Robin Arnold Art

There is still a lot of snow on the ground but this week in northwest Ohio the temps are actually above normal. I'm hoping that by the end of the week sections of our marsh and pond will thaw and maybe, just maybe, a few ducks will fly in. In years past we've had gadwalls, northern shovelers, green-winged teal, redheads, lesser scaup and blue-winged teal fly in to our 12 acres and it's not uncommon for hooded mergansers and wood ducks to nest on our property. Two male lesser scaups pursuing a female scaup on our pond. Some harbingers of spring can only be heard, not seen. Two mornings ago the calls of sandhill cranes could be heard coming from a marsh east of us along with a killdeer that was in a marsh southwest of us. Add to that the cardinals, chickadees, nuthatches, Canada geese and one lone titmouse closer to our house and it's like nature's symphony enjoyed in surround sound. In the following video you can hear some of the sounds of spring while watchin...

Like most of you, time flies by for me. I'm a part-time medical courier and every April in the same doctor's parking lot I look at the date on my route sheet and feel relieved I won't be driving in snow and ice for a few months. In November I'm sitting in the same parking lot and wondering where the time went and  how can I possibly do this job for another winter. Spring bird migration, sitting on the deck carving, mowing tons of grass,  swearing at the mosquitoes and deer flies; it's all over in a flash. What can make the time seem to go even faster? Designing and carving holiday items. It's tough to think about Halloween or Christmas  in February, June or August  but I've learned the hard way I need to work on Santa Clauses and pumpkins year round. An added twist is you never really know when they will sell. In 2013 I didn't sell one Halloween carving but in the summer of 2014 I sold three. A serious collector is always on the lookout for something new...

"The very chemical composition of our blood alters slightly in spring; we sense the coming of the season in our life-stream." Edwin Way Teale Well, I feel something in my blood but it might be because I have ice running through my veins. Two more nights this week with temps in the single digits or below zero. The highway is buckling up in front of our house, our driveway and porch are falling apart and who knows what is happening with our three year old cistern. We also lost one of our sweetest hens due to the stress of this awful cold weather. Her name was Pearl and she was rescued from an egg factory in CA. She had reached the two year old mark and was slated to be gassed because she had outlived her usefulness. She was a sweet and curious little hen and she truly acted grateful that she finally had a chance to experience the life of a free-range chicken. I hadn't intended on having a chicken in the following photo but Pearl tagged along with me that morning to the...