Filed under: Family time, Food, Fountains, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Landscaping & Gardening, Love, music, Nursery, Outdoor Lifestyles, Sunday Reflections, Sunrises, Sunsets, water garden, Waterfalls | Tags: Signs of Spring, Spring is Coming, 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, Weather Signs
I’ve been trying to get my house and garden in order for the upcoming Spring season. Many think there isn’t much to do outside this time of year, but for a professional gardener, the chores are never done… In my reality, there are only a few football 🏈 games left before the Spring season really gets started!

“The shortest day has passed, and whatever nastiness of weather we may look forward to in January and February, at least we notice that the days are getting longer. Minute by minute they lengthen out. It takes some weeks before we become aware of the change. It is imperceptible even as the growth of a child, as you watch it day by day, until the moment comes when with a start of delighted surprise we realize that we can stay out of doors in a
twilight lasting for another quarter of a precious hour.”
~ Vita Sackville-West
Enjoy your day!
PS: Go Packers! 🏈
Mark C.
Filed under: Family time, Food, Fountains, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Koi Ponds, Lake and Pond, Landscaping & Gardening, Love, music, Outdoor Lifestyles, Sunday Reflections, Sunrises, Sunsets, water garden, Waterfalls | Tags: Family time, Family Traditions, Football, I ❤️ my Family, I Love Football, Playoffs, Spring Flowering Bulbs, Spring is Coming, Spring News, 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
Just a couple more weekends of football will take us into February, then we will start to notice the signs… swelling buds, emerging tips of spring foliage & the crappie will be biting in earnest! I don’t know about you, but I’m already ready for Spring!

Shoots are thrusting through the cold earth, ‘Tho the wind is in the north;Look! The snowdrop, crocus, scilla Struggle, bravely, to come forth!
Soon each fragile, gentle, blossom Will appear, to cheer each way,Hearts will gladden at their promise,Of clear, fresh, sunlit, springtime days!
~ Greta M. Sears
Have a great Sunday!
PS: It’s a Beautiful day! 🌞
Mark C.
Filed under: Family time, Food, Fountains, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Herbs, Love, music, Sunday Reflections, Sunrises, Sunsets, Waterfalls | Tags: Coffee, Day Off, Football, Football Time In Tennessee, I ❤️ Football, I Love Football, Playoff Sunday, Playoffs, 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
It’s already starting out to be a very… Interesting 2021. Thank the Lord for Sunday!
We started out with breakfast 🥞 🍳 or should I say Brunch…

Now, it’s on to Football 🏈 Go Titans!

Enjoy your day off! My advice for the future is to turn off the TV 📺 and all other news sources. Your mental health will skyrocket! 😊
“It’s a fine line between Saturday night and Sunday morning.” ~ Jimmy Buffett
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, God Bless America, Love, music, Outdoor Lifestyles, Sunday Reflections, Sunsets, Waterfalls | Tags: 2021, Dog pile, Dogs, Family Fun, Family Traditions, Good Times, I ❤️ Dogs, I ❤️ my Family, Love Your Pets, Lucky Dogs, New Years is Coming!, Sunday, Sunday Brunch, Sunday Inspiration, Sunday Morning Coming Down, Sunday Mornings, Sunday Poem, Sunday Reflections, Sunday Songs, Sunday with Family, Sundays
We stayed up LATE last night, binge watching movies and eating Christmas goodies… I normally don’t sit up real late, so it was different & fun 🤩 Until this morning…

It’s been a Great Christmas season! But I think I’m ready for 2021… Now, for a shower 🚿
“Hope smiles from the threshold of the year to come, whispering ‘it will be happier.’”
~ Alfred Lord Tennyson
Have a great Sunday!
Mark C.
Filed under: Family time, Food, Fountains, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Herbs, Love, music, Outdoor Lifestyles, Sunday Reflections, Sunrises, Sunsets, Waterfalls | Tags: Christmas Countdown, Christmas decorations, Christmas is Coming, Christmas Love, Christmas Magic, Christmas Music, Christmas Season, Christmas Spirit, Christmas Tree, Christmas with Family, Family time, I ❤️ my Family, Merry Christmas Y'all, Spirit, Sunday Breakfast, Sunday Brunch, Sunday Inspiration, Sunday Morning Coming Down, Sunday Mornings, Sunday Poem, Sunday Quote, Sunday Reflections, Sunday with Family, Sundays, What is Christmas All About
This morning I woke up to Christmas music 🎄 The Spirit is in the air! We are taking the whole weekend for Christmas activities… Looking at lights, fixing treats like Chex mix & Rum Cake 🍰 and Cookies 🍪. Don’t forget Family Breakfast 🍳 … or Brunch 😊

The lights last night were Amazing!

Christmas is only 5 days away! Have you caught the Christmas Spirit? 🎅🏻🎄🤩

Remember
This December,
That love weighs more than gold!…
~Josephine Dodge Daskam Bacon (1876–1961), “The Right Gift,” 1912
Merry Christmas! 🎄🎅🏻
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: Love, Sunday, Sunday Breakfast, Sunday Brunch, Sunday Inspiration, Sunday Morning Coming Down, Sunday Mornings, Sunday Naps, Sunday Poem, Sunday Quote, Sunday Reflections, Sunday with Family, Sundays, Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving is Coming
It’s that time again. Time to make the annual menu for Thanksgiving dinner with family. It’s really simple to communicate with everyone nowadays via text and email to figure out the big questions – What, When & Where… But this year, for many of us, there’s another big question… How?! Some are distancing because of health reasons, some to keep the crowd size down as a preventative, and some are just staying out and requested a plate of food be dropped off for them… A very different Thanksgiving indeed… But still, I’m Thankful!
Now all that is done… Dinner at my house! I got ham again 😊 and sweet potatoes 🍠… and pecan pie 🥧… And, the responsibility of giving the Thanksgiving prayer 🙏🏻 How to put into words how I feel about all that I have to be Thankful for… PS; it’s a LOT! And yes, I’m Thankful for the opportunity!

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words but to live by them.”
~ John F. Kennedy
Here’s to the upcoming Holidaze…
Mark C.
Filed under: Family time, Food, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Landscaping & Gardening, Love, music, Sunday Reflections, Sunrises, Sunsets, Waterfalls | Tags: Breakfast, Brunch, Eggs, Family time, Homegrown Tomatoes, I ❤️ my Family, Kitchen, Kitchen Scraps, Pancakes, Sunday, Sunday Breakfast, Sunday Brunch, Sunday Gardening, Sunday in the Garden, Sunday Inspiration, Sunday Morning Coming Down, Sunday Mornings, Sunday Quote, Sunday Reflections, Sunday Sunrises, Sunday with Family, Sundays, Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving is Coming, There’s No Place Like Home
Have you been outside today? Wow! It’s like a warm Spring morning out there! So beautiful. I went out and scavenged through what’s left of the tomato plants and found a few more good ones! 🍅💥 I love it ❤️ I brought them in and added them to the large group on the counter. Jo has put out some beautiful Thanksgiving decorations and was taking pictures and trying out some new editing apps. When I looked at them, I really got the feeling of Home. Seeing her simple picture made me feel good. My morning has been made 😊 Now, back to Sunday Brunch…

”The first supermarket supposedly appeared on the American landscape in 1946. That is not very long ago. Until then, where was all the food? Dear folks, local fields, and forests. It was near kitchens, near tables, near bedsides. It was in the pantry, the cellar, the backyard.
~ Joel Salatin
Have a great day! Get Outside!
Mark C.
Filed under: Family time, Food, Fountains, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Hummingbirds, Koi, Koi Ponds, Lake and Pond, Landscaping & Gardening, Love, music, Nursery, Outdoor Lifestyles, Pondless Waterfalls, Sunday Reflections, Sunrises, Sunsets, water garden, Waterfalls | Tags: Boutique, Carter Country Boutique & Gifts, Christmas Gifts, Christmas is Coming, Christmas Magic, Christmas Shop, Family Fun, Family time, Family Traditions, Gift, Gifts With Meaning, Last minute gifts, Sunday, Sunday Breakfast, Sunday Brunch, Sunday Gardening, Sunday in the Garden, Sunday Inspiration, Sunday Morning Coming Down, Sunday Mornings, Sunday Naps, Sunday Poem, Sunday Reflections, Sunday with Family, Sundays, The Little Garden Shop, Unique Gifts
We have been working at our Nursery/Garden Center and Pond business now for 31 years (started in 1989). I have always wanted a nice gift shop inside the Garden Center for people to explore and find the perfect, unique gifts. A mix of country chic, bohemian style and garden deco… But now, I don’t have to keep looking 👀 Over the past few weeks my wife, her best friend Honey, Ann and a few strong backs to move things around for them have put together what may be the perfect Country Boutique.



I’m very proud of the little garden/gift shop that they have worked so hard to put together and stock up. Last night I sat on the porch and wrote a little poem for Jo about the Little Garden Shop’…
– Our little garden shop.
“The little garden shop. So simple and so fine. Butterflies & hummingbirds feeding on the vines. Koi swim round the waterfall, such Color and oh the sound. Scents, clothes and candles, overflowing to the ground. Enter through the sliding door, your a welcome guest for sure. Our clients are the very best, and they keep coming back for more.“
~ Me 😊
Now, I gotta fix a very special breakfast for my gal 🍳 🥞 😊
Have a wonderful Sunday!
Mark Carter