Being that you are in the PNW, you might try one of the improved varieties of Velvet bentgrass or colonial bent. I don't know much about either but that would be a unique choice and I think your climate could comfortably support it. This of course would be if you enjoy working on your lawn and want to mow it short for a look similar to a putting green. You asked about what to level the ground. If you've got extreme problems you would want to hire a tractor service to use a box blade. You might be able to rent this equipment. Otherwise you can do it manually by bringing in soil and shoveling and screeding and smoothing and packing it into place. This is a very time consuming task. So much so that *I*, as a very determined person, didn't even have it in me to completely do my back yard. You asked about ammending your soil and claim to have "poor clay soil". I am of the belief that clay soil is not poor soil. Jam packed with nutrients and retains water in case you are in eastern washington somewhere that is very dry, this clay soil will help with drought and establishment. The only reason I would suggest doing it is to improve drainage if that is even necessary such as if you were constructing a home putting green or were using some grass that really needed well drained soil. I also would not till your existing grass into the soil since you probably don't want this existing grass to come back. Even if you ignore all the advice not to till, you still need to rake out the dead grass and this will be back-breaking work, I assure you. You would want to contact your local prison and see if you can get a chain gang out there to do that!!! Now if you want to add organic matter to the soil, you simply topdress the lawn with it. You don't blend it into the soil. It will find it's way down there eventually. One more thing. Having dead grass there (mowed very short) when you reseed is very helpful to hold the seed in place in the event you plan to use seed. A heavy rain shower can ruin the entire project if you're unlucky.

It seemed to be nicely moist in most places. There were definitely some dry spots, especially in some of the timothy hay. I really didn't loosen up the hay when I put it in the pile. I simply peeled off chunks from the bale. They were still dry in a number of spots. I added some water, but I don't think it was enough. The pile has not shown any signs of heating up again. Since my compost pile is at my allotment site, and it is March, there is no ready, close source of water yet. The taps won't be on until May. I have been doing my best with some plastic jugs of water, but for a big pile, it does not seem to be enough. The forecast for the weekend is 25C and sunny too! Here is what it looks like after the turn. I rolled off the top bales at the front, revealing the darker composting material inside the bale bin. The darker bale in the lower right is timothy hay, the rest are straw. I also have spread a "lid" of loose straw over the compost. It still has a long way to go.

just answering part of my question....i bought some netting to cover the cherry tree and blueberry bushes as I read online that the birds will eat them before they are ripe. i'm planning to not spray with anything, and see what happens.

If I were in your project, I'd draw the grid onto the tower, then I'd use GEII on that section. Squeeze out a small amount of clear silicone on a plate, take a small palette knife and butter a small section of the tower, then apply the tiles w/tweezers. This w/let you see the grid as well as keeping your hands off the silicon, causing less mess and clean up. I seldom use GEII, but in your case, I think it w/be easier w/less mess.