Ok... so I followed the link gg posted and this is what I found... I guess Monica isn't the only one to head to the woods with that yuck! "During the spring and summer of 2003 and early summer 2004, numerous sightings were reported. The slime mold is usually found growing in mulched areas near homes and office buildings, but can appear in forested areas as well."

i am in adrian mi ... prime planting time in MI ... is ground thaw in late march ... minimum 6 to 8 weeks before leaf out ... OR!!!!! and late sept thru about now ... so this is your window of opportunity ... for next year ... gee tree farm is just north of jackson MI ... off I-94 ... with a 15 acre arboretum .. and hundreds of acres of trees... it would be a brilliant trip ... NOW ... call ahead... ask for cary ... and explain what you are looking for .. and ask if their field trees are still holding leaves.. and if you could mark some for next summer .. it might require a deposit ... and that is up to them ..... [i would have you mention my name.. but i dont know if it would be a positive.. lol ] .. make an appointment for someone with a golf cart to whisk you around the property .... you might be able to find some out your way also ... google tree farms grand rapids ... the larger the tree.. the more roots you cut off to transplant ... no tree will perform to expectations until it regrows its root mass .. so a larger tree.. will take years longer to recover ... smaller will get 'established' faster .. and can outgrow a larger specimen.. inside 5 years .. not to mention.. if you are doing this yourselves.. how to move.. transport ... carry.. and plant.. a humongous ball and burlap.. sans heavy machinery ... i have tried that.. nearly ended up needing surgery .. not cool ... my dichotomy.. is based on you doing it.. versus big checkbook professional installation ... its not that it cant be done... its what can be done in your budget .... i am impressed you are so far ahead of the curve... usually peeps want instant gratification.. rather than planning a year out ... should you be thinking of doing this yourself.. read.. digest. and commit to memory.. EVERYTHING at the link ... doing it the right way... really matters .... ken Here is a link that might be useful: link

Yes! You guys have nailed it! After the first posts above I looked at pics of Budapest, and it was obvious that all 4 of the tiny enamel images on my bracelet were places there. Romogen - thanks! I had not been able to find the castle one until you posted a pic of it. I think the guess that my bracelet was sold as a tourist souvenir is a good one - probably prior to WWI, when Budapest was thriving - so fun to know that! Jackie

Sunshine, it's nice that you can grow all of those citrus trees in your planting zone. I'm glad you have a Valencia orange. I used to have one that bore nice fruit for me for a couple of seasons until citrus greening hit us here. That was many years back. The tree is not doing anything now except hanging onto dear life. Other citrus trees that are doing well for me are all my lemons. I also have a couple of Bearss Lemons. They are very heavy producers and now my branches are loaded with fruit almost ready for harvest. I also have a few of the Keiffer Lime. I thought they were very cold sensitive, but it turned out they really weren't affected too much by our Winter here, so I had one of the planted in the ground. It really took off and it's now standing at 10-12ft height.