Den- I feel for you, I also have massive vole infestation. They have felled full-grown apple trees loaded with fruit, ate some of my large squash vine's stems through and killed the plants, nip through the stems of my pole beans, etc. Running a water hose under the tree for hours saved a couple of trees. Planting with lava rock in the hole has saved most of my daylilies. Nails and cayenne pepper goes into each bean hole, then the stem is wrapped in foil. Planting in a hardware cloth 1/2" mesh box sticking up 1' above the soil would be my suggestion for the fig tree. I also hate cats but my DD left 2 when she went off to college. One is an excellent hunter and I saw her eat an entire vole except the skull in about 5 minutes. I don't know how much impact they can really make on the populations, though. As for fruit, I belong to the "Love the one you're with" school, a really excellent homegrown anyfruit would be my first pick. I would also add Paw Paws and Mulberries to the list. But I am a healthnut, I would rank fruit by health benefits, such as ORAC (antioxidant) value (see USDA chart, I think Total ORAC value is usually used), so Aronia would be at the top for N. America fruits (but doesn't taste all that great, though I'm learning to enjoy them raw with stevia whipping cream). Taste is very good cooked as in juice. I don't think chilling is a problem here in SW Washington, but diseases in stone fruits are. Most have dwindled and don't bear after a while. Peach leaf curl killed all the peaches but the present 'Indian Free', which has lasted the longest, but all lower branches die so the green wood gets higher and higher. Cherries have done well or even fantastically for a while, especially North Star which was loaded then declined and died. Sweet cherries yielded a few years then started dropping all fruit. Montmorency had good crops the last 2 years but not this year.... Plums have yielded well then declined, though all the plums and the peach had unbelievable bumper crops last year. Methley can taste as good as a cherry, especially cooked. Anyway I'm not planting any more stone fruit. Love that Aronia, such a consistent fruit and so easy to harvest. For flavor I would go for Blueberries, Raspberries, and Illinois Everbearing Mulberries, though, and right now some Paw Paws.:P Nancy Here is a link that might be useful: USDA ORAC scores

Gardenias are only difficult to grow in climates with dry air, especially dry climates that are very hot and sunny. I think it would grow better in Southern California if it were put inside a humid greenhouse during the Summer. The fruit of Quince is fragrant too, the most wonderful smell, very floral and almost a hint of violets. There's a particular odor within the aroma that is one of the elements in the smell of pears, I can pick up on, but the overall fragrance is definitely not like pears. I am talking about fruiting quince (Cydonia oblonga), not ornamental flowering quince. Some people used to leave a basket of quince in the kitchen to make things smell nicer, or even hang quince in the closet. I think grapefruit is very fragrant too, as well as Bergamot Orange (not really good for eating though). If you live further north you can grow Yuzu.

Karen, that little bear will surely make you feel better. How thoughtful, Gina! Maybe Odo could come visit me in Texas, I have a possum that I wouldn't mind Odo taking care of, of course I wouldn't want to see it. Very nice box!

Attached link outlines the basics on cabinet construction. If you think plywood equals durable quality construction you have been mislead. If quality of the final cabinets is a primary concern then you need to invest an equal amount of concern in how the cabinet is constructed (types of joints and fasteners) and how good quality control is through the manufacturing process. Plywood is terrific but it won't make any difference to the durability of your cabinet if it is constructed poorly. Most manufacturers offer plywood upgrades. Like a lot of MasterBrand face frame product Diamond uses 3\8 plywood (if you upgrade) and appears to offer only 3\8 furniture board backs even with plywood sides. Like most manufactures the guarantee is the same whether you upgrade to plywood or not. Here is a link that might be useful: Cabinetry 101