I spent 1.5 hours last night trimming more branches and cutting down some more small trees. By small I mean no bigger than around 6 inches in diameter. My attention was focused on the side yard and along the stone wall. I'm trying to get it so there's more sun on the deck throughout the day and so that you can see the stone wall after I tidy up the area.
On the side that I cleared I'm going to cut the trunks to the ground and also cut the blackberry bushes completely back. I'm hoping that they'll come back better next year if I do. I'm also going to rake the area and have it cleared for the spring. I want to plant wild flowers over there and have them and the blackberries rather than more lawn.