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, Koi Ponds, Lake and Pond, Landscaping & Gardening, Love, music, Outdoor Lifestyles, Sunday Reflections, Sunrises, Sunsets, Waterfalls | Tags: Autumn Leaves Falling on Water, Burning Leaves, Fall Cleanup, Leaf Control, Leaf Stripper, Leaves, Sunday, Sunday Breakfast, Sunday in the Garden, Sunday Inspiration, Sunday Morning Coming Down, Sunday Mornings, Sunday Poem, Sunday Reflections, Sunday Sunrises, Sunday with Family, Sundays, Windy Day, Windy Night
The wind blew last night! So much that I had to take down one of our wind chimes that has never been a problem… WOW!
Bill Way used to call that windy night that always comes in November a “Leaf Stripper”. Last nights wind was definitely that! All the Birch trees are bare. As are the pecans, walnut, maples, sassafras, and persimmon trees. The oaks held on to many like they always do. But the writings on the wall… Winter is Coming!
Don’t ya’ just love fall! 🍁 🔥
“Come, little leaves,” said the wind one day.
“Come o’er the meadows with me, and play’
Put on your dress of red and gold,—
Summer is gone, and the days grow cold.”
Soon as the leaves heard the wind’s loud call,
Down they came fluttering, one and all;
Over the brown fields they danced and flew,
Singing the soft little songs they knew.
~ George Cooper
Have a great Sunday!
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, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Herbs, Koi Ponds, Lake and Pond, Landscaping & Gardening, Love, music, Outdoor Lifestyles, Sunday Reflections, Sunrises, Sunsets, Waterfalls | Tags: Fall Gardening, Home For The Holidays, SAD, Seasonal affective disorder (SAD), Sunday, Sunday Breakfast, Sunday in the Garden, Sunday Inspiration, Sunday Morning Coming Down, Sunday Mornings, Sunday Naps, Sunday Quote, Sunday Reflections, Sunday Sunrises, Sunday with Family, Sundays
What a beautiful, cool morning! And man what a beautiful Moon 🌝 we had last night! It’s November! WOW! I don’t know about you, but to me this year is going by faster than I ever remember… Time is Just flying by ✈️ Maybe it’s because I’m getting older? Halloween’s gone, and now we enter the Holiday Season… We’re post Daylight Savings, so hello 5pm. nightfall… That leftover feeling of Summer is truly gone and the coming of Winter is a reality… I guess I’m ready. Or as ready as I’m gonna be.
“I have come to regard November as the older, harder man’s October. I appreciate the early darkness and cooler temperatures. It puts my mind in a different place than October. It is a month for a quieter, slightly more subdued celebration of summer’s death as winter tightens its grip.”
~Henry Rollins
I’m going back in for breakfast now. Have a great Sunday! And here’s to the coming Holidays 🎉🦃🎄💥
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
Filed under: Family time, Food, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Lake and Pond, Landscaping & Gardening, Love, music, Outdoor Lifestyles, Sunday Reflections, Sunrises, Sunsets, Waterfalls | Tags: Autumn Color, Autumn Leaves Falling on Water, Autumn Poem, Birds, Colorful Foliage, Fall Beauty, fall poem, Natural Beauty, River Life, Seasonal changes, Sunday Breakfast, Sunday Brunch, Sunday Inspiration, Sunday Morning Coming Down, Sunday Mornings, Sunday on the River, Sunday Poem, Sunday Reflections, Sunday with Family, Sundays, Time, Time flies, Time in a bottle
After work yesterday, we got out on the water to see how the Fall color show was progressing. I Love ❤️ Fall 🍁 I am blessed to live in such a beautiful part of the world and I know it 😊 In a few shorts weeks we will be looking at Thanksgiving 🦃 And all the reds and oranges and golden color will be gone for the year… Get out and see it now because it won’t stay around long… Time flies by 💨
“Nature’s first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf’s a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.“
~ Robert Frost
Breakfast 🍳 is calling me…
Have a wonderful Sunday!
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: Autumn Poem, fall poem, Good Morning, I Love My Family, Ode to Fall, Seasonal affective disorder (SAD), Seasonal changes, Sunday Breakfast, Sunday Morning Coming Down, Sunday Mornings, Sunday Naps, Sunday Poem, Sunday Reflections, Sunday with Family
Windy, rainy days in early Fall make me so sleepy… I have hardly been able to keep my eyes 👀 open the last few days… 😴 I’ll be glad when the sun ☀️ pops back out!
On a positive note, the color change is happening now and it’s gonna be a beautiful show!
But pour us wine, an old one!
That we may turn this dreary day
To golden, yes, to golden!
Autumn has come, but never fear,
Wait but a little while yet,
Spring will be here, the skies will clear,
And fields stand deep in violets.
The heavenly blue of fresh new days
Oh, friend, you must employ them
Before they pass away. Be brave!
Enjoy them; oh, enjoy them!”
– Theodor Storm,
A Song in October
Now it’s back inside for breakfast 🥞
Have a great Sunday!
Mark C.
Filed under: Family time, Food, Fountains, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Herbs, Hummingbirds, Lake and Pond, Landscaping & Gardening, Love, music, Nursery, Outdoor Lifestyles, Sunday Reflections, Sunrises, Sunsets, water garden, Waterfalls | Tags: Colorful Foliage, Corn Stalks, Fall is Coming, Fall is Here, Flowers, I ❤️ Aquatic Plants, I ❤️ my Family, I ❤️ My Garden, I ❤️ My Job!, I ❤️ This Country, Pansies, Private Areas, Sunday Breakfast, Sunday Gardening, Sunday in the Garden, Sunday Inspiration, Sunday Mornings, Sunday Poem, Sunday Quote, Sunday with Family, Wheat Straw
As the seasons change so do the flowers 💐 So does the feelings and emotions of the changes we are forced to deal with. It’s always tough for me. Especially giving up Summer… But, ya gotta go with the flow and be happy where your at 😊 So I sat down for a few minutes to look at the Summer plants and flowers that I am about to uproot and dispose of. They have really brought me a lot of happiness this Summer. Lots of color and shade and privacy as well. Especially my hanging basket wall. I can see out well, but you can’t see in very well😊 Privacy 💥 I call it the “Hanging Gardens of Babaloo” 😂
This is from where I sit. The foliage is thinner back here on purpose- More room for me, with privacy.
The view from outside is a little different…
From outside looking in is a different story. Lush foliage and color to provide the privacy screen that I desired. Can you see Jo sitting there? I’m gonna hate to see it go 😢 But, it’s Fall 🍁 Time for a different look and feeling…
“But now in September the garden has cooled, and with it my possessiveness. The sun warms my back instead of beating on my head … The harvest has dwindled, and I have grown apart from the intense midsummer relationship that brought it on.”
~ Robert Finch
I will send pictures of the pansies, corn stalks, pumpkins 🎃 & scarecrows as they go up…
Ive been writing ✍️ “Fall is Coming” for quite a while now…
Fall is Here! I gotta get busy…
Have a great Sunday!
Mark C.
Filed under: Family time, Food, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Lake and Pond, Love, music, Outdoor Lifestyles, Sunday Reflections, Sunrises, Sunsets, Videos, water garden, Waterfalls | Tags: Autumn, Beautiful Sunset, Colorful Sunset, Fall, Fall is Coming, Happy Dog, I ❤️ Dogs, I ❤️ Sunsets, I Love Dogs, Learning, Lucky Dog, Mans Best Friend, Summertime, Sunday Breakfast, Sunday Inspiration, Sunday Mornings, Sunday on the River, Sunday Reflections, Sunday with Family, Sundays, Sunrises, Sunset Poem, Sunsets, Time flies, Time in a bottle
Taking the time to smell the roses 🌹 and to watch the sunrises and sunsets is so important! It’s Labor Day weekend… The Summer seasons last big hurrah! Time to enter Fall… Does it seem like we should be here already? Wow! Summer has passed by like a sunset…
Believe it or not, my dog loves watching the sunset with us. Maybe it’s because we are watching and paying attention to the setting sun ☀️ but he sure seems to love it too ❤️
“It was sunsets that taught me that beauty sometimes only lasts for a couple of moments, and it was sunrises that showed me that all it takes is patience to experience it all over again.” — A.J. Lawless
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: Blessed, Blessings, Brunch, Count Your Blessings, God Bless, God Bless America, Rainy Morning, Sunday, Sunday Breakfast, Sunday Brunch, Sunday Inspiration, Sunday Morning Coming Down, Sunday Mornings, Sunday Reflections, Sunday with Family, The Smell Of Rain
Sunday Morning Breakfast 🥞 🍳 🥚 It’s an institution at our house 😊 I am the short order cook taking orders… And that’s fine with me ❤️
It’s important to start the day with a smile 😊
Fried eggs, pancakes 🥞, omelettes, scrambled eggs, Maple syrup, blueberry syrup with whipped cream, you name it, I’ll fix it 😎
“When you wake up in the morning, Pooh,” said Piglet at last, “what’s the first thing you say to yourself?”
“What’s for breakfast?” said Pooh. “What do you say, Piglet?”
“I say, I wonder what’s going to happen exciting today?” said Piglet.
Pooh nodded thoughtfully. “It’s the same thing,” he said.
Have a Blessed Day 🙏🏻
Mark C.
