Filed under: Family time, Food, Fountains, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Herbs, Love, music, Sunday Reflections, Sunrises, Sunsets, Waterfalls | Tags: Family, Family time, Family Traditions, Friends and Family, God Bless, Grateful, Gratitude, Happy Thanksgiving, Love, 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 Sunrises, Sunday with Family, Sundays, Sunsets, Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving Decorations, Thanksgiving is Coming, The Presence of God, Time, Time flies, Time in a bottle, Time Off
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.
Filed under: Family time, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Landscaping & Gardening, Love, Nursery, Outdoor Lifestyles, Sunday Reflections | Tags: Australian Shepherd, Biscuits, Biscuits and Gravy, Chicken, chicken Coop, Chickens, Coffee, Coffee Mug, Dark Winter, Daylight Savings Time, Fall Back, Feeding Birds, Feeding Time, Free Range Chickens, Hen House, Instagram, Morning Coffee, Pets, Sunday, Sunday in the Garden, Sunday Inspiration, Sunday Morning Coming Down, Sunday Mornings, Sunday Poem, Sunday Quote, Sunday Reflections, Sunday Sunrises, Sunday with Family, Sundays, Time flies
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.
Filed under: Family time, Food, Fountains, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Koi Ponds, Lake and Pond, Landscaping & Gardening, Love, Outdoor Lifestyles, Sunday Reflections, water garden, Waterfalls | Tags: Autumn, Autumn Color, Autumn Leaves Falling on Water, Autumn Poem, Cookout by the Pond, Fall, Family time, Fire Pit, Football, Love, Now, Seasonal Interest, Sunday, Sunday Breakfast, Sunday Brunch, Sunday Gardening, Sunday in the Garden, Sunday Inspiration, Sunday Morning Coming Down, Sunday Mornings, Sunday Naps, Sunday Poem, Sunday Quote, Sunday Reflections, Sunday Sunrises, Sunday with Family, Sundays, Time, Time flies
What a beautiful morning! The sun is out and it’s so warm I was able to sit outside in my shorts and a T-shirt this morning 😊 We are past our 1st frost and freeze now, so I guess you can call this an Indian Summer… And I’ll take it! In 8 days we will celebrate Halloween 🎃 Then we enter the Holiday Season 🦃 🎄It all comes so fast 💨 I’m still trying to enjoy the Fall Color before it disappears… Here are a few pictures of some Fall Color that I have captured on film over time. Enjoy the season at hand, it’s the best one, and the only one that’s real right Now ❤️
Colorful foliage, almost no bugs, beautiful weather, football, fire pits… I Love Fall 🍁🏈🎃🔥
“Looking out my window
In October’s golden light,
I see a beauty unsurpassed,
A truly lovely sight.
Leaves are saying soft good-byes
As they come floating down
To make a nature’s carpet
Of yellow, red, and brown.
Mountain tops, now turned to white,
Forewarn of winter chills,
While trees, like golden rivers,
Wind their way up through the hills.
Throughout our world’s creation
You will ever find it thus,
Kaleidoscopes of color,
In God’s hand, the artist’s brush.”
~ Alora M. Knight
Have a great Sunday 🙏🏻
~ Mark C.
Filed under: Family time, Food, Fountains, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Landscaping & Gardening, Love, music, Nursery, Outdoor Lifestyles, Sunday Reflections, Sunrises | Tags: Autumn, Autumn Color, Autumn Leaves Falling on Water, Autumn Poem, Autumnal Equinox, Fall Gardening, Sunday, Sunday Breakfast, Sunday Brunch, Sunday Gardening, Sunday in the Garden, Sunday Inspiration, Sunday Morning Coming Down, Sunday Mornings, Sunday Naps, Sunday Poem, Sunday Quote, Sunday Reflections, Sunday Sunrises, Sunday with Family, Sundays, Waterfalls
I had to put on my coat to drink my coffee on the porch this morning while watching the sun come up 🌞 Cold morning, but what a beautiful day! We have been enjoying a string of these ‘perfect days’…40’ish degrees in the morning, then warming into the 70’s, not a cloud in the sky ❤️
We got several things done this week, including our last event for the season, our annual Fall Pond Maintenance Workshop’ is in the books… It always seems to sneak up on me, but I think this year has flown faster than any I remember… Boom 💥 we’re in October… Boom 💥 in a month we fall back and its dark at 5pm… Here comes Thanksgiving 🦃 and Christmas 🎄… I guess what I’m saying is, get out there and enjoy this beautiful season! It will be gone before we know it 🍁🎃
“There is no season when such pleasant and sunny spots may be lighted on, and produce so pleasant an effect on the feelings, as now in October.”
~ Nathaniel Hawthorne
I’ll be in the garden the rest of the day!
Have a wonderful Sunday!
Mark C.
Filed under: Family time, Food, Fountains, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Herbs, Hummingbirds, Koi, Lake and Pond, Landscaping & Gardening, Love, music, Nursery, Outdoor Lifestyles, Sunday Reflections, Videos, Waterfalls | Tags: Autumn, Autumn Color, Autumn Leaves Falling on Water, Autumn Poem, Autumnal Equinox, Colorful Foliage, Cooler Weather is Coming, Crazy Weather, Fall Color, Fall Gardening, I Love My Family, If You Don’t Like The Weather, Love, Love and Meaning, Love Thy Neighbor, Love Thy Neighbor As Thyself, Predicting Weather, Seasonal changes, Seasonal Interest, 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, Tennessee Weather, Waterfall, Weather Lore, Weather Signs, Woolly Bear Caterpillars
Good Morning! ☀️ What a storm we had last night! ⛈ ⚡️ 💥 Here we are changing seasons… Bye bye Summer, Hello Fall 🍁🍂 We have literally been on a West TN weather seesaw… It was 100 degrees on the last day of summer, So Hot 🥵 Then the next day a 51 degree morning… Then back up close to 90 today, but guess what – down into the 40’s tonight😮
Oh well, again the old saying holds true, “If you don’t like the weather, just you wait”…
Now it’s on to breakfast and then a little work in the Garden! I Love ❤️ Fall!
“In the garden, Autumn is, indeed the crowning glory of the year, bringing us the fruition of months of thought and care and toil.
And at no season, safe perhaps in Daffodil time, do we get such superb color effects as from August to November.”
~ Rose G. Kingsley
Watch this short for the cutest puppy ever 👇🏻
Have a great Sunday!
~ Mark C.
Filed under: Family time, Food, Fountains, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Lake and Pond, Love, music, Sunday Reflections, Sunrises, Sunsets, water garden, Waterfalls | Tags: #neverforget, 50th Birthday, 9/11, American Hero’s, Birthdays, Birthdays Are Special, Day Off, Friends and Family, God, God Bless, God Bless America, Gods Classroom, Gods Country, Lamb of God, Moonlight Pond Tour, Never Forget, Spirit, 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 Sunrises, Sunday with Family, Sundays, Thank a Firefighter, The Presence of God, USA
Aren’t internal clocks great 😊 I was up very late last night/this morning (1:30am), visiting, talking and picking up from our annual Moonlight Pond Tour. And even though I had planned to ‘sleep in’ my eyes 👀 popped open like clockwork at 5am and I was wide awake… My internal clock must be a Timex 😊
And by all other accounts, it was a great week!
- I got to catch up with friends on the river
- Successful Pond Tour fundraiser
- The weather was great!
- A great friend turned 50!
But the 1st thing I thought about when my eyes opened this morning was what happened on this day in 2001… 9/11
A Heavy blow was struck against all Americans that day.
• 2,977 Americans were Murdered!
• 343 Firefighters died saving others! Many that survived are dying from cancer now at an alarming rate! Thank a Firefighter today…
But – We survived! We united! We rebuilt! 🇺🇸
All these other good things that happened for me this week, and every week before, and every day after today has been possible because of the sacrifices of past generations of Americans! We stand up! We fight for the freedom of others! We rebuild when things get torn down! God Bless America 🇺🇸
“Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate,
I am the captain of my soul …”
~ William Earnest Henley
PS: Happy Birthday Sea Bass!
Mark C.
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, Sunday Reflections, water garden, Waterfalls | Tags: Celebration, Coffee, Daily Blog, Daily Enjoyment, Daily Ritual, Daily Routine, Day Off, Family, Family time, Family Traditions, Feeding Birds, Feeding Koi, Feeding the Soul, Feeding Time, Fish Feeding, Friday Off, Garden Chores, Happy Labor Day, Holiday, Labor Day, Labor Day Weekend, Life is Good, Living the Life Abundant, Morning Coffee, Nursery Work, Saturday off, Sunday, Sunday Breakfast, Sunday Brunch, Sunday Gardening, 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, Time Off, Watering Plants, Weekend Off, Work Life Balance
Labor Day Weekend… It’s definitely nice to enjoy a few days off! There are still things that we have to do of course, but since we live at the Nursery & Gardens we also work for a living… It’s just another day in our routine…
Or is it?
I was reflecting on my labor in life, and In many ways my labor is my life… I mean, I literally live at the Nursery/Farm that I work for a living… There are no days off when there are plants to water (or they die!) and animals to feed & water (or they suffer &/or die)! So I have done what anyone in my situation has to do, I have embraced it wholeheartedly! And I LOVE my Family! My ‘everyday’ Lifestyle! And I LOVE MY Job! ❤️
“He who works with his hands is a laborer.
He who works with his hands and his head is a craftsman.
He who works with his hands and his head and his heart is an artist.”
~ Saint Francis of Assisi
Happy Labor Day 🇺🇸 to everyone that Labor’s out there! I hope you love your job too! 🙏🏻
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, Pond Tips, Pondless Waterfalls, Sunday Reflections, Sunrises, Sunsets, Videos, water garden, Waterfalls | Tags: CAC, Certified Aquascape Contractor, Chicagoland, educational workshop, Extended Family, Family Traditions, Greg Wittstock, Master CAC, Master Certified Aquascape Contractor, 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, There’s No Place Like Home
This Summer has just flown by for me… I must be having fun right 😊 Most Sundays are family days. Eat breakfast together, spend time together, etc… Today is both different and the same 💭 Today my wife and I are at a work conference that we attend yearly for training and CEU points for our certification as Pond/Water Garden Specialist. We have been working and training with some of these folks for well over 20 years… So many of these folks are like an extended family!
An extended family I have
I am so glad
To have you all
I feel ten feet tall
And I give you my all
If you need
You will not have to plead
I will feel glee
If I can give you what you need
There is no need
For you plead
My love for you all is a guarantee
Let me know you are in need
And I will be there in lightning speed
To help you all in your time of need
So remember there is no need
To plea
I will help you in time of need
~ Keith Wells
~ Mark C.
Filed under: Family time, Food, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Hummingbirds, Love, music, Outdoor Lifestyles, Sunday Reflections, Sunrises, Waterfalls | Tags: Art, Doors, Guitar, Love, music, Rain, Rainy Day Song, Rainy Days, Rainy Morning, Relaxing, Riders on the Storm, Scout, Stormy Weather, 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 Sunrises, Sunday with Family, Sundays, Sunrises, The Smell Of Rain
Man I love a rainy Sunday Morning ❤️ I’ve been out on the porch since about 6am just listening 👂🏻 First to the thunder, then the lightning 🌩 then the storm hit ⛈ I fell back asleep in my papasan chair 😴 I woke back up with a song in my head… Riders on the Storm by the Doors. So I go inside to get my guitar and when I come back, I had to find another seat… My audience was waiting…
We have had a busy week at work! Hosted a birthday party 🎈 Went to an Art Show 🖼 Drove to several out of town locations for design meetings, watered, mowed, mechanic’d, and still didn’t get it all done… and I wouldn’t have it any other way! A busy schedule is a good thing! A blessing 🙏🏻
But today, I’m gonna watch it rain for a while…
“I hear leaves drinking rain;
I hear rich leaves on top
Giving the poor beneath
Drop after drop;
’Tis a sweet noise to hear
These green leaves drinking near.
And when the Sun comes out,
After this Rain shall stop,
A wondrous Light will fill
Each dark, round drop;
I hope the Sun shines bright;
’Twill be a lovely sight.”
~ W.H. Davies
Have a lovely Sunday!
Mark C.
Filed under: Family time, Food, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Lake and Pond, Love, Outdoor Lifestyles, Sunday Reflections, Videos | Tags: #Bugwatchin, Beautiful Sunset, Bug Watching, Bugs, Easily Entertained, Entomology, Fun, Have Fun, laughing, Love, Love and Meaning, Night Sky, Nighttime World, Opacarophile, Spider, Spiders, 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, Sunset, Sunsets
What a week… Work, rain, storms, heat, shipping delays, out of stock, yada yada… The ‘New Normal’ they call it… But, all in all a good week! Lots to be Thankful for 🙏🏻
My reward was the weekend with my lovely wife on the river. Boat riding, swimming, photography, beautiful sunsets and then after dark… Bug Watching! (yes, we are both easily entertained 😊)
There are so many opportunities to watch bugs at the river! I mean, it’s kinda the only show in town 😊 #bugwatchin
We rode around giggling like a couple of kids, eating ice cream, cracking jokes and yes, watching bugs… I got her laughing pretty good 😊
Then we found this one, and watched for quite some time. She is pretty cool 🕷
What can I say, I’m a cheap date 😊
“Stood on the ledge of my sleepy blue sorrow
back from the edge, guess I’ll see you tomorrow
can’t lie, not the first time I’m thinking of you
but the night bugs are out, life’s distractions will do
I looked to the west as the day slowly fadyded
turned up the volume of cricket and katydid
rhythm rubs life in the darkness outside
steer clear of the blue light or get yourself fried
With the zapper you took out the skeeters and flies
while spiders and ants faced the raider’s demise
yellow jackets and wasps, you chased from their hives,
but these night bugs are here for the rest of our lives
bittersweet bugs for the rest of our lives
Back in the house now, I roll down the screen
protecting myself from the lurking unseen
from the critters, which drawn by the lure of the light
make feast in their famine on food, flesh and fright
we handle the things that intrude in our spaces
the bugs in the dark and the unwanted faces
we roll down the screens and we listen to voices
those sweet summer sounds, and this night bug rejoices
With the zapper you took out the skeeters and flies
while spiders and ants faced the raider’s demise
yellow jackets and wasps, you chased from their hives,
but these night bugs are here for the rest of our lives
too many months have passed without hearing
the music which blends with the night bugs I’m fearing
I nearly lost hope for those sounds in my life
but these night bugs revive good ol’ summertime strife
bittersweet bugs, for the rest of my life
Stood on the ledge of my sleepy blue sorrow
back from the edge, guess I’ll see you tomorrow”
~ G Clair
Have a great Sunday!
Mark C. ❤️
Carter's Water Garden 