One of the advantages of slow economic times is that they favor the tortoises, the builders who aren't going anywhere or trying to make a quick buck and leave.  These days most of our clients are creating long-term relationships with their sites, planning to raise their children here if they are making homes, or to make quality improvements that will stand for years.  I'm looking at my quarter acre of Grass Valley and planning to plant three peach trees.  Planting a fruit tree requires a commitment to the future that goes against the current social trends.  You have to believe that someone will be around to appreciate the fruit in five or ten years. The older you get, the shorter that seems.