I don't know much about turfgrass, but I think I would rather sow my yard with a mixture of poison ivy and dandelions than Bermuda grass.

I agree with Brandon, I wouldn't go the Bermuda route. I've been working on our lawn since last fall and have seen an improvement with simple fall overseeding and regular mowing. I don't cut the grass short and it's doing great. I plan on overseeding every fall with a fescue grass. Last fall I used Kentucky 31 but this year it will be a different fescue blend. The fescues go dormant in the summer if they aren't watered but ours has bounced back since the 3.5 inches of rain last week. If you have a fescue lawn don't mow it short in the summer. That's possibly the worst thing you could do!

Or, like I did, cut it in anticipation of rain from a hurricane that never comes...

I'll be doing some serious overseeding because of that moment of bad judgment.

Ouch. I don't trust the weather forecasts much anymore. This summer has been bad, they dangle the rain out in front of you just to give you hope and it never happens. Better to buy a weather rock. ;)

Make sure to set your mower up to at least 3". Mowing high will go a long way for helping a coolseason lawn.

Kerry