I am not sure about the pollinators, but a one-year old grape vine probably won't have any fruit this summer, should have some next summer, but it might only a couple of clusters, and by the third summer should have many (dozens) of clusters of fruit. At least that is the schedule at my place, where we tend to have periods of dry soil in the summer that may slow down the growth of grapes. I wouldn't be surprised to find that the schedule is accelerated in other places.

I strongly believe in knowing the names of all my hostas. Among other things, I record the grower/hybridizer, the year it was first introduced, and where and when I acquired it. I will not buy from any of the various home improvement stores, where labels often get switched around. That being said, every spring I end up with a dozen or so plants without labels. Obviously, the names of the NOIDS most be among the names of the hostas I acquired, and can easily be found. Most of these orphans result from dividing known hostas, when I forget to label the new divisions. Then there are those hostas, which are either sports, OP seedlings etc. and I record them just as well. If you feel it is to early to name them, identify them at least with some letters or numbers. By fall it is time to take pictures of all my hosta beds. I make B/W printouts and walk outside with the stack of paper in my hand and enter each name directly on the print out, or you might use 1 inch dia. Avery adhesive labels to white on. Use color prints if you don't mind the expense. If you are trying to identify plants from a friend, or those that came with house, try to estimate how many years they were with the last owner. That will reduce the number of possibilities drastically.

I had a similar problem with my MIL after the birth of our DS. But in retrospect I think a lot of it was my DH fault. MIL would call DH to let him know what her wishes were for our family during her visit and not wanting to rock the boat or maybe not knowing better he would agree. Then he'd tell me and I'd say no because.... Then he'd feel caught in the middle. I blamed her, she blamed me and DH was miserable. DH and I discussed it and he agreed not to agree to anything until we discussed it. It has made all the difference. That said she's still a strong force with her own ideas of how things should be. When she came to visit when he was 2 weeks old she told DH she would sleep on his bedroom floor to take care of him all night. DH thought that was a great idea so we could both get some sleep. NOT!!! Not sure what he was thinking anyway since I was breastfeeding. Huge fight! Also when I would let her hold DS she wouldn't give him back when he cried. So I had to go take him from her. Then the next time she held him and he started to cry she would literally run away from me so I couldn't take him. She'd even go outside of the house (IMO) so I couldn't hear him cry. She also camped outside of his room so when he woke from his nap she would be the one to get him up. At 4 months he'd scream everytime he saw her because like it or not she's not the one he wanted when he woke up from a nap. UGGGG I was very protective of him too (which I think is natural when they're young) and her behavior drove me crazy! Not to mention that she kept accidentally calling herself mom when she talked to him. Now he's two and he can spend as much time as he wants with her because now when he wants me he tells her "No, I want mama." And she tells him "Grandma is as good as mama" but he still runs to find me. :) Just a suggestion but as long as your DH is on your side can't you just be aloof and say "our lives are hectic and it's not a good time to visit the cabin" and leave it at that. I would never have thought you could get away with that but my husband does it all the time! And if they push he just gets a stern tone to his voice and say "It's just not a good time." You don't owe them any more of an explanation. Then let your dear husband take it from there if necessary. They really are his problem to deal with.

When they show up to install, I'd talk to the installers about how they lay out the boards to avoid the things you are concerned about. Their answers should give you a clue if they are going to do it correctly or not and an opportunity for input for them to do it the way you want. edit to correct spelling This post was edited by olychick on Sun, Mar 9, 14 at 12:04