Thanks both of you. There are at least 3 interesting and good sounding theories I've read when google searching on why they flutter: 1. Helps reduce and dissipate strong wind thru the tree canopy in high winds Link (8th paragraph down) 2. Helps get sunlight evenly in to the canopy so all leaves can photosynthesize well. Link (click Quaking Aspen) 3 Helps Co2 exchange, but shown by these links, it may or may not Link Link I might try to set up an experiment sometime to see if fixed poplar leaves have more drag in the wind than fluttering ones. This might prove fluttering leaves reduce drag for the tree in high wind gust events. If anybody has more information or studies on Poplar leaf flutter function(s) post it, it would be great to read more about this. Thanks.

Thank you very much Josh, we appreciate your work and look forward to the results of our searches. We love our forum and being able to search through the posts makes it whole again. Trudi

This looks like a lovely, *big* house. Please excuse my going off topic by suggesting that you do a light fix-up of the kitchen, then list the house for sale. I'm thinking about what you've said about your ages and your mobility issues. My experience and family situation may be very different from yours, but it may apply. My DH and I started building a single floor home fifteen years ago. I was nearly sixty. Since then I have had two hip replacements, pneumonia, a staghorn calculus, and on and on with minor stuff. Back then, I ran around lugging plumbing, lighting, and decorating catalogs, tile samples, etc. I climbed ladders while the house was framed and tramped around to brick- lumber-yards. I walked miles, choosing trees and shrubs. There is no way I could do that today. Heck, I need my DH to carry the heavier grocery bags! I have no debilitating problems and require only one medication for asthma. I am not the fabled Energizer Bunny Elder who will be running marathons into her nineties. I am a reasonably healthy woman, just *older*. I feel lucky to have gotten us moved into our new, 'right size' house *in time*. I can't believe how blind I was to the realities of my *own* aging, having been responsible for an elderly mother and MIL. I totally failed to understand the vast difference between 'almost sixty' and 'almost seventy-five'.

"I don’t think having an isle of 46” on the fridge side is too small..." Your aisle will be about 1" less than 46" between island counter and fridge doors and likely 3" less between island counter and fridge handles. Plus fridge door clearance is 30" so a 46" aisle is suddenly 16". There isn't room for kids to sit at the island while you get something out of the fridge and vice versa. Given how often a fridge is opened during a day and especially during meal prep, this could get old fast. At least it would for me. I think you'd be better off moving the fridge out of the seating aisle. How about something like this? I eliminated the walk-in pantry area, adding that space to the kitchen, and relocated the DR entry. I added a long bank of 12" pantries on the DR/stairway wall for storage. By my rough estimate, this should give you about the same amount of storage as you would have in any version of your walk-in pantry, plus you don't have to deal with a corner. I recommend 4 - 32" wide cabinets and 1 - 16" wide cabinet, which means that you only need to allot about 16" of door clearance in the aisle. That makes it easier for all of you to share that aisle, whether you're accessing pantry goods, sitting at the island or passing through. That said, trying to do all 3 at the same time might still be a bit tight but it's definitely more doable than it would be with the fridge in the seating aisle. I moved the fridge to the top wall with a MW drawer to its right, making the MW convenient for snacking or reheating fridge items without getting in your way. It does mean that the MW is farther from the cook zone so if you use it a lot while cooking, you might prefer putting the MW drawer at the end of the island instead. The ovens are to the left of the fridge. I placed it nearer the cook top to make it easy to move meals from cook top to ovens. You could swap fridge and ovens but watch that the freezer door swing doesn't come too close to the cook top area. The other reason I like the above fridge/oven placement is that it hopefully will encourage family and friends to go around the back side of the island to get to the fridge instead of through the cook/prep zone. I moved the sink to the island. You already have plumbing at the island so moving the sink to the island shouldn't add significantly to reno costs. You'll have 55 1/2" to the left of the sink, lots of room to prep and visit with your kids at the island. You also have a large area for prep/baking projects under the window. The lower end of the island is the clean-up zone. Dishes and glassware would go in the cabinets across from the sink. Kids can set the table without getting in your way, whether you're eating at the island, in the nook or in the DR. At 148 1/2" long, the island will require a seam so shop for slabs that can be bookmatched. Check out the gorgeous bookmatched slabs of granite beaglesdoitbetter1 used for her long island, [(Mostly) Finished Kitchen Pics[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/mostly-finished-kitchen-pics-dsvw-vd~2498667). I kept the 5 seats at the island but you could add another seat. You will need to talk to your fabricator about how to support that long expanse of stone. Search for threads written by fabricator Joseph Corlett to see what to to and what not to do. Moving the major appliances to the left of the island gives you a good separation between the work and social/snack zones. You'll all be less likely to get in each other's way but it still allows you to visit while you go about your business. You don't say but I strongly encourage you to go with all drawer bases, save for the sink and trash cabinets. Oops, I forgot to add island depth. It's 41 1/2". You might be able to increase its depth an inch or two, stealing from the seating aisle if you want a bit more counter behind the sink, but as it is, if you stick with a farm sink, you'll have more behind the sink than you would with a standard undermount sink. As others have written, ordering in a few weeks is *not* taking your time. It's a large, costly undertaking that is not fun to live through. Take your time to get it right. The goal is to have few if any regrets when you're through.