Brettski, what a great thread! Your place is turning out beautiful. I will be modeling my future pond in my dreams after yours. Now to get some grass established to protect this wonderful dirt work. Unfortunately the ideal time to seed is around the second week of September. I used a rock hound/landscape rake attached to a skid loader to prepare seed beds for grass. It picked up rocks off of the surface and left a nice smooth finish. I recently came across a similar attachment called a "soil conditioner" in a rental catalog claiming that it is ideal for preparing seed beds. I've never used one but it looks interesting. This final step may be good to get taken care of while you dirt guy still has equipment there. I seeded and mulched (straw) myself and watered for a couple of weeks where possible. The areas I could water turned out great, the areas I couldn't didn't and are going to require some minor renovations. I would hire a hydoseeder to do an area as large as yours especially since watering will be rainfall only.
Keep the posts and pics coming
