Filed under: Family time, Food, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Lake and Pond, Love, music, Outdoor Lifestyles, Sunday Reflections, Sunrises, Sunsets, Waterfalls | Tags: Alarm, Beep, Boat, Fun, Good food, Happy Anniversary, I Love My Family, Leak, Love, Pontoon Boat, River, River Life, Rivers, Roof Leak, Rude Awakening, Smoke Alarm, 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, Sunrises, Sunsets, Tennessee River
Beep, Beep, 🚨 Beep, Beep 🚨 🔥ALARM!!! Fire 🔥 ALARM!!! That was my wake up call this morning! Everyone in the house had the same rude awakening! 😓 Every alarm in the house was going off simultaneously 🚨 The dogs were freaking out 🐕 🐩 🐶 WOW! I immediately checked for smoke upstairs & Down, put the dogs out and checked outside – Pouring Rain 🌧 NO Smoke 💨 Then I tried to turn off all the alarms 🚨 No joy!
So I finally figured out that one of my smoke alarms was dripping water 💧 😳 That was the problem.
So we started chasing it down and found it, directly above the smoke alarm 🚨 I mean exactly above it!
Other than this early morning wake up call 😳 The week has been great! I celebrated my 28th Anniversary with my wife and took a few days off. Long story short… I’m a Blessed and Happy Feller’! Here’s a few pics from my week –
“It is a glorious privilege to live, to know, to act, to listen, to behold, to love. To look up at the blue summer sky; to see the sun sink slowly beyond the line of the horizon; to watch the worlds come twinkling into view, first one by one, and the myriads that no man can count, and lo! the universe is white with them; and you and I are here.”
~ Marco Morrow
Have a blessed day!
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, Waterfalls | Tags: 28th. Anniversary, Beautiful Sunset, Best Friend, Best Mom, Best Wife Award, Blessed, Blessings, Buck Moon, Count Your Blessings, Dancing In The Moonlight, Full Moon, God Bless, God Bless America, I ❤️ Summer, Love, Love and Meaning, Marriage, Moondance, mosquitoes, Summer Nights, Summer Time, Summertime, Sunday, Sunday Breakfast, Sunday Brunch, Sunday Inspiration, Sunday Morning Coming Down, Sunday Mornings, Sunday Naps, Sunday on the River, Sunday Poem, Sunday Quote, Sunday Reflections, Sunday Sunrises, Sunday with Family, Sundays, Sunrises, Sunsets
I’ve been up since early… Drinking coffee and thinking 🤔 Reflecting. Yesterday was a fun, long, laidback day. My wife and I celebrated our wedding anniversary in grand fashion… At the river 😊 Floating, fishing, photography – Fun. The only thing I can complain about is we ran out of hours in the day, and the mosquitoes were out in force last night🦟
We want to thank everyone who called, messaged and texted to wish us a Happy Anniversary! ❤️ It was a fun, laid back, perfect day.
“Mosquito is out,
it’s the end of the day;
she’s humming and hunting
her evening away.
Who knows why such hunger
arrives on such wings
at sundown? I guess
it’s the nature of things.”
~ N. M. Boedecker
Mark C.
Filed under: Family time, Food, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Herbs, Hummingbirds, Landscaping & Gardening, Love, music, Outdoor Lifestyles, Sunday Reflections, Sunrises, Sunsets, Waterfalls | Tags: Bees, Birds, Bluebirds, Bumble Bee, Early Morning, Enjoy The Morning, Feeding Birds, Good Morning, Honey Bee, Hummingbirds, Love, Morning Coffee, Morning Zen, Quiet Morning, Quiet Time, reflection, 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, Sunrises
No sunrise to view this morning… A grey sky just became slightly brighter over time. But the birds woke up in turn, and the bees 🐝 came out and went to work as usual. This is my favorite part of the day! When I have the whole world to myself it seems… No phones, no demands, just the birds and the bees and some plants to attend too. Sunday morning and I’m in the right place…
Outside, there was that predawn kind of clarity, where the momentum of living has not quite captured the day. The air was not filled with conversation or thought bubbles or laughter or sidelong glances. Everyone was sleeping, all of their ideas and hopes and hidden agendas entangled in the dream world, leaving this world clear and crisp and cold as a bottle of milk in the fridge.
~ Reif Larsen
More coffee ☕️
Have a blessed day 🙏🏻
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, Waterfalls | Tags: Birdsong, Declaration of Independence, Fire and Water, Fireworks, God, God Bless, God Bless America, Gods Country, Happy Independence Day, independence day, July 4th., July 4th. 1776, July 4th. Weekend, Marina, Ragged Old Flag, Stars and Stripes Forever, Sunday, Sunday Brunch, Sunday in the Garden, Sunday Inspiration, Sunday Morning Coming Down, Sunday Mornings, Sunday on the River, Sunday Poem, Sunday Reflections, Sunday Songs, Sunday with Family, Sundays, The Presence of God
Happy Independence Day! Happy Birthday America! 🇺🇸 I am proud to be an American! And, I am Thankful for all the hard work and sacrifice that has been made by so many down through the years to keep us safe and FREE! There is not another country like ours in the world! & I still believe that the American people remain willing to give all to keep it 🇺🇸
“Freedom’s natal day is here.
Fire the guns and shout for freedom,
See the flag above unfurled!
Hail the stars and stripes forever,
Dearest flag in all the world.”
~Florence A. Jones
Stay safe out there! Happy July 4th.! 💥🇺🇸
GOD BLESS AMERICA! 🇺🇸
Mark Carter
Filed under: Family time, Food, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Lake and Pond, Love, Outdoor Lifestyles, Sunday Reflections, Sunrises, Sunsets, Waterfalls | Tags: Boat, Frogs, Jet Ski, lily pad, Mother Nature, Nature, Nature Photo's, River, River Life, Rivers, Sunday, Sunday Breakfast, Sunday Brunch, 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 Sunrises, Sunday with Family, Sundays, Tennessee River, Water Lilies
Here we are in Full summer season just a week from the 4th of July, I’m sitting on a jet ski watching a frog 🐸 on a lily pad in the river. I think this is right where I’m supposed to be 😊 I feel breakfast 🍳 calling…
Patience
“breezeless summer day –
motionless on lily pad
frog waits for victim
~ Pandita Sanchez
It’s a beautiful day! Enjoy 😊
Mark C.
Filed under: Family time, Food, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Love, music, Outdoor Lifestyles, Sunday Reflections, Sunrises, Sunsets, Waterfalls | Tags: Bring Your Family, Dad, Dad's Day, Family, Family Dinner, Family Fun, Family History, Family Pictures, Family time, Family Traditions, Fathers Day, Friends and Family, Gifts For Dad, Grandfather, Great Dad, Great Father, I ❤️ Dad, I ❤️ my Family, I Love My Family, Love, Spend Time With Your Father, 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
I’m having my coffee and thinking about what’s next today… It’s Father’s Day! And lunch is at my house… I’m counting my blessings this morning ❤️
I think of my dad, my grandfather’s and so many great men that I looked up too all these years. Role models, teachers, providers, hero’s ❤️
I think of my son as well. He made me a dad😊 And will one day make a great one himself!
Happy Fathers Day to all the Dads, Pops, Fathers and Daddy’s out there! Today is YOUR day!
He never looks for praises.
He’s never one to boast.
He just goes on quietly working
For those he loves the most.
His dreams are seldom spoken.
His wants are very few,
And most of the time his worries
Will go unspoken, too.
He’s there… a firm foundation
Through all our storms of life,
A sturdy hand to hold onto
In times of stress and strife.
A true friend we can turn to
When times are good or bad.
One of our greatest blessings,
The man that we call Dad.
~ Karen K. Boyer
Mark C.
Filed under: Family time, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Lake and Pond, Love, Outdoor Lifestyles, Sunday Reflections, Sunrises, Sunsets, Waterfalls | Tags: At the still point, I ❤️ Sunrise, Moment of Zen, Pray, Prayer Garden, Prayer in the Garden, Quiet Morning, Quiet Time, Relax, Relaxing, Stillness, 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 Sunrises, Sunday with Family, Sundays, Sunrises, Sunsets, Waterfalls, Zen, Zen Feeling, Zen state of mind
In this fast moving world, we are all looking for that stillness… I sometimes refer to it as a Moment of Zen. Many times I find it in waterfalls or the setting sun. Or on a quiet Sunday morning of solitude.
“At the still point of the turning world. Neither flesh nor fleshness; Neither from nor towards; at the still point, There the dance is, But neither arrest nor movement. And do not call it fixity, Where past and future are gathered. Neither movement from nor towards, Neither ascent nor decline. Except for the point, the still point, There would be no dance, and there is only the dance.”
~T.S. Eliot
Have a great Day!
Mark C.
Filed under: Family time, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Love, Sunday Reflections | Tags: American Hero’s, Best Mom, Birthdays, Birthdays Are Special, D-Day, Great Mother, Happy, Happy Birthday, I ❤️ Mom!, I Love My Mother, Mom, Mom is Special, Normandy Beach, Omaha Beach, Patriots, Sunday, Sunday Breakfast, Sunday Brunch, Sunday Inspiration, Sunday Morning Coming Down, Sunday Mornings, Sunday Naps, Sunday Poem, Sunday Reflections, Sunday Sunrises, Sunday with Family, Sundays, WWII
Today is a special day! In more ways than 1… Today, every American should remember the D-Day Invasion of WWII, June 6, 1944. That was the day that Allied forces invaded northern France by means of beach landings in Normandy. My grandfathers unit was there (Omaha Beach) and I have always felt a sense of pride and gratitude knowing what all those great men did for us 🇺🇸
The other thing that makes this a very special day is that today is my moms birthday! 🎂 A very special day indeed! 💥
You can’t send mom a Facebook Birthday message, because she’s not on Facebook 😊 BUT, she does read my BLOG … So feel free to drop a HB comment here if you’d like to. I’ll make sure she gets it 😊
Thanks mom for all you do! You are a linchpin! You hold it all together and make it all work. I don’t know what I would do without you 🙏🏻❤️
Happy Birthday! 🎈 I Love You! ❤️
“Thoughtful lady, that works so hard,
Always been there, my dear lifeguard.
Places others before herself,
Proud of pictures on her shelf.
When in pain, maintains here smile,
Multi-tasking, she’s versatile.
With all of this; time she finds,
Her love for us, constantly reminds.
On her birthday, just want to say,
I don’t know how, I will repay?
Eternally grateful, I hope she will see,
The greatest mother, she will always be.
~ Martin Dejnicki
Mark C.
Filed under: Family time, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Lake and Pond, Love, Outdoor Lifestyles, Sunday Reflections, Sunrises, Sunsets, Waterfalls | Tags: #neverforget, American Hero’s, God, God Bless, God Bless America, Gods Country, Hero, Hero’s, Memorial Day, Memorial Weekend, Memories, Memory s, Never Forget, Remember, Sunday, Sunday Breakfast, Sunday in the Garden, Sunday Inspiration, Sunday Morning Coming Down, Sunday Mornings, Sunday on the River, Sunday Poem, Sunday Quote, Sunday Reflections, Sunday Sunrises, Sunday with Family, Sundays, USA
Last night was Cold 🥶 42 degrees with a brisk northerly wind 🌬 It sure didn’t feel like the official entry to Summer… But, this morning, the brilliant Sunrise helped mediate that feeling. Tomorrow is Memorial Day, a day to honor and remember all the men and women who gave all for this country. Maybe this unusual cold is a reminder of that? We were all huddled by the fire 🔥 last night. How many soldiers huddled by fires, dreaming of home, family and cool Summer nights that never returned… I can stand a cool night by a fire just fine when I think about that… God Bless America 🇺🇸
“Somewhere out there today,
In a land far, far away,
A soldier rides patrol,
Knowing not what may unfold.
He keeps watch as he rides
Over dangerous countryside.
Roadside bomb could be hit.
Scary, but this soldier doesn’t quit.
Think about Mom and Dad,
About the good times had,
State-side, how long here?
Back to watching, a little fear.
This was a good day
To think and to pray.
Strange that prayer is so right
When there could be a fire fight.
Wheel back into base.
Tomorrow, another ride to face.
Convoys done for the day.
Looks like rain’s on its way.
Nerve wracking job but boring too,
But that’s what soldiers do.
So many over here, none alike,
Who have gladly joined this fight.
Freedom has a high cost.
Lives given, the ultimate loss.
That cost they willingly give
So freedom can continue to live.
So, we remember today
All those who went away-
And gave their lives that we
Might live here and stay free.
God Bless America!”
~ Dr. Bill McDonald
Happy Memorial Day 🇺🇸
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, Sunday Reflections, Sunrises, Sunsets, Waterfalls | Tags: 1st Day of Summer, Beautiful Sunset, Birdsong, Boat, I ❤️ Summer, Kentucky Lake, Memorial Day, Memorial Weekend, Pontoon Boat, River, Summer Gardening, Summer is Coming, Summer Nights, Summer Pond Tips, Summer Rain, Summer Time, Summertime, 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, Sunrises, Sunsets
Next weekend is Memorial Day weekend… 😳 Yes, it’s almost Summer! I’m not fussing now, I Love Summer!… But, Spring went by so fast 💨 I’m gonna try to slow it down a little and enjoy at least a little bit of Summer.
Summer “Unofficially” begins next weekend!
Are you ready?
“Morning’s soft air, touching everything with such care,
Caresses a young face in a quiet, secluded place.
Smile planted strong, heart beating on.
Only one thing is on her mind, and that is summertime.
A joy reckless and wild,
that’s been in the heart of every child,
now set within her,
for there is no cure.
Her spirit set free, soars higher than the trees.
The books that weighed her down,
now thrown on the ground.
The rivers cleansed from winter,
are now heated for splendor.
The happiness of knowing
no bedtimes are set,
and no schedules to be met.
The sun now beating within her veins
washes away all her pains.
Then without a sound,
the sun starts to sink down.
so she heads inside,
satisfied,
until the next time.
But her spirit is just too wild and decides to wait a while,
so it stays outside and watches the sun,
waiting for what is to come.
The birds fall asleep, the peepers start to peep,
and slowly the sunbeams caressing the mountains,
turn them into splendorous fountains.”
~ Abbey Silent (A Time Of Freedom).
Mark C.
