I think the Boehmervald source would be worth trying. Actually when you asked about Romanian sources I had thought that Austria is at about the same latitude. Of course altitude and temperature are other factors. A while ago Resin and I had a brief discussion about the influence of latitude on the appropriateness of seed sources and general species adaptability. I think in the end we agreed to disagree. He cited a number of species that grow at very different latitudes than their origin, if they were at altitude and grew at similar temperature and moisture levels. But I was not convinced because the examples he cited, although they did grow sucessfully, seemed to me not to grow nearly as well as in their native habitats. If latitude is important, it may be more so for some species and less so for others. The question arose because of my observations--very incomplete, I admit--that NS did not seem to me to do very well in the US in more southerly places like Asheville, NC even though the climate was very similar to more northerly places where NS does well. Of course NS does grow fairly well in Asheville and the surrounding areas, but the overall vigor seems to me to be somewhat deficient. Of course there could be some area-wide soil nutrient issues or some other factors, but I am dubious about that. Anyway, I tried some Boehmervald source NS seedlings at my tree farm a number of years ago and they did fine--maybe no better than some other strains, but my place up there is a cold Z5 with generally lots of moisture and nighttime temperatures colder than much of Z5. But your environment is quite different and these may do better for you than the usual strains I use here. Carino has some Boehmervald source trees, but as I noted before, they can't really send you any that they can positively identify as such--they don't track their seed sources after the seed is planted. On the other hand, I asked the question in a fairly casual way--if you called and explained why it was important, perhaps someone there could remember which field was planted with Boehmervald seeds and mamage to send you some seedlings. --Spruce

Yes, we have been talking about it in the thread linked below. You can search the forum from the page that lists the titles of the threads. Scroll down to the bottom and you will find the search box. Welcome! One resource my friend uses for lower cost food is Angel Food Ministries. You pay $30 and get a big box of food. Around Boston, there are churches in Roxbury, Brockton, Woburn, and Jamaica Plains that participate in the program. Learn more at AngelFoodMinistries.com. Here is a link that might be useful: Husband Laid Off thread

Definitely go. That's a long drive, but if you take the time to make some stops along the way, you can make a really terrific vacay out of it. I haven't been in a long long time, but it's not crazy busy like some of the other national parks. What makes it stunning is the number of environments you see in such a compact area... woods full of fir trees, granite topped mountains, Maine's rocky coastline, lakes, ponds, bays, sand beach...and of course even the McDonald's sell lobster rolls. (Of course what always cracked me up was, when we were in Maine, we saw signs in restaurants that said "fresh pacific salmon" and signs in Seattle that said "fresh maine lobster". Go figure!) I'm sure you'll get lots of input on things to see and do along the way if you let us know where you might want to stop and for how long. EG, you can stop in the Brandywine River Valley area, that's one of my favorite places to visit...Longwood Gardens, Winterthur, Hagley Museum, Brandywine River Museum, Nemours mansion. You can stop in Boston of course too...

Those were funny! When I worked (before children) I was fairly naive. I had a masters in my field, and was usually the youngest person at my level. I can’t remember ever feeling the need to keep quiet or defer to any of the males regarding any work issues. My boss was pretty much the same age as my dad, and was generally protective of me. However, I do remember a couple of times feeling uncomfortable (not even sure that’s the right word, I guess offended is more accurate) when I might be the only female in the company of my boss and his boss and the attorney…all much older. Since they basically saw me as a ”kid” they would at times talk over me. Ex: Traveling in a car after an important, multi million $ RE closing…the Boss’s boss kept talking about the bank’s attorney, an attractive mid-forties woman. He said, ” Nice carriage (body) but you can keep the helmet (face.)” I mean, seriously? It was just disappointing. Ofc, I didn’t say anything bc I was just kinda shocked/sad…but looking back I really should have. I know I wouldn’t have faced repercussions, and I think he literally just forgot I was in the car. I think it would’ve made him think if I had piped up. I was just naive and surprised that men their age and level would talk about women like that.