A PERFECT MATCH

"Phinneas is the most fastidious mole I've ever met!" Mrs. Trowbridge has said more than once in her journal pages. Even to soak in the rays he wears his dapper thistledown shorts, by Fungus and Pitch. "His fireweed tweed trousers are always a perfect color match with his fresh- pressed saxifrage shirts," Mrs. T once commented. Who knew that moles could have taste.

Phinneas and his Townsend Mole friends are commonly seen in the rain forest...and coming to a yard near you if you live in Washington or Oregon. He's America's largest mole.

If you haven't ever stroked a mole's fur, you've really missed something. It's slate black and softer than velvet. I know from whence I speak...we have an heirloom mole pelt in our elegantly appointed living room. A hundred years ago mole fur coats were all the rage. Now they're as scarce as toads' teeth.

BUTTERFLY TATTOOS

Look for pictures of Huckleberry Hollow soon. I'll be trekking into Trowbridge Country in about two weeks. I can't wait to get back to explore this magical place in the rain forest.

This week Mrs. Trowbridge is all atwitter because another trend is sweeping through the forest, and, as you know by now, she doesn't take to new trends. She likes the old ways. With her brilliant colors and deft brushstrokes she captures the butterfly tattoos beautifully in her journal.

SIX SQUEAKY CLEAN PINKIES!

The sorrow of last week's tragic death turns to joy this week as we find Mrs. Trowbridge and Woodrow celebrating their first litter of grandchildren. How would you like your first grandchild to turn into, not twins, but sextuplets? Six is an average number for a litter of shrews, and litters can number up to a dozen. That's a lot of hungry mouths to feed.

A word about shrews: After they're born, they have busy, demanding lives ahead of them, for a shrew must eat his weight everyday, or die. That's why, if you were to study shrews, you would observe them frantically scurrying about the forest floor, desperately seeking the next meal. Shrews give new meaning to the term "fast food".