It happens every year: the post-Christmas January blues. They're officially here. I guess it's not really January's fault. It just has the misfortune of coming after "the most wonderful time of the year." After the festive excitement of the holidays, January seems cold, dark, and bleak by comparison.
In order to help alleviate my blues, I want to pay tribute to our wonderful Christmas tree, because it was pretty amazing this year. We got it on December 5th and took it down on January 2nd--almost a full month--and to the end, it wasn't dropping many needles, and it had retained its fresh piney scent. And this with it sitting right in front of the heater, and with us being gone for four days and not being there to water it. In fact, when we got home on New Year's Eve after being away, we found that the tree had done this:
It actually started sprouting new buds! For being dead for a month (when it was lopped from the ground), this is pretty amazing. We've never had a tree that has done that. Peter says it must be the mineral content in our well water. If that's the case, those are some pretty potent minerals!
Look at those healthy, glossy pine needles!It was sad to take the tree down when it was doing so well. I wish we could have planted it in our yard. But instead, it's now laying on its side in the woods behind our house. I can see it whenever I look out the kitchen window. John and I are going to pay it a little visit soon. Sigh.
There is now a big void where the tree stood.
I wish we could keep a tree in our house all year long!
