Man, you sure said a mouthful there! I spent 25 years in the hills and only did a modest amount of stuff, all by hand. I lost interest in living rural because of all the work I saw and I simply wasn't going to do it by hand. I'm embarrassed to say that I considered moving to town. (I just threw up!) Well, I did go to town and wrote a check. It's all [successful] history now. I know my property value has increased by 20%, at least, above the recent run-up in values around here.
I only pluck the rocks that are preventing me from smoothing my land so it can be mowed or easily traversed. As with your place, it's a lost cause for me to pick 'em all.
I am just piling all my rocks on top of native rock outcrops
that I know I'll have to get a "real" machine to move, and that ain't happening now. I'll admit, I'm just starting to run out of room for them, so I'm thinking about that wall you've been talking about.
Cheers, Jim!