LADYBUG TATTOOS

Mrs. Trowbridge returns to show us her portrait skills. I admire her because she always lived her life on the edge. She was given to experimenting with new directions to expand her skills. I have always aspired to follow her shining example of the well-lived life.

She devoted many pages in her journal to painting her ladybug friends with tattooed shells. Her portrait of Mrs. Shellwick is one of my favorites.

Mrs. Fernwick, the subject of the above shrew portrait, was one of Mrs. T's best friends. She, too, was an artist. She and Mrs. Trowbridge spent many happy summer days together sketching along Wild Rose Creek and in the high meadows. The rose in Mrs. T's portrait is a Nootka rose (rosa Nutkana). They are a common site in the Quinault Rain Forest.

Have you seen my other blog, Bron Smith's Flights of Fantasy? There you'll find many sample pages from my upcoming childrens' book, Monster Safari.

FAMILY GATHERING

Most of the Trowbridge family reunions were held at Violet's brother's cottage in Huckleberry Hollow. His name was Thaddeus. She often spoke fondly of him in her writings. Thaddeus' nest went deep underground, allowing plenty of room for fun and revelry, and making his nest ideal for large family gatherings.

The flowers in the window box of Mrs. Trowbridge's painting (above) are the Western Bog-laurel (Kalmia microphylla). The yellow flower in the clay pot is the Shrubby Cinquefoil (Potentilla fruticosa), a member of the rose family. Finally, the Nootka Rose (Rosa Nutkana), pictured above. We've encountered this lovely flower often in open areas of the forest on our way to the high meadows.

The hips or seed pods of the Nootka Rose are edible but a little bitter. They are said to be delicious after being frozen and thawed, which seems to destroy most of the bitterness. Many of you may have enjoyed rose hip tea. Mrs. T was immovable in her fondness for rose hip tea...it was her favorite drink on cold winter mornings.