Sounds like they don't really know what they want. Maybe they don't like doing their homework? Seeing as they bought meat birds when they wanted eggs and ended up with their soil washed away. Your island's geology is rocky outcrop, I think you once said? Trees would be the only thing holding the soil in place. Unless they were going to put in a retaining wall?I think it's odd too MJ. Some people don't like trees in their view it seems but if you wait eventually you look under the canopy.The next door lot on one side are incredibly weird. They throw money around but the end result just looks like an expensive mess & they seem to be jealous of stuff we do. They keep mentioning they want an elkhorn like mine ~ which took 30 years to grow!! They're not prepared to wait 30 years.
They goggled when the sandstone went in but we are ex~Sydneysiders. Sandstone's in our blood.
They got ducks because we had chickens & they wanted eggs. They got muscovies which are a meat bird & then complained when the duck molted & stopped laying. They talked about getting bees when we got our hive...took out all their bush then complained they had no birds visiting. I tried. I really did but some people just can't learn it seems.
I was able to leave early today -so that was nice 
Renovating ~ which I always find hard.
