Although Arbor Day is long past in Louisiana, most of the rest of the nation celebrated National Arbor Day yesterday. Did you plant one tree or more on Jan. 19? If so, have you kept up with them? How are they doing more than three months later? Have you managed to keep them alive?

You cannot claim to have planted any if you are not going to follow through, if you are not going to care for them, and nurture them to the best of your ability — if you are not going to ensure that they have vibrant lives.

Plants may be inanimate, but they still want to live as comfortably as possible. They may not complain vocally, but they can certainly “shuffle off this mortal coil.”

Imagine how bleak this world would be if we were not blessed with flowers or fruit or vegetables, or the carbon dioxide that trees release. If you couldn’t savor a banana, grape or a mess of mustard greens — how sad that would be?