Robin Arnold Art

We have some very large bullfrogs on our property and yesterday I saw three sitting in the shade of a maple that grows on the edge of the pond. I wanted to get a photo of one of the monsters and while I was fiddling around with my camera and trying to get into a good position, I noticed something sticking on its skin near the frog's mouth. I figured it was a blade of grass but when I finally got a closer look I saw it was a spring azure butterfly. I couldn't believe the frog didn't eat it's friend. Blame it on the extreme heat or the frog had just ate a very large meal. We are in a moderate drought so there is the possibility that the butterfly was getting a much-needed drink off the frogs moist skin. Much better than getting your feet muddy near the edge of the pond. And yes, I do plan on using this photo for a drawing/painting :)

Earlier this week we were taking a walk around the marsh and we saw a pair of Canada geese sitting on top of a muskrat den. We figured it was the same pair who nested there last year but as we got closer we noticed there was something not quite right with one of the geese. It's head was wasn't dark black and the bill and feet were orange, not black as they should be. I took some photos and posted them on FB to get some opinions on this odd goose. Turns out this is a hybrid goose and after doing some research it seems likely a Canada goose mated with a Greylag domestic goose.  This is a photo of the hybrid goose swimming with his mate in our pond. I was surprised a female would pick a mate who was not the norm but I guess it's not a big deal to her. The hybrid also doesn't sound like a Canada goose as you can hear in the video below. This pair is still fighting with another pair for the rights to a  nesting spot in our marsh so it will be interesting...

 Gena and I have had a problem with this ever since we've had chickens. We also have tons of rabbits and every year a few of them go the Easter Bunny route. We have actually caught them in the coop, yanking eggs out of the next boxes. This particular hen has obviously made a deal with one of the bunnies in return for a pile of dew worms. This was a very fast sketch using Micron pens and watercolor. I had a fever while I did this so that might explain a lot :)

It got pretty interesting in the marsh last night! I saw frogs, turtles and our resident Bigfoot flying around on brooms. It was too dark for photos so I tried to sketch it but the action was so fast and furious it was tough to get on paper. It should be even better tonight....stay tuned!

I'm still plugging away with my watercolors and I have a couple to share that are at least recognizable. On September 8th we went to Meyer's Hatchery in Polk, OH. to pick up six tiny chicks. They are the cutest things ever and Gena and I have been spending as much time as possible with them so they will not only be good egg layers but also good friends.  The new additions to our family are Maggie, Debi(both named after high school classmates), Amelia, Susy(named after my junior high German teacher), Harriet and Cuddles. This painting was my third attempt and although it has a lot of flaws I'm happy with it. I painted this from one of my photos....no way I can sketch constantly moving chicks! Amelia, as in Amelia Earhart,  is the yellow chick and was so named because she was trying to fly since she was a day old. Amelia is a Blue Ameracana, which is considered a rare breed. Susie is a Barred Rock and although she was named after my German teacher, her name also pays tri...

 I'm fairly certain this is the pair who have claimed the pond box as their own. Yesterday afternoon the female went into the box and the male took a five hour nap on top of it. I hurried home from work so I could get a photo but Gena said they both flew away about five minutes before I got home. I took this photo last week of the duck eggs in the pond nest box. I checked for two successive  mornings after I took this photo and it went from four eggs to six and from six to nine which indicated more than one duck is laying in this box. After the female is done laying eggs she pulls out her own downy breast feathers and mixes  them in with the wood  chips for extra warmth. This photo was taken two days ago on 5/5/15.  Let the incubation begin!

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...