The west rock wall will be sloping down to our driveway when it is all done. Landscaping-wise, it starts off looking somewhat unremarkable with the first rows laid. The base has the largest boulders that the tractor can move. What is unexpected is that the rocks are placed with their longest sides laid flat for increased stability. The rise in height is slower this way, but the goal is to put enough strength and weight in the structure to withstand nature.
See the large flat stone at the end on the right? This was pulled into place with a chain across the hill. There are intentional gaps in the wall allowing for drainage. Remember, no one wins a war against nature. Water always wins, so it is important to invite it to a place you want it to go. 
With this view, you can see how the land has natural rock outcroppings stepping up the hill. A lower 10-foot rise where we are building the rock walls and another 10-foot rise behind next to the house, that we have made into a rock garden.
This process took all summer long to complete two walls last year. It was not a job that was hired out to a landscaper as we sat drinking tea on the deck and watched. You don’t have to be rich, just be willing to go out every day and get dirty and sweaty. Nose to the grind-stone. We can do almost anything if we have the where-with-all to put the effort out and the stick-to-it to finish it.
The east rock wall base is level now for the first course of rock to begin. We have a rock wall on the east side slope and on the west side slope with a mound of dirt in the center between the two big fir trees. This side of the lawn will have a slope going down to the road to our garden below.
We leave a big enough gap between our fir tree and the wall to not cause it any harm. The largest boulders are the base of the retaining wall with gaps for the wet stuff to drain through. 
We love the tractor, and only wish that we had purchased it earlier. It has made a lot of this work a lot more doable. There is still a lot of hard hand work to place these guys so they don’t slip around.
There is an area on the lawn side of the wall where smaller rocks are placed to help retain the soil yet still preserve the draining capabilities. 
Pry bars and gloves and Mr. Kubota are our friends for this project. 
Peter found a boulder that is perfect to recline on, so it was put on the top of the wall for anyone to use if they happen to notice it.
There are also rocks that have great prehistoric marks in them mixed in the wall. We had an archeologist tell us what this one is in-depth.
Here is the wall almost complete.
Creating a Front Lawn doesn’t seem like a really complicated thing to do. But, it is something that takes a bit of design when you are on a steeply sloped property.
You can see the steep slope combined with a natural rock outcropping along the side of the house here.
Previous tasks that we have completed involved building up our driveway to insure accessibility all year long. Mainly, lots of gravel. The year before, we also cleared the shrubs and trees in an area above the garden and leveled it out planting grass to slow the flow of water before it reaches the garden.
Erosion and drainage may not seem very important for a lawn but remember that water is one of the most powerful things in nature. Water made the Grand Canyon…
Beauty and the Beast
We set up to sell art at a downtown garden show. The booth next to me had a professional tree trimmer in it. I happened to mention to him how irritating the mowing under our Sycamore had become, and the guy laughed. He said that whenever people wanted a Sycamore’s trimmed the price went up. His crew has to wear a full suit to prevent respiratory and skin irritations associated with them. That was shocking to find out but reassuring at the same time.
Check out the massive root system. Taking this tree down as a project had a comedy show of I N T E R E S T I N G events attached…. really. Honestly, I’d tell you about them but then I’d have to kill you. Internet BS is not allowed for this top-secret event, so, you’ll have to come to see in person to get the story on the rest of this adventure.