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, Pond Tips, Pondless Waterfalls, Videos, water garden, Waterfalls | Tags: Breakfast, Coffee, Daffodils, Morning Coffee, Spring Gardening, 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 Poem, Sunday Quote, Sunday Reflections, Sunday Sunrises, Sunday with Family, Sundays, Trees
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.
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.
Filed under: Family time, Food, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Landscaping & Gardening, Love, music, Outdoor Lifestyles, Sunday Reflections, Videos, Waterfalls | Tags: Cabin Fever, Ice, Ice Safety, Ice Storm, spring fever, Spring is Coming, 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
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.
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.
Filed under: Family time, Food, Fountains, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Landscaping & Gardening, Love, music, Outdoor Lifestyles, Pond Tips, Sunday Reflections, Sunrises, Sunsets, Waterfalls | Tags: 2023, 2023 Events List, Beach, Beach Life, Beach Therapy, Beautiful Sunset, Carters Nursery, Carters Nursery Pond and Patio, Family Business, Garden Planning, Garden Tour, Happy 2023, Maintenance Workshop, Photography, photos, Planning, plants, Pond Tour, 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, Sunrises, Sunsets
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.
Filed under: Family time, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Love, music, Sunday Reflections, Waterfalls | Tags: Elvis, Elvis Presley, Happy Birthday, 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
“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!”
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.
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.
Carter's Water Garden 