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: Boutique, Family time, Food, Fountains, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Love, music, Outdoor Lifestyles, Sunrises, Sunsets, Waterfalls | Tags: Christmas, Christmas Countdown, Christmas decorations, Christmas Gifts, Christmas is Coming, Christmas List, Christmas Love, Christmas Magic, Christmas Music, Christmas Season, Christmas Songs, Christmas Spirit, Christmas with Family, Family time, Good Times, Holiday, Holiday Season, Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas Y'all, Quality Time, Time, Time flies
Thanksgiving is over… Black Friday is behind us! We started putting up our Thanksgiving decorations this morning and pulling old things out to get ready for Christmas. It really hit me like a ton of bricks 🧱 Christmas is less than 1 month away!

So it begins… Christmas is coming! 🎄

Have a great Holiday weekend!
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, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Love, music, Outdoor Lifestyles | Tags: #throwbackthursday, Best Son Award, Family, Family Pictures, Family time, Family Traditions, Good Times, Guitar, I ❤️ my Family, I Love My Family, Jacob, Love, Memories, Memory s, Paul Thorn, Quality Time, Throwback, Throwback Thursday, Time, Time flies
#Throwbackthursday is always a look back at something special. A great job, or accomplishment, a great moment or a great memory. Today is no different 😊❤️


Looking back is Awesome! Especially with memories like this 😊 The road forward is exciting as well ❤️
Have a great Throwback Thursday!
Mark C.
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.
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.
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 😳
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.
Filed under: Family time, Food, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Koi, Koi Ponds, Lake and Pond, Landscaping & Gardening, Love, Nursery, Outdoor Lifestyles, Pond Tips, water garden, Waterfalls | Tags: Cartercountry, Carters Nursery Pond and Patio, Color Enhancing Koi Food, Consistency, Feeding Koi, Feeding Time, Fish Feeding, Hand Feeding Koi, Koi Feeding, Koi Feeding Schedule, Koi Food, Koi Health Tip, Koi Health Tips, Koi Snacks, Koi Supplies, Maxi Growth Koi Food, Patience, Pavlov, Pond Supplies, Pond Tip, Pond Tip Tuesday, Quality Time, Snacks, Summer Pond Tips, Training, Training Koi, Weekly Pond Tip
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!
#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
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.”
Have a great Sunday morning!
Mark C.
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!
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, Videos, water garden, Waterfalls | Tags: Aquatic Plants, Feeding Koi, Hump Day, Hump Day Dreaming, Hump Day Koi Fix, Hump Day Koi Story, I ❤️ Koi, I ❤️ My Art, I ❤️ Ponds, I ❤️ Waterfalls, I Love ❤️ My Job!, Keep Calm, My Pond, pond, Quality Time, Seasonal affective disorder (SAD), Seasonal Feeding Times, Seasonal Koi Feeding Temperatures, Seasonal Koi Seperation Anxiety, Spring is Coming, Water Garden
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/
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!
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.