Some of us are like Hellebores, early bloomers who grace late winter with soft mauve beauty. Others of us are like daffodils, who pop up from the ground right on cue to announce spring in glorious yellowy joy. And some of us take our time, like this grand old big leaf maple, which hugs a steep cliff overlooking Port Townsend Bay.

This wonderful grandmother tree has figured out how to send roots deeply in all directions in order to remain standing—or leaning—above the beach below. I love visiting this tree in all seasons, but it’s at this time of year when you can best appreciate her structure, her history and what’s she’s done to survive.

Broken branches expose scars from past storms, and the ground at her base is thick with twigs fallen in recent high winds. Erosion reveals some of her roots now grasping at air, exposed, still looking for earth. Yet she endures, remains a watchtower above the bay.

This is also when this grand maple allows access to a sturdy horizontal limb and makes of herself a bench for bird watching and meditating. It’s possible to tuck yourself into her embrace, feel her sway with the March winds and marvel at her endurance.

She also offers a lesson in patience.

Though she takes her time in leafing out, she will eventually flaunt the largest leaves of any tree in the region—and more of them, too. Big Leaf Maple feels no need to rush into spring—she knows her potential, the magnificence she’ll bring forth all in good time. I wish I could learn to pace myself that well. I will sink into her lap today, whisper into her warm bark and hope to divine her secrets. I’ll let you know what she tells me.

CONTEMPLATIONS

• What are you rushing to accomplish?
• Are you pushing the season, doing too much too soon?
• Is more patience called for?
• Is your project well anchored in reality?
• Do you need more support?

Visit a different maple tree in Port Townsend here.