I had a terrible issue with grubs last year and have a ton of dead spots. Did you do anything special to get it to recover so nicely? It's extremely frustrating because I had three nicest yard in the development before that happened.
This year I replaced my HRX 217 that was about 8 years old with the HRX 217HYA. The old one had a lot of mileage on it and needed a lot of work. the engine ran fine bit the rest fell apart but that can be attributed to me having to keep it outside unprotected for a year while our house was being built. The HRX 217 line is the best 21” mower out there.
I second this and my last Honda was 18 yrs old when I gave it away. Still ran great but had hit a water main cover while mowing a neighbors yard. Didn't know it was there and grass was high. Ruined the blades and tweaked the shaft just enough so it vibrated a little.
Good seed, that is a new cultivar is a great suggestion. Their weed seed % should be 0% and will give you more grass seed per pound. Big box store brands usually has other stuff in it to help with germination, but also gives you less coverage.
Grass is pretty resilient if it gets the basics it needs consistently (sun, water, fertilizer, soil that isn't hardpan, and getting cut weekly). But it was only going to get worse until I attacked the grubs. I used the Spectracide Triazicide granules product. At the time of the year I was using it you are told to expect only partial eradication: 30-80%. You maximize the effectiveness by doing a couple of things. Get it down before the grubs become inactive for the winter. Make sure you soak the granules into the soil right after application.
My family is all from the Cleveland area, so I know what you are talking about. Grass grows like crazy where you are this time of year. You talk about no weed & feed or fertilizer. But you get lots of snow and it's filled with nitrogen and other nutrients that grass thrives on. As for the weeds, I grew up in that region and for years thought rose bushes were annuals, not perennials. Why? 80% or more of our roses didn't survive those brutal winters. Same thing with a lot of weeds, except for a few, especially the dandelions you mentioned.
I'm going to try adding soil around my exposed tree roots. They are patchy spots, and could use a minor level. Then I'm going to plant grass in the fall in those spots. For me, the roots arent terrible, and like I said, only in spots, so I think a minor level would do.
Sounds like fun. Our slip and slide burnt an area of grass after 2 days of use...coming back a bit now after 2 weeks, but still brown so it may be a spot to reseed later this year.
I’m expecting the medical residents in their late 20’s and early 30’s to have a blast on the slip n slide as well
we will have a bunch of internal medicine residents and a few emergency department residents, so I’m not too worried about sprains or minor injuries. And I’ll be pulling that slip n slide up ASAP afterwards to minimize the effects on the lawn!
Cut the grass lower under the slip and slide to minimize matting. I usually do it...but forgot this timeI’m expecting the medical residents in their late 20’s and early 30’s to have a blast on the slip n slide as well
. And the party sounds like a blast! Opposite of a trip to the Nest 
The burning question in my mind is, does it poop rainbows to help fertilize the lawn?
