Many have asked how Mrs. Trowbridge's tiny journal pages found their way into a blog . Here's the short version.

It all began with a solo trek into the Quinault Rain Forest about eight years ago. I was hiking up Wild Rose Creek in search of one of the world's rarest flowers, the Albino Pipers Bellflower. Climbing over a fallen snag, I caught a sudden glint of light from the corner of my eye. The source of the flash was coming from the other side of the creek. My curiosity piqued, I crossed the creek, scrambled up a small scree slope until I reached the source of the light flash...a small gold box on a mossy ledge. I dropped it into my back pack and continued on with my quest for the Piper's Bellflower.

That night in my studio I examined the tiny box, and discovered a minuscule key protruding from the side of the box. The key was so small that a pair of tweezers were required to grasp the key. After a few failed attempts at turning the key, the lid of the box popped open.

What I saw inside the box took my breath away. It was a tiny book, with the words "The Trowbridge Chronciles" scribed in an exquisite Old English calligraphic style on the cover. The book was a brownish-green hue, appearing to be made from a delicate paper-thin hide, perhaps toad skin.

I was utterly amazed by the contents of the miniature book, which required a magnifying glass to read. I stayed up most of that night, transfixed by the beautifully hand-scribed text and tiny delicate watercolors. It was the personal journal of a Trowbridge shrew, named Violet Trowbridge. She lived in a village inhabited by small creatures on Wild Rose Creek, a tributary of the Quinault River.

It required considerable detective work to locate a lab that would carbon date the book. I found a facility at the University of Washington in Seattle and learned that the the journal is about 200 years old. That dates the book back to the time when Lewis and Clark were arriving at the western shores of the continent.

I put the book away in a drawer in my studio, where it remained for about three years. Then, one day I decided to share Mrs. Trowbridge's journal with the world, one page at a time, via a blog. The Trowbridge Chronicles debuted on January 1, 2006.

When I tell this story at my school visits the children are always amazed and spellbound. It pains me to disappoint them and reveal that it is only a made up story. But then I use it as an illustration of how they too can be creative and write similar stories themselves.

You might be interested to know that I did find, and photograph (above) the Albino Piper's Bellflower. This truly is one of the world's rarest flowers. There are only a few dozen plants known to exist, and only a select few wildflower enthusiasts like myself know its location. An endemic plant (found nowhere else on earth), it grows in crevices of boulders in the subalpine region of the Olympic Mountains.

THE GREAT HOLE

Mrs. Trowbridge mentioned the great hole several times in her writings; the reason being that the husband of one of her dear friends was severely injured in a fall during an exploration of the hole. A rescue was attempted, but he expired.

Through the course of my numerous treks into Wild Rose Creek, I was never able to find the fabled hole that she wrote about. To my knowledge Mrs. T never entered the hole, so she must have created this painting from descriptions combined with her brilliant imagination.

MORNINGS BY THE STREAM

The Trowbridge shrews of Mrs. Trowbridge's day were indeed brave little souls. They faced constant threats from all around and above. At any given moment their nest could be trampled by a herd of Roosevelt elk, or thrashed to shreds by a hungry raccoon. Of course, a shrew was always at risk for being snatched away on the way to market by a hungry hawk.

Mrs. T faced life's challenges and uncertainties by spending time early in the mornings beside the nearby creek. It was here that she would meditate, write and paint. You may have to look carefully to see her perched in front of her easel on top of the boulder beside the stream.

HOW TROWBRIDGE SHREWS PROPAGATE

Some have asked about the Trowbridge shrew's mating habits. They propagate year round with a short pause during the winter. The pregnancy period is relatively short - about three weeks - and there are five to ten animals in each litter.

Many shrews are lost to birds of prey and accidents, especially the young ones who may venture too close to the rushing waters of a mountain stream. Wild Rose Creek cascades through the village of Huckleberry Hollow, which flows into the North Fork Quinault River. This, in turn, empties into Lake Quinault. This is where the mishap occurred in our story.

SUNLIT FOREST

Banana slugs are commonly found in the Quinault Rain Forest. They are usually bright yellow, like Scooter, although they may also be green, brown or even white. The Pacific banana slug (Ariolimax columbianus) found in the Quinault Rain Forest, is the second largest slug in the world, attaining a length of almost ten inches.

Mrs. Trowbridge wrote many stories for her children and grandchildren. She was careful, never clumsy in her choice of words for her stories, and she taught her offspring the craft of writing as well. Sometimes she would create a first page of the story, as seen above, then allow her children to write their own finish for the story. It was a wonderful way of passing the gift of creativity down to her offspring. How would you finish the story?