Carter's Water Garden


Sunday Reflection’s…

I was thinking/reflecting this morning while I sipped my coffee about the passage of time and the seasons. As winter slowly moves into spring, it feels like warmer weather will never arrive. Then boom 💥 it’s June again… Time is so funny! I guess the old wisdom holds true, time is fleeting… The only real time is Now!

Don’t blink… And don’t procrastinate! Time waits for no man! Get out and enjoy NOW! Carpe Diem’!

“This is June, the month of grass and leaves . . . already the aspens are trembling again, and a new summer is offered me.  I feel a little fluttered in my thoughts, as if I might be too late.  Each season is but an infinitesimal point.  It no sooner comes than it is gone.  It has no duration.  It simply gives a tone and hue to my thought.  Each annual phenomena is reminiscence and prompting.  Our thoughts and sentiments answer to the revolution of the seasons, as two cog-wheels fit into each other.  We are conversant with only one point of contact at a time, from which we receive a prompting and impulse and instantly pass to a new season or point of contact.  A year is made up of a certain series and number of sensations and thoughts which have their language in nature.  Now I am ice, now I am sorrel.  Each experience reduces itself to a mood of the mind.”
– Henry David Thoreau, Journal, June 6, 1857


Enjoy the day!

~ Mark C.



Sunday Reflection’s…

West Tn. weather is crazy, but still very seasonably predictable… The blackberries are in bloom once again & boom 💥 here comes a cold front that drops the temps overnight. Cool and crisp this morning and it feels SO GOOD 😊 I love me some ‘Blackberry Winter’…

Enjoy this day and this lovely little cold snap… knowing that soon, Summer Heat will be upon us! And, it will be time to pick blackberries once again 😊

“I see blackberry winter’s here
that very special time of year
when thorny vine’s small pure white bloom
announces colder weather’s doom.

It’s cold enough to wear long sleeves
to ward off spring’s last chilly breeze
yet warm enough up in the day
to show that cold won’t long hold sway.

The flower of this lowly berry
reminds that summer won’t long tarry.
This mini-season won’t last long
so don a coat and tag along.

We’ll both enjoy this evening’s nip
hands in each other’s loving grip
and gaze into each other’s eyes
as stars replace the clear blue skies.

As whippoorwill gives serenade
from ‘cross the pond in brushy glade
beneath a blanket we’ll start to plan
vacation on the ocean’s sand.

But in the back of cozy mind
all thoughts of winter left behind
tiny voices, soft and sweet
reminds that next comes summer heat.”

~ Stan Holiday

I’m off for an adventure… Y’all have fun 🤩

~ Mark C.



Sunday Reflection’s…

Everyone is “Born of Woman”, so everyone has a birth mother. Some of us are fortunate enough to have a Mom ❤️ A nurturer, giver, teacher… A person above & beyond all others in your life. I am blessed by the fact that I still have my Mom!

Happy Mothers Day to the Best Mom Ever!

We are having Lunch together today 💥

Proverbs 31:25: “She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.”

Momma loves to laugh and have fun. I’ve always loved this picture of her and dad laughing and having fun.

I think this bible verse sums up a Mothers Love.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”

My wife is being celebrated today as well as my sister and many many great Moms that I know ❤️

“Mother is the name for God in the lips and hearts of little children.”

~ William Makepeace Thackeray

Happy Mother’s Day to ALL the Moms out there! What in the world would we have done without you! ❤️


~ Mark C.



Sunday Reflection’s…

I’ve been up since early morning, doing a few things in my garden. Finally getting my tomatoes 🍅 squared away 👏🏻 It was a test… I almost always get my ‘maters’ out by April 15th… But this years weather had other plans 😊 Late frosts, wind and storms, unseasonably cool nights well into late April, early May drove my decision to wait. PS: I’m glad I did.

In fact, I know several old gardeners who always wait until Mothers Day to plant their tomatoes 🍅 and peppers 🌶 🫑 and almost always have show stopping gardens with HUGE yields. “It’s all about soil temperature and warming nights”… I’ve learned that this age old wisdom holds true almost every time. Everything revolves around proper timing…

Have you planted any tomatoes yet 🍅 Today is the day for me! I have good plants over a foot tall ready! This is my favorite variety, Cherokee Purple. It’s an old ‘heirloom’ variety that was passed down from American Indians over 100 years ago. Soooo Good! 😋 But don’t put all your eggs in 1 basket 🧺 Diversify by planting some hybrid varieties as well like Jet Star and Better Boy.

“Whoever makes a garden. Has never worked alone;
the rain has always found it, The sun has always known;
The wind has blown across it. And helped to scatter seeds;
Whoever makes a garden. Has all the help he needs.

Whoever makes a garden. Should surely not complain,
With someone like the sunshine.And someone like the rain
And someone like the breezes.To aid him in his toil
And someone like the Father. Who gave the garden soil.

Whoever makes a garden, has, oh, so many friends;
The glory of the morning, the dew when daylight ends.
For rain and wind and sunshine, and dew and fertile sod;
And he who makes a garden, works hand and hand with God.”

~ Douglas Malloch

Have a great Sunday!

PS: 1 week from today is Mothers Day! ❤️

~ Mark C.



Sunday Reflection’s…

What a beautiful, cool morning. The next 4 mornings in a row the temps will be in the low 40’s as well… as we enter the month of May. A little cool, but I’ll take it 😊 Blink and we are 1/2 way through Spring…

I love every season, but Spring is my favorite. I’m still woken by excitement many mornings this time of year and it drags me right out and into my garden 🪴
Which is where I’m headed now 😊 As soon as I finish this last cup of coffee ☕️

Sunday morning advise- Get out and enjoy some Cool Spring morning weather… Before it turns to Summer Heat 🌞


“In April, we cannot see sunflowers in France, so we might say the sunflowers do not exist. But the local farmers have already planted thousands of seeds, and when they look at the bare hills, they may be able to see the sunflowers already. The sunflowers are there. They lack only the conditions of sun, heat, rain and July. Just because we cannot see them does not mean that they do not exist.”

~ Thich Nhat Hanh

Enjoy this breezy Spring Day!

~ Mark C.



Sunday Reflection’s…

This morning was cold and crisp and damp and it felt like early Spring in March… But it’s April 23rd.! The entire hill and holler is green and in full bloom 🌺 My Nursery is fully stocked as well… And in the morning, we are looking at a very late FROST 🥶 So yesterday evening a LOT of plants got moved in and covered, the rest was left until today 😊 Such is the life of a gardener 🪴 “Till it, plant it, water it, weed it, move it, then move it again… But, what’s the alternative? Chance? Or a lost season of growth? Less plants?…. I think NOT! Let’s get to moving plants!

Break out the sheets and plastic, we got a crazy late frost heading our way Tonight into Monday morning. A late frost like this may break some records, but will definitely break a few hearts! 😢

But, I don’t want to gloss over the fact that we are actually having a Spring this year! Spring is so exciting and changing and renewing… So we will gladly play along 😊

A bit more coffee, then back to it!

“The sun was warm but the wind was chill.
You know how it is with an April day.
When the sun is out and the wind is still,
You’re one month on in the middle of May.
But if you so much as dare to speak,
a cloud come over the sunlit arch,
And wind comes off a frozen peak,
And you’re two months back in the middle of March.”

~ Robert Frost

Have a wonderful Sunday!

PS: Frost tonight! Cover & protect your tender plants 🙏🏻


~ Mark C.



Sunday Reflection’s…

Cool start to the morning, overcast, 46 degrees and a little windy 💨 But, it’s warming back up! We finally had a week of good weather! Got some work done ✔️ and a slight sunburn… But, this is the time! We are past frost and the whole world is ‘greening up’. Gardening starts in full force now 😊 Tomatoes 🍅 peppers 🌶 squash and corn 🌽 My Koi are eating twice a day now and very happy 😃 Things are looking up ⬆️

Azaleas, Dogwoods, Iris & more are in full bloom right outside your window. Don’t miss it! Springtime in Tennessee ❤️

“And Spring arose on the garden fair,
Like the Spirit of Love felt everywhere;
And each flower and herb on Earth’s dark breast
rose from the dreams of its wintry rest.”

~ Percy Bysshe Shelley

Now it’s on to coffee ☕️ and eggs 🥚 My chickens 🐓 are loving spring too! I’ve got eggs coming out of my ears… 😋

Have a wonderful, blessed Sunday!

~ Mark C.



Sunday Reflection’s…

Beautiful Sunrise 🌅, early morning chores, including breaking up ice in every bowl and trough… Cold 🥶

But the coffees is Hot ☕️ And breakfast was epic! We had black beans 🫘 and rice with applewood smoked sausage for dinner last night. Left overs almost demand my wife’s favorite breakfast – Huevos rancheros! 💥 ie; Ranch Style Eggs 🍳 But when I fix them… Markus T.’s Hillbilly Eggs 🍳 💥

Jo likes her eggs 🥚 over medium. I like egg whites only… But both have rice, black beans, cheese, sour cream, guacamole 🥑 & salsa 💥 It’s a meal 🥘

It’s the kind of breakfast that fills you up, warms you up, and let’s you skip lunch 😊

It’s a Cold 🥶, Sunny 🌞 Beautiful 🤩 Day! Don’t waste it 🙏🏻

“The sun is brilliant in the sky but its warmth does not reach my face.
The breeze stirs the trees but leaves my hair unmoved.
The cooling rain will feed the grass but will not slake my thirst.
It is all inches away but further from me than my dreams.”

~ M. Romeo LaFlamme


Enjoy this day! 🌞

~ Mark C.



Sunday Reflection’s…

The daffodils have bloomed, red buds, cherry’s and so many other early bloomers are showing out right now ❤️And todays event is a definite mile post every Spring. Daylight Savings time 🕰 It’s always tough loosing an hour of sleep… But, in a few days it’s fine, and we get the long evenings 💥 I am a fan for sure. The days will continue to get longer all the way to the Summer Solstice 🌞 Soon our Gardens will be in Full Bloom! Our vegetables will be in the ground and growing. Boating season is starting. It’s finally back! I LOVE Spring!

Soon the Azaleas, Dogwoods, Iris & more will be in full bloom ❤️ Don’t miss it!

More coffee, then who knows?

“In spring the morning is darker
farmers don’t like it one bit.
Children go to school in the dark,
it’s still light when bedtime they hit.

Others prefer daylight saving,
with longer evenings of light.
There’s more time for beach and barbies
before twilight fades into night.

In autumn clock hands fall back
for that missing hour to reclaim.
This upsets our sleeping pattern,
now the brain we need to retrain.

Time then returns to normal
sending the body into shock.
We are messing around with time
by moving those hands on the clock”

~ Vivian Wade


Have a great day!

Mark C.



Sunday Reflection’s…

Spring is elusive. It tease’s us a bit. My Saucer Magnolias are in full bloom, my big Weeping Willow is leafing out. The ground is very wet, muddy in fact with more rain forecast all week… Then a cold snap is expected that will nip all these early plants and trees back. This time of year it’s always 2 steps forward & then – 2 to 3 steps back… But that is also part of the magic that Spring brings us 😊 Resurrection, renewal, regrowth… ❤️

My Grandma planted this flowering Almond many years ago. When it blooms, like it is doing now, it brings back so many memories of her and my granddad ❤️

It was a cool, muddy morning, but we got the chores done in record time. I fixed coffee ☕️ Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee to be exact (so good!). Had a simple quick breakfast (bagels & eggs 🥚) and then I got a pot of soup going for dinner (homemade potato 🥔)! No football 🏈 to tie me down this afternoon… Who knows what might happen! 😇

“The flowers of late winter and early spring occupy places in our hearts well out of proportion to their size.”

~ Gertrude S. Wister

Have a great afternoon!

Mark C.