Bent and Broken, but ALIVE!

Here are the promised pictures of my poor bent and broken potted Christmas tree. You can see the darkened and drab color of the needles and the way the branches are curling inward. This is NOT the pretty lime-green tree I bought back in December. The close-ups are blurry, probably because I am not used to this new camera. But even blurred the color differences are visible. I was amazed to find the soft green needles in the center. It has been rainy for several days so it has gotten a lot of good water. Today it is bright, sunny, and warm out, so the tree is getting a good dose of health.

You can also see in the picture of the ground, the many broken limbs. They are all over the yard from the different places where the tree was placed and wind blew it over. Maybe the birds will take them and use them for their nests. It would be nice to know that they have some use left in them.

Now, here is a picture of what my tree should be looking like, although mine was a bit fuller with more center stalks--if that is what you call them. Also I had the wrong name for it in my previous post. It is a Norfolk Pine, not a Norwegian Pine. Makes a difference, right? LOL

Photo compliments of http://www.evergrowing.com/tips/araucaria.htm

In searching for pictures of what the tree should be looking like, I found pictures of it full grown. It is a beautiful tree. I don't understand why the stores in this area sell these trees other than for their obvious beauty. They are not able to be grown outside in our climate, according to the information that came with the tree. But if I can keep it alive, I will keep it potted and have a beautiful indoor tree, assuming it continues to get healthy again. Even if it never gets its original shape back after all the damage, it will still be beautiful. It will be a reminder of how life can be a challenge to each of us and how we can survive even after the damage, and be beautiful again even with the scars.

Photo compliments of Wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Araucaria_heterophylla

Isn't this a beautiful pine tree? Its branches look like palm trees. I would love having a tree like this.