THE HONEY SNAG

This is a sketch that Mrs. Trowbridge drew that never turned into a painting. She did very refined sketches, preferring to have everything nailed down before she began applying paint. This is a portion of the trail that leads from Huckleberry Hollow to the Quinault River Valley below. All of the small creatures used this trail to get to and from the river valley to the high meadows. It passed right through Huckleberry Hollow.

One thing notable about this section of trail is that the hollow snag just behind the big tree in the foreground was inhabited by a swarm of bees. It became the primary source of honey for the small creatures around Huckleberry Hollow.

MRS. T and the DRAGON

Some have asked how the Trowbridge shrews passed their time during the long cold winters in the rain forest. Mrs. Trowbridge would be quick to point out that the winters were as busy as the summers, with numerous wintertime tasks to keep them occupied.

This is the time that Mrs. T reserved for darning and mending well-worn items of clothing for her family...a sweater or socks for the children, an overcoat for Woodrow. She used thistledown, spun into thread, for all her sewing and mending tasks. A scarf made with thistledown was soft, warm and cozy.

Today's page is among my favorites from Mrs. T's easel. In this painting she records her first encounter with a dragon while on a trip to the high meadows with family and friends.

WINTER CELEBRATION

The residents of Huckleberry Hollow had their own winter celebrations, just as we do. Their custom of hanging a wreath on their front door is similar to ours in the Western world. They often used fir or cedar branches, weaving dried bright red serviceberries (Amelancheir alnifolia) into the evergreen boughs. The tips of the boughs hanging from the top of Mrs. Trowbridge's painting are coast Douglas-fir needles (Pseudotshuga menziesii). They are commonly found in the Olympic Rain Forest.

It is my hope that you are having a blessed holiday season with your family and friends.

HOLIDAY MEMORIES WITH FERN

Mrs. Trowbridge met her friend, Fern, one day when Fern was passing by on the path to the village. Mrs. T was at her mailbox, retrieving her morning mail. Fern had just moved to Huckleberry Hollow from a village in the North Woods. They chatted at the mailbox and soon became fast friends.

Fern cherished her portrait. Mrs. T wrote in one of her journal entries that Fern proudly hung her portrait over the hearth in her parlor. It would undoubtedly have become a family heirloom.

There's nothing like friends and family to enrich our lives, especially at Christmas time.

WINTER IS HERE!

Winters were challenging for the small creatures of Huckleberry Hollow. But afterwards, there was always the spring and summer months to enjoy. In one of Mrs. T's previous pages, from November 7 2006, she explains in greater detail the process of creating shafts in the snow in order to vent the smoke to the surface. Here is that episode, from my birthday in 2006. Today is my birthday in 2010. Wow...four years ago. Where has the time gone?