I'm absolutely sick over it, if I think about it too much. Our property is an absolute mess of Japanese knotweed, mugwort, and garlic mustard, all of which are extremely difficult to get under control. This tree was looking gorgeous and was one of the few bright spots in what is otherwise a very labor-intensive yard, that otherwise won't show real progress for a few years til we can get the invasives under control. Now it has lost its shape and will take another couple years to go back to looking good, IF the damage is not too severe. We cannot really prune it for balance this year as it already lost three good-sized branches and is still a small tree. Luckily, the child in question (who we have nick-named "Klepto girl" for obvious reasons) does not live here. Her family is from out of town and the house they are prepping for sale goes to closing this week. I will watch the tree carefully in the next couple weeks for any more damage. I too doubt it's the wind, though, because I have seen the thing blowing around in a gale with no ill effects (we sit in a high location and get a lot of windy days). And in researching on line, young redbuds do not seem prone to storm damage; only older trees already in decline, at least in this climate.

Marie -- I forgot that we're not supposed to call you Idabean. Sorry.... I can't access your email address from your member page, so I'll post the recipe here, tho I fear it is OT? Easy Plum Torte by Autumn Hills Orchard in Groton MA 1/2 c uns butter 3/4 c sugar 1 c unbleached flour, sftd 1 tsp baking powder pinch salt 2 eggs 10-12 pitted purple plums, halved sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon for topping Preheat oven to 350. Cream butter and sugar in bowl. Add flour, bkg pwdr, salt and eggs and beat well. Spoon batter into 8 or 9" spring form pan. Place plum halves, skin side up, on top of batter in circular pattern. Sprinkle with lemon jce, cinn, sugar to taste. Bake approx 50 min, til center springs back and edges are lightly browned. EAT and enjoy!

My bluebirds have been building a nest since early - mid week last week and look about finished, here in N.E. Ohio The latest weather I just saw, after 3 straight 80 degree days, says we are gonna be in the 40's by the end of the weekend! BAD!!! Cherry, Dogwood, and Magnolias have ALL broke out into bloom! Other trees are pushing out leaves. The trees are WEEKS ahead of normal. Really hope my blues don't get a cold spell. Like tobygirl, I also lost a nest of blues to a sudden cold snap. One evening they were very poorly tending to the young. It was around 70 then. The next day, 50! 4-5 nestlings starved to death. I pulled the plug on the attempt after observing them laying in the nest stiffly, with no ability to chirp and couldn't raise their heads. When there were winds and cold rain. ~Tim~

Wow, you've all given fantastic information. Thank you! I wish we had a month to visit all these lovely-sounding spots. I've traveled through Germany but not Berlin; however, I think we'll save that for another time. We haven't purchased our airline tickets, so we can do outbound to anywhere and return from anywhere. We could therefore start in one location, head to Vienna for work/pleasure and then continue on. I think I can covince my hubs to do Vienna plus 10 days ... so 13 days total. I don't dare say 2 weeks or he'll say he can't be gone from work that long (even though he totally can). I'll say 12 days. Ha. Maybe something like this: Depart US Morning arrival in Prague - stay 2 nights? Drive to Vienna (direct route shows 3.5 hr drive which we could do in the morning; if we stop in Cesky Krumlov and the other small towns suggested on detour route, we may need to allocate a full day. Hmmm) Vienna - 3 nights? Drive to Bled (4 hours) - 1 night? Drive to Split/islands (5.5 hours) - number of nights? Drive to Mostar (2 hours) - stay overnight or continue on? Depart from Dubrovnik (2 hours) - number of nights? Return flight from Dubrovnik? What do you think? Specifically, we have to be in Vienna mid-afternoon Sunday through Tuesday evening. We probably would stay overnight Tuesday for a total of 3 nights, and then drive to Bled (or wherever) Wednesday morning ... unless we should spend more time in Vienna. Our 2.5 days will include great sightseeing and fantastic dining with our business hosts. Sochi, how much time would you allocate to each location? In the time we have, should we try to fit in more? What would you do? We don't mind a bit being on the go go go. lizzard, I had no clue Budweiser is a Czech thing. I do have a beer lover, but despite the historical significance, one Budweiser tour in a lifetime is really all I ever need. Ssshh, we won't tell my husband.