Just going to give my lawn the once over before winter sets in. Since I
really don't know much I thought I'd ask here...

Most of my lawn is a decent hieght, but there are a few patches that are
really too tall (6"+). I'm going to mow it down but was wondering if I
should shorten the whole lawn. I always mulch the grass.

I'm going to put down a winter fertilizer. Should I break up the thatch
in
the lawn first, or is this important to protect the roots over the
winter?

The thatch doesn't protect the roots over the winter and spring and/or
fall
is the time to go after it if you have a thatch problem.

Not really a problem, but I figured it would be wise to break it up
occasionally. Especially before applying any fertilizer.

There are different schools of thought on whether to keep the lawn long or
short over the winter. Personally I feel that it does better if you cut if
quite short for the last cut as I find that it comes out of the winter in
better shape.

I'm pretty sure that short is better... Just wanted some more opinions. 90%
of the lawn is fine. The rest is fairly tall as it's located in shady and
protected areas.

I'm located in Calgary, Alberta (Zone 3A). The weather here can be very odd.
We had about 4" of snow for two days last week. Now it's 23'C outside. Last
year were were running around in shorts at Christmas but February saw -30'C
some days. It's very hard on the plants (and gardeners!)

The snow got me thinking that I better do something with the lawn soon.

Here, in southern Ontario, it seems that winter is coming quickly this
year
and, depending on where you live, you may be right in between fertilizer
times. I've always tried to get the fall fert down before this so that it
doesn't stimulate the grass to grow too late into the season. There are
others, the turf institute at the University of Guelph for one, who
suggest
that a great time to do the fall fert is when the ground is frozen, just
before the snow flies. They claim that the fert will just sit there until
the spring and then the lawn will take off. I can vouch for that method as
those who have done it have the earliest and greenest lawns on the street.

I'll be out in the yard today and see where I can go with it... How much to
cut the long stuff down and really how bad the thatch may be.

Thanks all!