For decades, a simple concrete staircase had been the pathway up and down a short, but steep grassy hill. Generations of families had travelled those steps, but an excavator bucket is no nostalgic creature. A few short days later, the site had been transformed from bland to eye-popping. Pennsylvania Bluestone steps crawl up the slope, while mossy granite boulders - hand-picked by us from a nearby logging operation - provide the retention. The stairs no longer lead simply to the driveway, but now to a flagstone patio also built with Bluestone. Perennials add the color to the newly created garden bed above the wall, and Wooly thyme grows in the gaps between the stones. A once cramped backyard now feels spacious and dramatic.