The yard itself continues to maintain it’s overall terrain following shape due to the fact the house sits on a blue stone ridge, and short of borrowing an excavator for a week, it will not become flat.   Although that IS a project for another year or two down the road!  If you look at the panorama photo a post down you will see the whole wooded area on the left which we want to excavate and push into the valley behind the house.  This will result in a flatter yard, at the first floor level of the house all around the house with the bonus of using the removed material to build up a nice slope into the valley area behind the house.   Currently if you stand on the hill which is RIGHT BEHIND the house, you’re standing at a second story height.

I’ve also been adding soil and raising/smoothing the yard in areas where large veins or pieces of bluestone from the bluestone ridge are poking up through the surface just a little. Removal, at this time, is not possible without an excavator or backhoe.

Some of the prep for leveling out the area was using some of the remaining 5 cubic yards of topsoil I had delivered for filling in one hole.  I also went out and laid down some weed and feed since that side of the yard is covered in clover, broad leaf weeds and other things that don’t belong in a lawn.  I figured I might as well disfigure the ‘decent’ look of the lawn now, rather than just letting it grow wild, it will give me a better idea of the turf areas we may want to save, and other areas which are so engulfed in weeds they’re better off mowed short and covered in topsoil if needed.

From past experience ( a couple of weeks ago ), I decided to put the top soil down and then give it a little time and a few rain showers to settle.   If settles back into the shape of the original dip/sunken area, we’ll add more topsoil and let it settle again before finally planting the grass.    We may hold off until September to plant any seed in that area as we’re quickly approaching June, July and August, the hot months for us in the NE US.

Here’s the view from ‘street side’ look back into the back yard.

New topsoil on the back yard areas that had huge huge dips in them.

Here’s a view of the same area looking from the barn towards the planter.

Shot from the back yard by the barn to the planter.

Here’s how it looks with the mat installed.

Back yard fill with seed germination mat