Yellow Island's Wildflowers with The Garden Club

The sunshine and warmth on May Day provided a perfect window for setting out on the sea to another nearby island.

But first… Some facts about Yellow Island that I’ve compiled from various websites:

11 acres
50 species of wildflowers
Bald eagles, harbor seals, black oystercatchers, and harlequin ducks
Was cultivated and dug for centuries by over 17 known Pacific Northwest tribes
Used by indigenous population for harvesting plant foods such as the bulbs of the camas flower before Europeans came
Women who traditionally managed camas used fire to keep bushes like snowberry, ocean spray, and serviceberry from smothering their crop, and to keep trees from taking over the island
Camas was once in the lily family and is now part of Asparagaceae
Camas’s genus name is from the Nez Perce word for sweet: Qém’es
Camas has hints of garlic, fig, and pear, and was traditionally slow roasted in sand pits or slow boiled
The Coast Salish Youth Coalition stewards camas prairies in the San Juans and they burn, plant, harvest, bake, and eat camas
Baking camas is done low and slow until the indigestible inulin breaks down into fructose, creating an oniony, creamy, sweet treat
Other wildflowers include red harsh paintbrush, yellow buttercups, stonecrop, and chocolate lilies
Intentional burning kept the tree population in check, maintaining the prairies
Named by Charles Wilkes, the commander of the U.S. Exploring Expedition of 1838-1842, supposedly due to the yellow Ranunculus occidentalis flowers blooming in April and May
Wilkes was described “as a man of shallow intellect, meager understanding and emotional instability,” “a leader of a sea-going expedition that was neither a leader nor a seaman”
Lewis and Elizabeth Dodd bought the island in the fall of 1945 and sold it in 1979 to The Nature Conservancy
The Dodds built a cottage from driftwood collected on the beach and panes of glass from their chicken coop on Orcas Island
Visitors are allowed from 10 am to 4 pm ~ no pets or food
Small enough to be explored in one visit
The only access is in a private boat or kayak, and the closest ferry is on Orcas Island
There is no moorage, so a beach-landing craft is necessary
The only resident of Yellow Island is steward Ángel Quimbita, 27, a native of Los Angeles who gathers plant data for a long-term dataset and weeds the island a minimum of two hours daily

Now on to the photo tour… MANY THANKS to The Orcas Island Garden Club for planning this adventure and allowing non-members to participate, and to various boaters and yacht club members for getting us there and back…