A friend who used to own a landscaping business told me about a trick
I might try next year - too late now.

He calls it snow seeding.

I told him about an area under a tree in my back yard that never gets
any sun, so I can never grow grass there.

He said next year, in late February, early March, I should sow some
annual grass seed on top of the snow. He says the seed will stay
dormant in the cold, but as the snow melts it will settle onto the
dirt and have a chance to to germinate before the tree fills with
leaves and blocks the sun. The melting snow will moisten the ground to
help the seed get started.

Since I can expect it to die off by the end of summer due to lack of
sun, I should stick with inexpensive annual seed (landscapers mix, he
called it) and expect to re-snow-seed every year.

Anybody heard of - or better yet, tried - this process?