Ideas for empty sloped side yard

Hi all,

My husband and I bought my grandfather’s home 2 years ago, we live in the northern panhandle of WV (about 40 miles from Pittsburgh). Calculators say we are in zone 6b. We live at a higher elevation for the area on top of a hill, and we get a lot of wind. Our yard is basically all sloped, see last picture for the angle.

40-50 years ago my grandfather decided to clear his entire property of several mature trees to completely erase any risk of damage to the home (which he built himself and was obsessed with it).

Now the yard is boring lawn and devoid of wildlife. The grass is crispy all summer and there is no respite from the sun.

I want to plant native trees and wondering if anyone has ideas for what trees would do well on a sloped lot with wind? The soil is compacted and somewhat clay-like. I’m looking to plant a few large shade trees in the midline of the yard.

We don’t want to worry about cleaning up nuts or acorns when we are old as we plan to stay in this home as long as possible. Anything we can grind up with the lawn mower is fine and we obviously don’t mind picking up sticks.

Thanks everyone in advance! 😁