Tamelask, I'll try to get a better shot today, the conditions are a little better for photography. Maybe I can get a clearer pic for you. Alicia, thanks for your input, I do have a lot of butterflies here. I see them contstantly. John, LOL not bare dirt. The picture is taken where there is a backdrop of two areas I didn't seed on purpose for a bed and patio area.The area is at the edge of the lawn. I put in Bermuda which is only starting to come out of dormancy now. Considering the conditions this poor lawn has endured since it was planted, I'm not too disapointed in it. I completed my house Feb. 07. put in the seed in 4-07 and had to fight with drought and water restrictions all year. I didn't put any winter Rye in because of the water it needs and because of the new Bermuda. From my research, I understand it's not great to put Winter Rye in on a brand new Bermuda lawn. I'll upload a series of pics from last year and the planting/growing process if you wish to see them. I know the grass will eventually out compete, however I want to make sure I don't have something starting that is exceptionally tough. Right now this stuff is everywhere!! This is one of the reasons I chose Bermuda for it's ablity to "choke out" weeds. :-)

Looks like seedlings. In other words, not spreading but instead seeds are sprouting. If a reasonable amount, suggest you hand weed now.

First contact your local office of the Clemson USDA Cooperative Extension Service and the can help identify that and can also help you get a good, reliable soil test which might do as much to control this as anything else. Many "weeds" grow in soils that are not good soils for turf grass and turf grass most often needs a good, healthy soil or it will not grow well. At the same time dig in with these simple soil tests, Structure. From that soil sample put enough of the rest to make a 4 inch level in a clear 1 quart jar, with a tight fitting lid. Fill that jar with water and replace the lid, tightly. Shake the jar vigorously and then let it stand for 24 hours. Your soil will settle out according to soil particle size and weight. A good loam will have about 1-3/4 inch (about 45%) of sand on the bottom. about 1 inch (about 25%) of silt next, about 1 inch (25%) of clay above that, and about 1/4 inch (about 5%) of organic matter on the top. 2) Drainage. Dig a hole 1 foot square and 1 foot deep and fill that with water. After that water drains away refill the hole with more water and time how long it takes that to drain away. Anything less than 2 hours and your soil drains too quickly and needs more organic matter to slow that drainage down. Anything over 6 hours and the soil drains too slowly and needs lots of organic matter to speed it up. 3) Tilth. Take a handful of your slightly damp soil and squeeze it tightly. When the pressure is released the soil should hold together in that clump, but when poked with a finger that clump should fall apart. 4) Smell. What does your soil smell like? A pleasant, rich earthy odor? Putrid, offensive, repugnant odor? The more organic matter in your soil the more active the soil bacteria will be and the nicer you soil will smell. 5) Life. How many earthworms per shovel full were there? 5 or more indicates a pretty healthy soil. Fewer than 5, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service, indicates a soil that is not healthy. to learn more about the soil you have and what yo need to do to make that soil into something that will grow a good, healthy turf. Here is a link that might be useful: Clemson CES

Agree. The very best time of the year to seed a northern lawn is in the early fall. Every day after that is worse than the previous day. Once you get past late winter, the results are MUCH less satisfactory headed into spring, late spring, and summer. The later it is seeded the faster it dies out and the faster the crabgrass takes over. At this point all you can do is sit it out. You can practice good lawn care management for the next couple of months and plan to renovate it in late August. Here's what to do until then. Watering: Deep and infrequent is the mantra for watering. This is for all turf grass all over the place. Deep means 1 inch all at one time. Put some cat food or tuna cans around the yard, and time how long it takes your sprinkler(s) to fill all the cans. Memorize that time. That will be the time you water from now on. My hose, sprinkler and water pressure takes 8 full hours to fill the cans. Your time will likely be less. I like gentle watering. As for watering frequency, that depends on the daytime air temperature. With temps in the 90s, deep water once per week. With temps in the 80s, deep water once every 2 weeks. With temps in the 70s, deep water once every 3 weeks. With temps below 70, deep water once a month. Note that you have to keep up with quickly changing temps in the spring and fall. This deep and infrequent schedule works in Phoenix and in Vermont, so it should work for you. The reason for deep and infrequent is to grow deeper, more drought resistant roots and to allow the soil to dry completely at the surface for several days before watering again. If it rains, reset your calendar to account for the rainfall. Mulch mow at the mower's highest setting. Fertilize now with an organic fertilizer like soybean meal, alfalfa pellets, corn meal, corn gluten meal at a rate of 15 pounds per 1,000 square feet. Don't use any chemical fertilizers, herbicides, or insecticides until later. By allowing the weeds to grow you will be developing the soil and putting roots down into it. These roots are important for your soil to develop the right structure. Then in August do this: Change your watering practices to every day, 3x per day, for 5-15 minutes each time. Do that to sprout all the weed seeds in the soil. After a week of daily watering, spray everything with Round Up to kill all the living stuff. Continue with the daily watering for another week and spray again with RoundUp. This process should clear everything out. Rake up all the dead stuff and you can seed right onto the top of that soil. Roll the seed down or walk on every square inch of it. Then continue watering daily 3x as before to germinate your new grass seed. This approach will give you a pure stand of grass almost guaranteed. When you get 80% germination on your grass seed, start to back off on the watering frequency. Mow when the grass is tall enough to mow at 5 inches or so. At that point look to see if the grass is uniformly dense across the yard. You still will have time to add more seed in the thin areas.