Unexpected fruit
After being away from our house for two years, our once thriving young satsuma tree was bare. It produced no fruit and had hardly any leaves. We thought we had lost it.
I started nurturing it back to health. The leaves started growing back and it was full of blossoms, but then half the tree died and no oranges grew. I pruned it back and continued to fertilize and care for it. This last spring it blossomed and had quite a bit of new growth, but again a lot of it died off. The tree is about half the size it once was, and I really didn’t expect to get much fruit. Our wonderful tree has surprised us! Hiding under its few remaining branches it had a whole lot of oranges growing that we hadn’t even noticed. Here are some photos of this year’s harvest.
While enjoying the first orange of the season, I got to thinking about how our frail little orange tree reminds me of people. We are all born with the capacity to do great things, it just takes some growth and nurturing to get there. And sometimes the people you least expect are the ones that surprise you with their hidden potential.