Goslings

The next batch of eggs have hatched last night and this morning. These are Embden geese and the parents parade around the yard. Embdens are the classic white goose - sort of like Mother Goose of fairytales. I like the look of geese, but I don't like their temperment. And this little guy, less than a day old, has 'the look' about him to prove me right. Moments before this image was taken he was busy biting me furiously. Something about me and geese...

This guy was the first to hatch while his brothers and sisters were staggered. It always amazes me just how they can break out of a shell, as those shells are very hard. But they seem to always manage it, greeting the world as wet, bedraggled little creatures, who turn into balls of fluff.

The eggs have marks on them so that you know which way it was last turned. Incubated eggs need turning several times a day, so a mark on one side helps you remember and make sure they're all turned. In a natural incubation under the goose, she would rearrange the eggs during the day and night and moisture from her feathers would help. Without the goose there, its a little trickier with lots of turning and spraying the eggs with water.

What about Bob?

There are a number of Bobs in my world, but none quite like this chap here. Bob is Paulette's Great Dane and a real character by the sounds of it as he enters his senior years.

I love the breed and drawing dogs so I asked her if I could use a reference of hers to draw him and she agreed. Here is the line drawing. I loved this pose and how the huge paw is tucked under his chin.

New toys

They're here. But they come with a price tag. A little notice was in the post box that there is a parcel for me at the post office, with $11.47 owing on it. Most likely the duty that the Government wants to suck out of me for the privilege of being able to order art supplies from the USA. I find it so frustrating not being able to buy the range of supplies that I want within Canada and having to order from the USA. The pricing is great as the US/Canadian dollar exchange rate is so good right now - about .94 cents Cdn. to the US dollar when last I heard. But then they ding me for duty. So much for free trade. Hmph.

However, I guess I can't complain, I'm probably the only person in Newfoundland who will have wads of Colorfix paper and the full range of Derwent Drawing pencils! Now, to get back into Torbay before the post office shuts at 5pm.....there is the challenge during the week. I may just have to wait til Saturday morning to go there and pick it up. But I want it nowwwwwww......

Here a little sketch of Tripod, sleeping soundly like an old man on his side head up, mouth open slightly. Can you hear the gentle snores? He's priceless.

And as of the time of writing seven ducklings have hatched, Pekins and mixed breed. They are so cute, I just love baby ducks - adults to for that matter. I watched a pair of the Pekins in the back garden the other day. The female was frantically sifting through the flowerbed looking for bugs as always while the male stood there looking for all the world like a bored husband waiting at the mall. It was funny, I wish I'd had the camera then. The Pekins and a mixed breed male have claimed the pond for their own. I must say they do look great on the water. The contrast and activity there is so natural. Sometimes the Embden geese wander down and make them all leave, but for the most part they spend their day there in peace.

Bruno

Bruno
graphite 8 x 5
sketch copyright Jeanette Jobson

"Not the least hard thing to bear when
they go from us, these quiet friends,
is that they carry away with them so
many years of our lives. Yet, if they
find warmth therein, who would
begrudge them those years that they
have so guarded?
And whatever they take,
be sure they have deserved."

--- John Galsworthy ---

My sister's dog has died. He was adopted as a stray, a big grey faced part Lab, part who knows what, who loved people, food and sneaking naps on the sofa. Age crept up on him and with it the problems that aging bring.

I did this sketch of him last year, but as he hated having his photo taken, there never was a good reference to use, so the sketch never was elaborated into a portrait.

Fiddleheads & crabapple tea

I took the day off work, having worked two weekends in a row. I know I'll likely pay the price tomorrow with shovel fulls of work waiting for me, but for the day, I've ignored that possibility and settled down to some drawing, as well as the usual things that occupy my day to day life.

I want to do some more coloured pencil work and have started with the line drawing of 'Crabapple Tea' which I transfered to a piece of Somerset Velvet paper that my daughter sent to me. The image is from Diana Ponting and is in the reference library in WetCanvas.

I added a little colour with prismas to the paper and am not sure if I like the result or not yet. I may end up transferring the drawing to a piece of Stonehenge instead. The Somerset Velvet is gorgeous paper with a soft texture, often used for printmaking and sometimes pastels. Similar in some ways to Stonehenge but softer. It may take a little experimentation. As a result the coloured pencil sinks into the tooth and little bits of the paper have more heavily pigmented areas. I'll play with it a little more and see what happens.

I wandered around the property today looking for inspiration for drawings and paintings. I am never disappointed with choice it seems. The road leading off into the woods is always inviting with shadow and light playing on it.

Ferns, unfurling look very prehistoric, as they should and amaze me at their complexity. I haven't figured out if these ferns are the 'fiddleheads' that can be eaten or not. I'm not going to experiment just in case. I can buy fiddleheads in the shops for a short period of time in late spring, but I've never actually bought some and cooked them. The fiddlehead fern, which tastes like a cross between asparagus, green bean and okra, is an annual industry worth $2 million in New Brunswick.

The sunlight was shining through the trees in the woods. There is something fascinating yet a little eerie about the woods. I love the shapes and colours of the trees and how the light moves around them, but being in the midst of them, its so quiet, it kind of creeps me out a little. That or the thought of a moose or something appearing more like!

Never ending source

Wash Day

9 x 12 Graphite
copyright Jeanette Jobson

Tripod is a never ending source of inspiration for drawing. I'm beginning to believe that is the purpose he arrived on my doorstep last fall. Aside from being a dog trapped in a cat's body, he also has the ability to pose for 10 or 15 minutes at a time, not twitching a muscle - the perfect model.

I caught him washing himself for this sketch. He isn't great at this task, having one front leg only, but he tries. Unfortunately, his efforts are in vain, as he tends to roll in the dirt and tries to get my attention when I go out by running in front of me, then dropping and rolling. He's nearly been stepped on several times that way. But he doesn't let that deter him. He knows if he is persistant enough and loud enough I'll pick him up and carry him around on my walk around the property. Yes, he has me trained.