F...I am glad it is working for you now! Your mother is right. Floor dry is an absorbent product. Along with material like grass that breaks down quickly....you will have a mucky mess in the future. Aeriation in soil is critical. For now.....enjoy!

A lot of people like clover. I believe they ignore the bees. My favorite buzzy insect is the paper wasp. I am nurturing a nest of them outside my back door. I like them because they clean up the caterpillars from the yard and, if I don't bother them, they don't bother me. Would you be willing to spray vinegar on the clover? You could try that on a hot, sunny day (hah, hah, Portland!). Maybe just a sunny day. You only spray the leaves, not the soil. Vinegar should kill the tops. Spray again if/when it comes back. It will come back from seed until the seed is all gone. Seeding over existing grass is done all the time, but usually in the fall when the underlying lawn has settled into a routine. In the spring you will be fighting against the clover trying to grow fast on the nutrients stored over the winter. If you try it, scalp the grass/weeds as low as you can before you start. You want to get the seed in contact with the underlying soil so the roots will grow into soil. Roots will not grow into air if the soil they sprout into is being held above the soil by other plants. What kind of grass were you thinking? I think rye is very common in the PNW. You might be able to keep the weeds out by mowing your grass at the highest setting on your mower. Tall grass shades out the weed seedlings underneath and stops them from photosynthesizing.

Dave wrote, in part: "I have ground dog food into powder. In retrospect, it was a waste of time. Just scatter the chunks out, water it briefly, and you'll be surprised how soft they become. Soft and mushy means the birds and squirrels can't carry it away. Another thing I don't worry about is salt content of pet food. Once a month is plenty." +1

Lawns in this area are typically comprised of blends of cool season turf grasses. That means they grow when weather is cool and go dormant when weather is hot........in as mild a winter as we have experienced so far, it is not at all unusual for lawns to become long, straggly and needing a mow. Lawn services and homeowners have already been busy in my area tending to this. You can certainly start to fertilize now (although it is still just a tad early - we could still get some cold winter weather). But I seriously recommend avoiding any "weed and feed" product. These types of lawn care products are notorious for contributing heavily to groundwater pollution, can be harmful to both small kids and pets and are incredibly inefficient.At one time there was talk of having these weed and feed products banned from the PNW marketplace because of their highly negative impact but it never got past the serious discussion stage AFAIK. Separate the two products - use a dedicated lawn fertilizer (an organic product - not Scotts - is always a good solution) and treat weeds individually. If you have a widespread weed problem - too much to manage by manual removal - then use a spray like Bayer's All In One Lawn Weed and Crabgrass remover, which can be used to treat individual weeds or sprayed to address the entire lawn. As a liquid, this is far less likely to leach into groundwater than a granular product and can be directed specifically where needed. Most often, a well maintained and healthy lawn will outcompete weeds so you need to focus on getting your lawn into good shape. Mid April to mid May is the ideal time in this area for lawn renovation and reseeding chores. Most regions in the PNW will have some sort of community or municipality provided lawn care publication that will provide both tips and a calendar of necessary lawn care chores. Here is one provided by the OSU extension service.