Two parts. The first: gather your tools and your pile. Leaf rake, pick axe, potato rake, shovel, wheelbarrow — and as much organic material as you can collect. Leaves, clippings, fine mulch, manure. This is what you bring. The second: walk the land. Read the water — where it sits, where it moves, where it can't leave. Find the low point. Pick up your first tool and open the exit. This is what the land tells you. One side is preparation. The other is perception.