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, 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.
Filed under: Family time, Food, Fountains, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Hummingbirds, Lake and Pond, Landscaping & Gardening, Love, music, Nursery, Outdoor Lifestyles, Sunday Reflections, Sunrises, Sunsets, Videos, water garden, Waterfalls | Tags: August, I ❤️ Summer, Summer Time, Sunday, Sunday Breakfast, Sunday Inspiration, Sunday on the River, Sunday Poem, Sunday Reflections, Sunday Sunrises, Sunday with Family, Sundays
The weather has been so nice! Cool Sunday mornings in August mean ‘get out and look around’! Everything’s so lush, the butterfly‘s 🦋 are everywhere, the dry flies are buzzing… Late Summer in Tennessee ❤️
Such a beautiful day to get out and ‘Feel’ late Summer! Fall will be here before we know it… I’m gonna try to get all the Summer I can till it’s gone 😊
Heat still sizzles in the fields
In August summer still yields
The sun shines to no regret
Wind sauntering ’til sunset
‘though heat is being cool off by the rain
Preserving flowers, and meadow – green
But summer still taking what it brings
The August incense with fugacious wings
Bounty blooms, butterflies, bees are insane
Birds, crickets sing and the night listens
Summer’s sky, bright burst so clear
It’s the late August in summer’s fair
Summer in August still in standby
Sooner balmy weather is coming by
The hot temper will bicker with cool air
With soothing breeze here comes September
~ Ency Bearis
Have a great Sunday!
Mark C.
Filed under: Family time, Food, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Hummingbirds, Lake and Pond, Love, music, Outdoor Lifestyles, Sunday Reflections, Sunrises, Sunsets, water garden, Waterfalls | Tags: Fog, Foggy Morning, Love and Meaning, Sunday, Sunday Breakfast, Sunday Inspiration, Sunday Mornings, Sunday on the River, Sunday Poem, Sunday Reflections, Sunday with Family
It has rained on and off all week… I’m not complaining, just stating a fact. We were committed to getting out in the boat regardless last evening. And guess what, we did and it was Beautiful! Mist and fog on the water and coming down out of the hills, and not another soul in sight… Total silence… We had an amazing evening.
It was a foggy, misty evening on the river, but we had the whole thing to ourselves, so it was pretty special 😊
This morning was a solid fog bank so we stayed in for breakfast 🍳 But the sun is already breaking it up! It’s gonna be a beautiful day 🌞
“Slowly I walked out into the grey
As the dark of night gave way to day
Feeling encased in a world of my own
Yet knowing that I was never alone
The ghostly mist rolled down the hill
While all around was silent and still
No sound from the sheep as I went by
Not a single movement caught my eye
The grass prostrate, weighted with dew
As I enjoyed my solitude with you
Even the birds were still at rest
Yet to stir on the new days quest
How like us all, was this early morn
Each wrapped in our own misty dawn
Seldom thinking beyond our comfort zone
Like the rest of the world is still unknown
Strolling on, I watch the day unfold
Soft golden rays break through, behold
The birds sing out their songs of praise
He gives us sweet late summer days
Beyond the cloud is a bright blue sky
And beyond the blue is Our Lord on High
The mists will clear when you believe
And inner peace you can achieve“
~ Sheila
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, Sunday Reflections, Sunrises, Sunsets, water garden, Waterfalls | Tags: Annuals, Culinary Herbs, Family Traditions, Hanging Baskets, Herbs, Homegrown Tomatoes, I Love My Family, peppers, Perennials, Porch, Potted Garden, Potted Plants, Sunday, Sunday Breakfast, Sunday Gardening, Sunday in the Garden, Sunday Inspiration, Sunday Morning Coming Down, Sunday Mornings, Sunday Naps, Sunday Poem, Sunday Quote, Sunday Reflections, Sunday with Family, Sundays, This Old Porch, Tomatoes
Tending my own garden as the sun comes up on A perfect Sunday morning… It don’t get much better than that 😊 There is something magical and healing in your garden, but you have to spend time there to find it… You have to sweat and toil and you have to sit down within, cool off and relax… Keep it up at all costs!
One of my places to sit “within my garden” is on my porch garden. All potted annuals and perennials, hanging baskets & vines. It creates a shady little nook with comfortable seating 😊 and a fan to boot. Down the steps on both ends lie my tomatoes, peppers, herbs and more. It’s not a hobby for me. It’s a lifestyle… Have a great Sunday!
“How I love my little garden, where I sit and contemplate.
My perfect piece of paradise inside my garden gate.
Hanging baskets, pretty pots, the flowers are brimming over.
The grass so green, the buttercups, the daisies, and the clover.
Honeysuckle and jasmine giving off its sweet perfume.
Pretty lilies open wide, rose bushes in full bloom.
In summer they stand tall and proud as the buds turn into flowers.
I sit and watch as they all flourish and while away the hours.
I see the little fledglings nesting high up in the trees.
Bees in and out the bushes with their variegated leaves,
Where they gather all the pollen, then soar into the sky.
They’re heading home at speed, returning to the hive.
The melody of the wind chimes as they tinkle in the breeze
Interwoven with gossamer cobwebs, at night the spider weaves.
The sunshine sparkles on the pond where the water lilies grow.
Golden fish and tadpoles swimming safely down below.
It’s all so very peaceful relaxing in the sun
Where the butterflies flutter by having so much fun.
The sun goes down and darkness falls, the moon is big and bold,
Where all that live in the garden have a story to be told.
The little gnomes are watching the pixies and the sprites
Dancing by the wishing well, aglow with fairy lights.
I can sit here contemplating until it’s very late
In this magical piece of paradise, inside my garden gate”
~ Susan C Walkinshaw-Kelly
Have a wonderful Sunday! 🙏🏻❤️
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, Sunday Reflections, Sunrises, Sunsets, Waterfalls | Tags: Birdsong, Concord Hymn, Friends and Family, God, God Bless, God Bless America, Honor, I ❤️ my Family, Patriotism, Proud American, Remembrance, Sunday, Sunday Brunch, Sunday Inspiration, Sunday Morning Coming Down, Sunday Mornings, Sunday Naps, Sunday Poem, Sunday Reflections, Sunrises, The Presence of God, USA
Went to bed late, and was up in time for the sunrise 🌅 What a wonderful 4th of July celebration! Now it’s off to breakfast 🥞 🍳 And then a nap 😴 😊
God Bless America! 🇺🇸
What a beautiful evening to celebrate America! Great fireworks by Bob Keast and his Birdsong crew! God Bless America! 🇺🇸
Mark C.
