conifer chameleon

I've passed this wee conifer growing aslant many times and each time I pass it I think that it is trying to blend in with the peeling paint on the fence behind it. Conifer chameleon .

I was walking off a late lunch. I'd taken my mum out for an early Mother's Day meal, as my daughter won't be around tomorrow. They have such a special relationship that it wouldn't have been the same without her. So we brought it forward to today.
It was a nice enough meal, and my mum and daughter bring out the best in each other. Afterwards my dad, son and I went for a walk but we had to abort it as my dad started having his angina pains and needed to sit down. He's still not quite accustomed himself to the new reality of what he is or isn't capable of.
So I went and got his car and drove back to pick him up, and by the time I arrived he was fine again. A cup of tea later and he was back to himself, except he's not himself. He's this next stage of himself where he's less active and the meat of mortality traces a thin line across his mouth. He's trying to hide it, but he's a bit stunned at this new turn in his life. Not that he says that of course, he would never say it. But it is plain in the grain of his expression, where he tries to hide it, where he tries to blend in with his old self , chameleon like, and hopes no-one notices.