A Whale of a Tale

On Saturday we took a three-hour cruise (cue music from “Gilligan’s Island”) to Protection Island, a small island that gained government protection under *gasp* President Reagan. Protection Island gets little rainfall, so it has a desert-y look to it, but birds flock to it. We are not allowed on the island itself, but the boat parked about 200 yards offshore so we could enjoy looking at eagles, brants, and other delightful creatures. Seals lolled around in the sun at one end of the island.

We were having a merry time, meeting other people who were excited about seeing the birds. Hubby and I had our favorite bird book, Birds of the Puget Sound Region, to help us, and we also had a naturalist on board to give us history of the island and its furry inhabitants.

However, as in the rest of life, sometimes detours happen. This detour happened to be of the more pleasant variety. Our captain had learned of an orca sighting, and before we knew it, we left the birds behind and cruised over to find them! There we saw several, males, females, and young, frolicking in the water. Later that day, when we returned home, we actually had a view of some orcas from our window as well! These magnificent creatures never fail to inspire and delight.

In our move here, we have had a number of surprises such as these, and we are being kept in a perpetual state of astonishment. When we decided to move here, we saw it was a cute town with a lot going for it, but we had no idea.

Of course, all this nature made me think about life in general. Not all surprises work out well. Sometimes we have disappointments. But there is something magical in taking a leap of faith. At the very least, we get to see some pretty birds, and maybe some seals. Sometimes, if we’re lucky, we get orcas!

Thanks to hubby, by the way, for providing the animal shots shown here today.