FAMILY PICNIC

This was my introduction to the Monkey flower, the first one that I ever saw. I found it growing beside a stream in Grand Valley, north of Huckleberry Hollow, where Mrs. Trowbridge lived.

Mrs. Trowbridge is in high spirits because summer has come to Huckleberry Hollow. Today she shares the family's first summer outing with us. Whenever I hike up Wild Rose Creek, I wonder which one of the boulders I've hopped onto or jumped over was the one that Mrs. T referred to as the family's "special boulder", where they had so many memorable family outings. I sure wish I could have been there to join them for beetle burgers.

Speaking of beetle burgers, I've noticed that whenever Mrs. T talked about meals, she usually referred to meat. After researching the shrew's diet I understood why. I learned that 80% of the shrew diet is from animal protein. The rest comes from berries, seeds and nuts. I would never know by Mrs. T's gentle demeanor that shrews are ferocious carnivors.

I plan to make another trek this summer into Huckleberry Hollow, the area in the rain forest where Mrs. Trowbridge lived. I hope to go in a few weeks, when the wildflowers are in full bloom. I wish some of you could join me. If I find time to make the trip, I'll post some photos for you. It's truly a magical place.

Sidebar Info: I recently learned that there was once ANOTHER Trowbridge Chronicles. Between 1861 and 1906 the Trowbridge Chronicles newspaper was published in a rural county in Southwest England.

PORTRAIT CLOSEUP

It has been suggested that Mrs. Trowbridge's portrait of Mrs. Fernwick was too small, and much of the detail was impossible to see in such a small image. I know in last week's journal page it was impossible to see her expensive ruby ring, and other accoutrements of her lavish gown. So I digitally removed the parchment background that Mrs. T worked on and enlarged the image so that you could see her fine detailing better on a white background. I'll bring Mrs. T back as often as I can. I'm out of town for the next two weeks so I'm temporarily out of commission. Enjoy.

ANNIVERSARY PORTRAIT

Mrs. Trowbridge returns to show us her portrait skills. She devoted many pages in her journal to sketching her ladybug friends with tattooed shells. I might add that my Trowbridge unique visits went through the roof when I posted her page on "ladybug tattoos". I'm still getting tons of hits on that one.

Mrs. Fernwick, the subject of the portrait, was one of Mrs. T's best friends. She, too, was an artist, and they spent many happy days together sketching along Wild Rose Creek and in the high meadows. They often walked together into the village to do their weekly shopping and to attend social events. The rose in her portrait, is a Nootka rose, which grows in abundance in the Olympic Rain Forest.