Last October, I planted some rhubarb. It had been purchased earlier (possibly a year or more earlier) and it was perhaps a touch optimistic expecting it to amount to anything. Despite the budding signs of spring in the garden it showed no sign of life, so we bought four fresh roots from the local branch of Notcutts yesterday and got them straight in the garden.
The old roots, which I dug out at the same time, were definitely dead. They have graduated to providing more fodder for the compost heap. That experience made the parable that came in this morning’s gospel reading (Luke 13:6-9) particularly striking (being based on the picture of giving a plant a little longer but only so much to bear fruit)!