I had no idea Jésus would turn out so… flamboyant.

You may remember that almost a year ago, I rescued a plant from certain doom. I didn’t know if he would recover from the experience, and was delighted by something so simple as his first new leaf.

Well now, behold the glory of Jésus, the Christmas Cactus completely restored to health and beauty:

Ain’t he perty?

And just for macro-enthusiasts… no prizes available for finding the bit that actually is in focus.

That actually is how bright the flowers are. It’s brighter than my fantastically bright pink shoes. I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.

First signs of life.

He hadn’t grown at all since the trauma of Christmas but at last, Jésus is showing signs of recovery.

He obviously likes his new vantage point of the coffee table, horribly dusty as it is.

Plant a tree for every book you read.

Eco-Libris: Plant a tree for every book you read

Pay this Eco-Libris money; they get trees planted and you get stickers to put on each of your books to show how green you are. And they plant extra trees for your money to take into account the fact that not all planted trees make it.

An interesting idea. Given a little more reading time I could probably create a small forest. How cool would that be… a lifetime’s reading expressed through the medium of wildlife. Insects (representing newspapers) flutter through the trees, the sun shines dappled on the bed of dead leaves and mould (the Daily Mail), while a dewy-eyed doe…

I wore out that metaphor before I even finished it. Soz.

Meet Jésus, the newest addition to the Careless family.

He’s a Christmas cactus, rescued on Boxing Day from the evil ministrations of Homebase. He had been dressed in orange and confined to the ‘reduced to 99p for quick sale’ for the simple crime of having flowered too soon.

Welcome, Jésus. There is no danger of floral recrimination in this house.