Quiet Moments by the Stream

After devoting many years to pouring over Mrs. Trowbridge's journal, it is my opinion that Wild Rose Creek was her favorite place to visit in the rain forest. The high meadows where she and her family would spend part of the summer was also one of her favorite spots. Mrs. T spent much of her early morning hours beside the stream, painting and pondering, as evidenced by the text in her journal page above. Her ladybug friend, Lucinda, would often join her.

She would sometimes paint herself into her pictures, as in the above painting which depicts her sketching an Indian Pipe by the stream. The sun is just beginning to break through the early morning fog.

I photographed these Indian Pipe (Monotropa uniflora) in the Dosewallips Wilderness several summers ago. A Saprophyte, Indian Pipe derive their nourishment from decomposing matter on the forest floor. Since they have no chlorophyll, they cannot manufacture their own nourishment. Indian Pipe blossoms from June to September.