five Golden Rings
Four Calling Birds
Three French Hens
Two Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the sixth day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Six Geese a Laying
Five Golden Rings
Four Calling Birds
Three French Hens
Two Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the seventh day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Seven Swans a Swimming
Six Geese a Laying
Five Golden Rings
Four Calling Birds
Three French Hens
Two Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the eighth day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Eight Maids a Milking
Seven Swans a Swimming
Six Geese a Laying
Five Golden Rings
Four Calling Birds
Three French Hens
Two Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the ninth day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Nine Ladies Dancing
Eight Maids a Milking
Seven Swans a Swimming
Six Geese a Laying
Five Golden Rings
Four Calling Birds
Three French Hens
Two Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the tenth day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Ten Lords a Leaping
Nine Ladies Dancing
Eight Maids a Milking
Seven Swans a Swimming
Six Geese a Laying
Five Golden Rings
Four Calling Birds
Three French Hens
Two Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the eleventh day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Eleven Pipers Piping
Ten Lords a Leaping
Nine Ladies Dancing
Eight Maids a Milking
Seven Swans a Swimming
Six Geese a Laying
Five Golden Rings
Four Calling Birds
Three French Hens
Two Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the twelfth day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
12 Drummers Drumming
Eleven Pipers Piping
Ten Lords a Leaping
Nine Ladies Dancing
Eight Maids a Milking
Seven Swans a Swimming
Six Geese a Laying
Five Golden Rings
Four Calling Birds
Three French Hens
Two Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree”

I know you just sang that 😊

Have a Great Sunday & Merry Christmas!

~ Mark Carter

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Throwback Thursday…

November 14, 2019, 9:05 am
Filed under: Family time, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Love, Outdoor Lifestyles, Sunrises, Sunsets | Tags: #throwbackthursday, Family time, Good Times, Great Son, I ❤️ my Family, I ❤️ My Friends!, Quality Time, Stop and smell the Roses, Throwback Thursday, Time flies, Time in a bottle, Trees

How time flies! Both of these kids are young adults now! One in college full time and the other a part time college man. Both are very intelligent, special people! I came across this picture and just had to share it 😊