Establishing a clover lawn - second spring

In 2011, we removed at least two dump truck loads of dirt from the front yard and seeded a new clover lawn.

This is what the lawn looked like last summer - lush!

Spring is a different story. In the spring there is more mud than clover. Only one section of the lawn looks thick with growth. Until we get the clover to fill in, we can expect weeds! Last summer, a huge section of the yard was over run by crab grass. I ripped it out by the roots, and it didn't grow back.

Here is what I have learned about clover lawn maintenance so far:

1) Cut back the clover in the fall! Two years ago, we left the clover long over the winter. It trapped a ton of windswept debris. In the spring, when raking up the dead clover, leaves, branches, candy wrappers etc, I uprooted the delicate plants. Last fall, I used the lawn mower on it's highest setting to cut the clover. It helped, but there was still a lot of debris to deal with. This fall I will scalp it.

2) Mowing the clover when it's long mattes it down.  Clover stays wet and gets stuck in the blade of the lawn mower. We haven't bothered cutting it much since a few hours later, it springs back up. Besides, it looks better natural.

Have you considered a clover lawn? Have I considered getting rain boots?