I’m not ashamed to admit that when I arrived at my brother and sister-in-law’s place on Orcas Island, I stood for a while and shed tears—tears over the wonder and beauty of this amazing place.  Of course, the cause of my tears was not just the wonder of God’s creation, but the wonder of His healing for my brother, Jim, from a critical illness that just about took his life some sixteen months ago.  To see him fully recovered and enjoying the little paradise they have preserved and enhanced here is a joy. ”Bluebell Springs” is the name of their place, virtually at land’s end below the island’s Moran State Park.  Here is how one flyer describes the island:

Art, activities and agriculture flourish on Orcas Island, the largest of the San Juans. The horseshoe-shaped island is a magical mix of lush forest, farm valleys, placid lakes and stunning mountains, all wrapped around a beautiful fjord.

It has been named by Readers Digest, Forbes, Island Magazine, and National Geographic as one of the top island getaways in the world.  And at Bluebell Springs, the grandeur of it all comes together.  Buzzing rufous hummingbirds, darting tree and barn swallows, crawking ravens, and grazing Columbia black-tail deer, keep you mesmerized near their home, and down on the beach where the springs finally reach the sea (the Georgia Strait), small waterfalls add their part to the symphony of lapping water and tumbling stones. In the meadows and on the forest edge, foxglove spires add their multi-colors fresh off the Creator’s pallet.

In the next few posts I will share photos from this place of wonder.

See you outdoors!

Dean