MONKEY FLOWER MEADOW

I photographed these Monkey flowers (Mimulus tilingi) growing alongside a stream in the beautiful Grand Valley, one of my favorite meadows in the high Olympic Mountains. Monkey flowers are a common sight in sub-alpine meadows, dancing merrily in the summer breeze beside a rushing stream.

Mrs. Trowbridge and her family spent many memorable days on summer outings. Sometimes they would go to the nearby Pacific Ocean. Other times they would hike to the high meadows. She referred often to their "special boulder", a boulder that served as their destination when they followed Wild Rose Creek up to the high meadows. She painted this picture of her husband, Woodrow, napping on the boulder among the Monkey flowers, while the children play nearby. I hope her painting brings thoughts of days in the coming summer season when you too will be sunning beside a stream in your special place.

Have you seen my other blog, Bron Smith's Flights of Fantasy. Check it out.

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.

Merry Christmas to All!

I hope you feel the warm glow of Christmas this year. Best wishes for a joyous Christmas and a Happy New Year from Bron Smith and Mrs. Trowbridge.

LADYBUG ANGELS

I have found great enjoyment in exploring the ancient rain forest through Mrs. Trowbridge's journal entries and paintings. And I have learned much about life among the small creatures in the rain forest by reading her journal and observing her paintings.

I have learned from Mrs. T that the small creatures of the rain forest were highly superstitious.  Much like the early Greeks and Romans, they took their mythical creatures very seriously. In the page below Mrs.T describes the ladybug angels as well as their nemesis, the "black ladybugs". Of course, the rain forest creatures didn't celebrate Christmas as we do, but Mrs. T's above painting, which depicts their pearlescent white ladybug angels, somehow reminded me of the angels that announced the birth of the Christ child.

Have you seen my other blog, Bron Smith's Flights of Fantasy? Check it out.

The LEGEND of SHREW KAHN

It all started this past summer. I was on a safari in Morocco, exploring a musty cave in the cliffs above the Draa River, when I stumbled upon something most amazing. There, buried under skull fragments and pottery shards was what appeared to be an ancient manuscript! I brushed the dust from it and carefully unrolled the scroll.

 Indeed, it was a manuscript. My helmet lamp revealed beautifully scribed text, as well as colorful illustrations. The title (translated) read: "The Legend of Shrew Kahn". The art style was distinctively humorous. I didn't know that they had cartoons in ancient times, did you?

I rolled the manuscript into a sheet of burlap, placed it in the boot of my Land Rover, then drove into Marrakesh to have it carbon dated. To my utter amazement, it dated back to the 3rd Century!

Fast forward to three weeks ago. My phone rings unusually early one morning. I try not to sound surprised...it's the famous movie producer, Jerry Bruckheimer! My mind is racing as he explains to me that he wants to option my Shrew Kahn manuscript for a movie. I'm momentarily distracted by the "ka-ching" of dollar signs ringing in the back of my mind. Hollywood has caught wind of my discovery. Perhaps Mr. Bruckheimer read about it in USA Today or one of the supermarket rags.

He called me back yesterday to inform me that he has signed none other than Brad Pitt to play the lead role of Shrew Kahn! Kiera Knightley will play Kahn's love interest in the film.

I got special permission from Mr. Bruckheimer to release one page of the manuscript to the public as a teaser, and I chose you, my faithful blog audience. This is the special page that I selected because it's a good close-up depiction of Kahn and his faithful robot steed.

So look for The Legend of Shrew Kahn, coming soon to a multiplex near you.