My Redwood Tree

I thought I'd post a picture of this little tree that I'm growing on my balcony. I'm proud of it - it's a real Californian Redwood Tree, or perhaps Sequoia sempervirens if you prefer Latin. I planted this tree myself - it came wrapped in a little paper as a gift and when it started out it had just two or maybe three little branches. But as of now it has grown eight or nine branches and has many green needles. The needles look happy rain or shine - my little Redwood tree is a patient fellow, and unlike other plants it is not arrogant or demanding - it never gets pissed off and throws brownish needles after me because I forgot to take a look for a few weeks. Instead, it's a real self-sufficient survivor - it extracts rainwater and nutrients from the soil so I don't have to look after it.

While this tree is small and vulnerable in this environment, I do feel honored and humbled hosting such a patient friend on my balcony. For this tree, a human lifetime is only a short episode, and if it grew in a coastal forest without any human interference or even logging, it would most likely be just fine - so its dependence on us humans is artificial. I hope I can live up to this responsibility. Eventually, when the little tree grows up, I'll need to find an adequate home for it - my balcony will not accommodate 30k cubic feet of wood. My little tree may be up for adoption eventually.