Carter's Water Garden


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.



Sunday Reflections…

Up and at it this Sunday morning… Quick chores, feeding the animals, feeding us, coffee ☕️ goes without saying… Spring is in the air! Shrubs and flowering trees are busting open, some a little prematurely… But, it’s a beautiful thing to see.

Last weeks bud is this weeks early flower. Spring is almost here! It’s a little early, but man it sure is beautiful 🤩

This is when you can really see the coming of Spring. The trees changing color, the daffodils 🌼 blooming. Forsythia blooming, early cherry trees and plum and crab apples busting open… It’s hope and healing and medicine for those ailing from Spring fever 🤒 Get out and find your cure!

“Flowers clad in colorful t-shirts and vibrant shorts are swaying in the gentle breeze. Birds are singing. Trees start filling with leaves, and the branches laden with exploding buds look majestic. Balmy spring days are coming. I am happy, very happy.”

~ Bhuwan Thapaliya

Have a great day!

~ Mark C.



Sunday Reflections…

Cabin fever. Spring fever. Call it what you want, but I got it… The ice storm we just thawed out from didn’t help either. Stuck in the house with plenty of food, water took up in every container & pot in the house, ready for the worst case scenario to unfold.

So much truth in this painting… You know the drill if your from West TN.

Luckily we dodged the bullet! But we did get some serious ice. The streets were dangerous, some branches and trees came down under the weight. Many people lost power. But it wasn’t like 1994! In 94’ we were out of power for 2 1/2 weeks! 😮 This one only lasted 3 days or so.

So we gathered around the TV 📺 and watched movies 🍿 We tried to stick to a ‘cold theme’… Insomnia, The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo. The Shining. Etc… But being trapped in the house gets to me… My Cabin Fever grew worse… I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for Spring!

“Flakes of snow swirled and danced across the porch. The Overlook faced it as it had for nearly three-quarters of a century, its darkened windows now bearded with snow, indifferent to the fact it was now cut off from the world… Inside its shell the three of them went about their early evening routine, like microbes trapped in the intestine of a monster.”

~ Stephen King

Have a great Sunday! Spring is Coming!

Mark C.



Sunday Reflections…

Good afternoon 🙏🏻 I always try to post a Sunday Reflections blog, and they have almost always been in the morning. The morning just got away from me 😂 Coffee ☕️ Chickens 🐓 Breakfast 🍳 Picking up, cutting back, composting, trash duty, etc. Preparations for the coming season… Plus Preparations for the coming week 😊 February is only a few days away and I already have Spring Fever 🍀

The buds are swelling on my Saucer’ Magnolia! Spring is coming!

Thursday is Groundhog Day, the half-way point of Winter! Then it’s a downhill roll into Spring ❤️

Have a great afternoon!

Mark C.

“Every gardener knows that under the cloak of winter lies a miracle … a seed waiting to sprout, a bulb opening to the light, a bud straining to unfurl.  And the anticipation nurtures our dream.”

~ Barbara Winkler



Sunday Reflection’s…

2023 is definitely off to a quick start for me. Back to work is an understatement… But certain things slow you down to pay homage and reflect on. Like my son turning 21 this past week ❤️ Milestones like this really make you reflect. Saying “time flies” just doesn’t tell the story, but in a way it does sum it up… Time is such an illusion. It slips right through our grasp and pours through our fingers, and we can never get it back. We have had a lot of time well spent together! I’ve made a point to spend as much time as possible with my family and with my son over the past 21 years! And the only regrets I can think of are the few things we didn’t get to do… YET! I feel very blessed to have him in my life and I look forward to what the future may bring.

The future looks bright for my little (6’3”) 21 year old son. What an impressive man he has become. 🙏🏻❤️

Sunday brunch and coffee are forthcoming ☕️ 🍳

“Time is the most valuable thing a man can spend” ~ Theophrastus

Have a great Sunday!

~ Mark C.



Sunday Reflection’s…

A new year and I have been busy planning for it! Business plan, events, pond tours, workshops, jobs, early buys, plant orders and more… I haven’t missed a sunrise or sunset in 2023 yet! No it’s not a resolution… But I do really enjoy watching both 🌞🌅 Here’s a little collage of some of 2023’s best from the Beach!

Now is when the real work begins…

“Sunrise looks spectacular in nature; sunrise looks spectacular in the photos; sunrise looks spectacular in our dreams; sunrise looks spectacular in the paintings, because it really is spectacular!”

~ Mehmet Murat Ildan

Mark C.



Sunday Reflections…

“Do you remember where you were when you heard that Elvis had died? I sure do. I really remember my mother crying and calling her friends. He was truly loved! RIP To the King of rock n’ roll!” 

Do you remember where you were? 

IF you remember where you were, leave a message or a short story… I would love to hear it 🙏🏻

“Some people tap their feet, some people snap their fingers, and some people sway back and forth. I just sorta do ’em all together, I guess.”

~ Elvis Presley


PS: AND – Happy Birthday to another cool cat – Zachery Hall 💥

Have a Great Sunday!

~ Mark C.




Sunday Reflections…

Merry Christmas 🎄 I have found myself becoming more and more in the Spirit of the season this year! We have been decorating around the place on a daily basis… Add to that all the food and party’s and plans being made, This year has felt more “Christmasy” than normal 🎅🏼

My “Sled” has already been decorated for the season 😊Merry Christmas Y’all!

We still have LOTS to do before the big family get together, but I’m good with that! It’s 2 weeks until Christmas Day! 😮 Wow right… Be ready!

Christmas is Coming! 🎅🏼

Christmas is Coming! Whether we are ready or not… I hope you are feeling the Spirit of the season ❤️

“Christmas gives us an opportunity to pause and reflect on the important things around us.”

~ David Cameron

Have a great day!

~ Mark C.



Sunday Reflection’s…

Time is so funny… Sometimes it drags on & other times it goes by so fast that you miss things. I say it all the time, but it seems like this year has gone by quicker than any year before 💨 Turn around and boom 💥 it’s Thanksgiving! We are hosting our family dinner here in a few days, so we have been busy straitening up, decorating and basically getting ready 🦃

After all these years of living and working and doing, the one thing I have figured out is, you have to be grateful for your blessings 🙏🏻 (Ps: I’m still working on it 😊)

With my hectic schedule it’s easy to push on and take things for granted just to get through this day and to the next… But you miss so many things in that process, the most important things. God, family, friends, rest, health & happiness can be glossed over and left in your wake… Maybe it’s like the spirit that comes over you at Christmas 🎅🏼 you want everyday to feel like that. ⭐️ Thanksgiving can be the same. I’m going to try to let my Gratitude exceed my expectations everyday and see what happens ❤️

“Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.”

~ William Arthur Ward


Happy Thanksgiving 🦃 to Everyone!


~ Mark C.



Sunday Reflection’s…

It’s always easy to “Fall back”! My personal clock didn’t change though… I was wide awake shortly after 4am this morning. My iPhone had already updated, so I changed all the clocks ⏰, reset the oven and microwave clocks… Straitened up, made coffee, made biscuits and waited for the sunrise.

Shortly after breakfast, I let the chickens 🐓 out to free range a bit, then came back to drink some coffee ☕️

In the short time that I was in the house a couple of things happened. My sons Australian Shepherd got out of the fence and not only scattered my flock of chickens that were outside, she went into the hen house & ran ALL of my chickens out and scattered them to the wind 💨

You know what comes next… Trying to locate and round up chickens isn’t easy, in fact I’m still in the process… Y’all have a wonderful Sunday afternoon 🌞

“I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives.”

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Mark C.