PLACES OF REFUGE

Mrs. Trowbridge had a special love for the lush rain forest world that surrounded her, near the village of Huckleberry Hollow where she lived so long ago. She loved drawing and painting her tiny world, and writing about her busy life in Huckleberry Hollow. On warm summer afternoons she would watch the wind blow through the high meadows, causing the wild flowers to sway to a breezy rhythm. On clear summer nights she loved staring up into the black night sky, star gazing with her family.

She also loved sunrises and sunsets. She painted the above sunrise scene while sitting in a steep mountainside meadow. This scene reminds me of our long trek down the steep mountain meadow from Grand Pass to Cameron Creek on our cross-Olympic mountain trek.

I noticed that Mrs. T included in her painting the familiar flower that we have seen so many times in the alpine meadows, the bistort. These little white puffs dot the high meadowlands by the thousands. Those who know the plant know its nickname: the "dirty sock", because its pungent order resembles a ripe gym sock.

BROOKSIDE TEA SHOP

Among my favorite of Mrs. Trowbridge's paintings were her moonlit night scenes. The lighting effects that she created were so soft and natural, unlike some of today's hyped-up fantasy illustrations that display more artificial lighting effects.

In her notations, Mrs. T mentioned that their favorite table is the one just under the chimney pipe. Any of the tea shop windows provide a commanding view of Wild Rose Creek as it cascades through the village of Huckleberry Hollow.

GIANTS OF THE RAIN FOREST

Many of Mrs. Trowbridge's journal entries and richly detailed paintings were done in the early morning hours, before breakfast, often down by the stream. Then she would follow the pathway that led from her cottage into the village of Huckleberry Hollow. There she would meet with her friends for tea at the tea shop and bakery owned by her husband, Woodrow.

Her elaborately detailed journal entries left us with a rich legacy of life as it was among the little creatures of the rain forest over 200 years ago. When I first viewed the painting above I was reminded of the similarity of the root dwellers to our modern day apartment and condo dwellers.

MORE SUMMER GAMES

In this age of speed-of-light satellite communications, it's hard for us to imagine the simple life that the residents of Huckleberry Hollow lived. But they enjoyed their simple life immensely, as demonstrated by the children's summer fun and games.

I was struck by the paisley-design flag that the frog is holding. The teardrop paisley design originated in India and Persia, and is based on the mango fruit. But I have traced Trowbridge shrew culture to the Mongolian Steppes. It leads me to wonder if there was some cultural connection between the shrews of Mongolia and India, though they were separated by the Himalayan mountain range. Hmmm...perhaps another expedition is in order.

SPLASH!

Just up the trail, upstream from Huckleberry Hollow was a calm spot in Wild Rose Creek that served as the swimming hole for the shrew children. They would while away many summer days frolicking in the swimming hole.

If you look carefully at Mrs. Trowbridge's painting, you will see some orange flecks of color on the rocks. This is lichen (pronounced "liken"), a composite organism made up of fungus and green algae. Lichen that grows on rocks is called crustose lichen. I photographed the example above on the summit of Blue Mountain in the Olympic Mountain Range.